RE Lengths of Gary Howard 'Greenback' rods

[darter]

Just wondering-it appears G.H makes these in two lengths? 15ft and a 13'6'' version,is this so? (one piece)

I found one in a pawn shop,thought they were only made in 15ft,but this one was 13'6''. (one piece)

Has anyone here used the smaller version? I generally prefer rods over 14ft and up to 15ft (one piece) I hate two piece rods.

I generally prefer to fish for larger surf species,so like the longer rods,with 700E5's.But this G.H 13'6'' greenback was a tempting price,not sure if it could handle flicking out 10 balls and whole squid though,any thoughts?

[Darren J]

Mate,
I thought they were all 13"6" (or actually an inch or two under that). I have one which is that exactly. I think you would be asking a bit much of it to toss 10 balls, but others may have comments.

I actually have a two piece (I am not a fan of two piece but must say I can't fault it) that I bought with a GH Surf Special (also two piece). The Greenback is more of a glass rod, reminds me a little of my dads old Gold Coaster Power rod, so I got the Greenback for a second rod for him. Oldie being oldies, he hasn't tried to use it (or won't stray form his 30+ year old rod) so I was actually thinking of selling it (I have way too may rods and just can't use them all). I also have an original Snyder Mag Surf if your interested (one piece). I have a second one of those, so again only one set of hands!. Could sell one or both for a fair price. They are not "perfect" but have not had a lot of use either.

PM me if your interested or drop me an offer. Not sure what the pawn shop wants but the Greenbacks are over $200 new.

I do have a GH Bulldog which is 14'6" fem memory, I use a 7000 Alvey on that. Much heavier rod and can cast a chunk of weight..... Not fun to fish for long periods, but is not as bad as you would think either....


Cheers,
Darren

[Tangles]

i recently bought a Synder Mag surf for me with the Alvey and a Greenback for my wife ( spinner) both 13'6.

Used Alveys all my life but all i can say is after giving it a crack i would take the Greenback hands down and it will happily throw a 10 ball. All personal preference but somehow i just loved the way the Greenback loaded up and cast it out there. The wife was easily outcasting me both using 10 balls with little effort. It feels quite whippy compared to the Mag Surf but i was very surprised how it cast, top rod and thinking about getting an Alvey version for myself. Sort of what you get on with i reckon but those Greenbacks are a top rod

mike

[SkullJug]

Sorry for Chiming in late on this but..

2 piece rods have come a long, long way, especially the Gary Howard Range. I used to have a a Snyder Mag bream, and Mag surf both 1 piece and I loved them, but my current GH surf Classic is 2 piece and leaves them for dead.

I originally wanted a Bulldog in my quiver but the guy at the shop talked me into the Surf Classic Heavy instead and it is just a fantastic big rod, the best I've ever used, it can cast an absolute mile, loads up like a crossbow and is still relatively easy on the arms.

Oh and look at the Surf Classic as a possible replacement for a Greenback, much lighter and a better action imho (That being said, the greenback is still a superb rod). All Greenbacks are 13'6 as far as I know.