Rod and Reel combinations

[mossy43]

I must admit I have not done much lurer fishing for the smaller class of fish such as flathead, bream etc. I use to be into deep sea fishing all the time with overhead and deck winch reels :P. As the years roll on so do the back pains etc from the pounding from the boat :-[ so I am now changing my type of fishing and getting into a more relaxed style of fishing. 8) What I would like to know is some rod and reel combinations in particular spinning for flathead and bream and the occasional mangrove jack and salmon. Cheers ;D

[Simon]

Without spending alot of money on a rod I think the best value for money at the moment are the Diawa Procaster range of rods at just over $100 they are lovely to cast with and can stick it to the fish when needed and has the sensitivity to to flick the small lures at bream and flathead.

match it to a Shimano or Diawa of similar price with a spool of braid and you've got a starting level outfit that you can enjoy but won't have wasted to much dough if bream spinning turns out not to be for you.


Cheers

Simon

[mossy43]

Thanks Simon on the info on the fishing equipment. I suppose I really do need some new gear now as I had 98% of my fishing gear stolen including my GPS and sounders from my boat over the weekend >:( so now would be a good time to start fresh. If anybody else has some good suggestion on well-balanced fishing rods and reels etc please let me know. By the way if the people who stole my gear do happen to read this ??? I do know what all my gear looks like so lets hope I never catch you somewhere using it because it will be the last time you use anything for a long time. ;D ;DCheers

[Jason_L]

mozzie i've got a good one for ya
rod, real combo i mean
few months back i wanted a rod that i could use for bream fishing mainly but i wanted some bite in it , but at the same time keeping it as light as i needed.

because i fish around jetty's i'm using 12lb line.
the reel i'm using is a Abu Garcia Agenda Ag6F which is suitable for line weight from 8 - 15lb.
Features include

Three steel bearing
instant anti reverse
everlast bail spring system
one piece graphite body
o. and if you must know. it was made in korea.. hehe

the rod i bought for this was also an Abu Garcia.
It was about 178cm or 5' 10' i think
it's weight capacity was from 10 - 15lb line

it also has a glass tip which is rather flexable so u can feel the soft bites and u don't loose the small ones.

overall i paid about $75 for the reel and about $56 for the rod
ended up getting the outfit for $119

i hope this has helped you out. i've enjoyed this little outfit, m yet to have the drag spin on me yet. but i know a good non fished out spot to do that. i'll have to test it out on 5foot shovelnose sharks.........


to be continued!!!!!

[krazyfisher]

Mossy
just how much do you want to spend $50 or $1000 just the same its all fun and I hope you do see the blokes who got your fishing gear
have fun

[mossy43]

Krazyfisher the price does come into what ever you are buying but if I can get some ideas on some top gear I am prepared to pay the money for it, so long as it is good gear. At this stage now that I have to restock nearly all my gear I will take my time and do it right first time. Cheers ;D

[Lucky_Phill]

Well Mossy, fishing gear is such a personnal thing. What one person swears by another will bag.

You asked for suggestions, go to the tackle shops and ask the ugliest guy there. He's usually the fisho.

As you say, price comes into the type of product you want. Keep in mind that the price and quality ratio are evident , particulaly in fishing gear. With out puting a name to gear, keep in mind that spinning is good and a spinning reel is fine, but think about using a spinner reel with baitrunner, just in case you want to do a little squire fishing, or bream chasing.

I totally agree with the braid suggestion. As for the rod, I stick with stuff like ugly sticks, silstar firesticks and the like. Light tips and heaps of grunt down low.

Realisticly, if you spend around $250, you'll come up with a quality outfit, but hey ! I had an old Diawa and a Mundeen rod that lasted 10 years and caught whiting to freight train Trevally on the old boiler. Have a look at the Surecatch range while you're in the shops. ;)

[jaybee]

Hey webby I can sympathise with you on both accounts: re bad back..I have had 2 ops now and around 3hrs in any boat is about my limit :'( and being robbed last year i lost all my reels. However on a lighter note ;D I have found a rod that my back can stand up to. I do all my shopping at captn blighs the guys there are really good..usually they give you a rod to hold and they grab the tip and tell you to go for it.. good test eh.. and they dont rush you with your purchase ;D plus they give good discount when you ask ;D any way from doing this i purchased a Butterworth Nor Easter and married it to n ABU Garcia 2000 plus with 8lb line.
the rod is 3.40 mtr
line: 4 - 7 kg
cast weight: 15 - 50 grm
action: light to medium
I have used the rod in a 10 ft tinnie for bream, whiting, flathead and have flicked small lures with it better then my bait caster. I also use it from the bank, surf and rocks and is used extensively down the sand pumping jetty have even caugt tailor on it.
My brother uses one down bruns from the tinnie as well as outside for snapper and mackeral..he actually caught 2 marlin on it wile up at mooloolabah recently. There is also a Jarvis walker equivalent called a Cronulla..same specs except cast weight is 14-56 gram. The only complaint I have heard about the nor easter was from my bro cause the tip rusted off..but he leaves his gear out in the weather any way..what do u expect eh.. :P
The nor easter when i purchased was $42 and I beleive the cronulla is around the same price. The reel is around $65. Hope this helps
cheers.

[krazyfisher]

Mossy43
this is only my idea and is not for everyone but I have had the $120 combos good for about 6 maybe 12 months before they started to play up. Than it was time for the good gear $200 combo that was great and would never spend any less again but I flick alot of lures and it just was not just what I wanted so I got a team daiwa baitcaster I think they are abit over $500 in the shops but I dont know and $295 for a garry howard made loomis rod it is dear but this is fishing no backlash this is what dreams are made of, this was so nice to use that I bought a struddie $250 about and have a daiwa cvz253 coming for trolling and live baiting I think I have about nine rods and reels only use the good ones now its so hard to go back the money it the only thing that would stop you from getting this sort of gear but if your looking for the top end stuff the daiwa is great and they make some good rods $100-200 as I said the only thing that will stop you is money you could do as I do work out what you can afford than spend 20% more the only way.
have fun

[mossy43]

Thanks guys for all the info I shall visit the local tackle shops and give them a headache for a couple of days. Cheers ::)

[Maverick]

I definitely agree with Lucky_Phill that fishing gear is a personal thing but while your at the tackle shops Mossy...have a look out for this gear. Shakespear BC5400 (4 ball bearing) overhead with a Silstar powertip PT-561CAM (5'6"). I have fished for Barra in the gulf; flathead, jack and bream down here in Brissy, used it for light reefies and even for schoolies in the bay. It's got a finger grip and dead set you can drop it on a dime while you're luring. I run 15lb on it (which is the max) and the rods got that much stretch and strength in it that it's hard to go past. I've caught a 6ft shovelnose on it (which took just over an hour and a half!!) and it's light enough to catch the species your talking about. It'll set you back about $200-250 but it's so versatile that it'll probably save you buying a rod for every occassion. Definitely go with the braid if you plan on using it for luring as it will save you plenty of bucks in lures as you can pull out of most snags.......if not lift the snag off the bottom. Either way, you get your lure back :). Hope that helps. Happy fishing.

Cheers

[Chris_J]

hi guys

I have been using heartland-X s and im over the moon with there performance. they r a nice crisp rod and when coupled with a small reel like a regal or sedona they r as close to prefect as i have found. they retail for around $180 i think i can't remember. i have loaded mine with 4 and 6 pound fireline and they r great

cheers ;) Chris

[Luke]

Wilson 9"6 and a baitrunner can't go wrong
Cheers Luke

[curleyweirdo]

Well...here is my two cents.
I have had great sucess with the shimano range.
Dont know exact specs, but it is one of those combo ones --
You might be saying ohh combo,,,,dodgy, but ill tell you it has worked like a dream
The amount of shit this little reel and rod get thrown at it and number of dunkings, in sand a water...Jesus!
Its only a small reel and rod but for smaller fish it works fine.
It has even landed some of my larger 60cm flatties, and bream and shovelnoses.
Best bit it only retails for about 60bux a combo...rexhuint one i think..
Currently the back wind feature is shitted...but if you take care of it , might work a bit beta.
Hope you understanding me!

[Finny]

Hi Mossy,

I have recently purchased a one piece G-Loomis G2 6' spinning rod and Okuma Epix 20 series Reel and thrown some Fireline at it. Beautiful little outfit and excellent fun for Bream and haven't tackled any big flatties yet - could be interesting though...lol. The outfit set me back $450-00 but I am enjoying it immensly. It casts the light lures beautifully

Regards
Finny