Entry Level Overhead????

[Red_Nut]

Team,
I have always been a spin / Alvey reel fisher, but would like to foray into the overhead world for flicking lures. Especially after recently fishing in the Barra Bounty in Rockhampton.

What reasonable quality entry-level combos should I look out for? I want to keep it to as close to $100 as possible, as I'm not sure if I will stick with it.

Your opinions woud be appreciated. I want to get an idea what to look for before I head to the tackle shop.

Cheers.

Ed.

[Tony_N]

*snip* I want to get an idea what to look for before I head to the tackle shop. *snip*
.


No offense meant Ed - but I'd suggest that what you should be looking for is a bit more money to put into that budget. I reckon Barras require a better standard of equipment than what you might get from a $100 combo (or have I been sucked into a wind-up?)

Tony

[Blackened]

G'day
No tony, no wind up.
I believe for the barra, and overheads in general.... you will get very little quality out of a cheaper reel. You'd be looking at $250 plus imo for someting that will do the job time and time again.

Dave

[jim_farrell]

If that is the budget ed, it is hard. However I would stick with daiwa or shimano. I am not a daiwa guy so i would recommend a shimano callisto with a spectrum baitcaster rod. This combo should be no more than $130. Thats not to say daiwa don't have an equivelant, I just don't know their gear.

This is by no means a gun outfit, and the rod is very basic, but it fits in the budget.

If you can step up a bit, say $200. It gets you into a very reasonable market. At this level I would recommend an Abu 6500 and there are numerous rods in the $ 70-90 that will get you by.
If you have a good tackle shop, they are the best people to talk to.

Hope this helps a bit.
Good luck
Jim

[Bushbasher]

I think the best value you'll get for your $100 is to find a second hand Abu 5000/5600 or 6000/6500 from Ebay or your local pawn shop etc. You'll probably get enough change back to pick up a set of Smoothy or Carbontex drag washers from Jack Erskine. If you want to buy new just hunt around online, I'm sure you could find a 6000/6500C3 for not much more than $120-$130 if you look. I think Kmart do a 6000 combo for around $140 or a 6500C3 combo for around $180 and if you wait for one of the regular 25% off sales you'll pick up a bargain. Just about pick up the 6000 combo for the $100 you're looking to spend.

Cheers
Bushbasher

[Red_Nut]

Guys - thanks for the replies.

No, it is not a wind up. I am wanting to get the hang of overhead / baitcaster fishing during the summer on a cheap combo, then step up to a better quality set-up prior to the Barra Bounty next year if I like using the cheaper combo.

I live just up the road from Cooroomin Ck near Emu Park, so the cheap combo will be used for chasing Bream / Grunter / Flathead.

I understand about the quality angle for the barra rod, the better combo would be more like $250.

Thanks for the info guys, I'll have a look at what's around.

Cheers.

Ed.

[ash_is_me]

If you are onto Bushbashers Kmart trip then they have their sale on now. 25% off the rods etc til 1st November. ;)

[Red_Nut]

Thanks for the replies. I dropped in to our Kmart today, but it was a bit diappointing. They didn't have much in the way of stock, so I didn't hang around there too long.

I dropped in to a couple of tackle shops, and settled on the following:

Shimano Corvalus 200
Shimano Taipan Extreme 2-5kg
Spooled with 25lb Platypus Braid

All this and only $180, so I was pretty happy with it.

Now I have to get home and start throwing that plug around the backyard.

Thanks for the replies. It was a combination of the opinions here and the views of a trusted tackle shop manager that I know that convinced me to spend a few extra $ for a better quality setup in the first instance (and it was still well under $200 including the braid).

Cheers.

Ed.

[andy009]

that corvalis will last years mate. my mates use them for mack tuna one 'corvy' has caught 50 this season ;)

[Red_Nut]

After picking this combo up on Friday afternoon I wanted to get the hang of casting it asap. I was fortuante enough to have an hour to wait until I had to pick my missus up from work, so I grabbed a $4 lure and went to the Fitzroy River to practice casting.

Within a couple of minutes I had an ok cast happenning, so I moved furthur along the river bank to avoid the sandflies. Five casts later I ended up with a huge hit around some rocks. The barra was only small (maybe 40-50cm), but it ended up jumping out of the water as it hit the lure.

All very exciting, I am looking forward to using this gear a bit more.

Cheers.

Ed.

[Roo]

well done ;)

[Shooter]

Can’t complain about that, good luck.