What's your favourite surf rod?

[Fly Fisher]

I'm thinking about buying a surf rod and I'd love to hear if you have an 'old favourite'. I'm after one that I can use to:
* toss out metal lures (say 50gm) and poppers on 20lb braid (40lb leader);
* have enough grunt to handle a big jewie if bait fishing (I'm an optimist!);
* be as light as possible, so I don't feel like I'm holding a flag pole; and
* be in the mid range re cost.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance,

[Horse]

I use a FSU 4120G for that sort of stuff. Feels pretty good to me

cheers

Neil

[zak job lo]

fly fisher,
the best surf rod i have found so far is a gary howard surf classic 13ft6 . light, powerful, perfect for tossing lures a long way.I want to sell mine because now I've bought a boat I am buying boat rods and hav'nt been near the surf for a while.
very good condition. stored vertically. black with purple binding. $150.
ask people at tackleword about them.
cheers
zak job lo

[rockfisho]

i love my Gh surf classic aswell, the tip is nice and soft and it also has heaps of grunt for the big stuff. But my heavy rod is a 14foot fast taper by snyder, it casts a 80 gm lure to the horizon, but is pretty heavy.

cheers

Owen

[aussalmon]

You could look at the Silstar Power Tips, may not be glamorous but they would fit your price range. I've had 1 for over 10 years and it's caught whiting at Bribie to Snapper and Tuna in Moreton Bay.
It's the PF-1002SFL with a 4500 baitrunner on it, 12lb Platypus mono and it can cast a Halco slice or a raider a mile. This one would be too light for what you want though, you'd want the medium action I'd think. But yeah, not glamorous but they do the job.

[sams_fish]

fly fisher,
had snyder 13'6" untill i got a 11' 8" wilson supergraph, had 2 of 'em at one stage. sold the 13'6" coz the supergraph had enough grunt to match it, the blanks were kiwell from nz, unfortunatly wilson don't import 'em anymore. one of 'em got nicked grrrrrrrrrrrrr, but i've had the other one for 25 years now & use it exclusively for throwing slugs & poppers in the surf these days, seems to handle most fish fine. for baitfishing these days i use either a 12' livefibre for serious stuff or a 10'6" live fibre for gp beach stuff they both hold their own with other brands i've fished next to plus they're light. attached pic of 7.5 kg tailor taken on 12' live fibre, 15lb line, in heavy surf, straddie may last year. had to use size 8 sinker to launch bait against wind but rod handled it no worries.
cheers
sams_fish

[Fly Fisher]

Thanks Sams_fish,

Great greenback! Hope you get a few more.

Fly Fisher

[_Dan_]

Nice fish champ.

I use a 13.6 Snyder the weight is the best i have used, 13.6 pacific composite custom i got from dizzys shop a few years ago awesome but not cheap.

I did though last year buy a 12, i forget the name i will have a look when i get home, flicks the lures very well.

[sams_fish]

dan
the snyder i had was good no doubt, but i found 12' rods suited me better. might be becase i'm 6'5", dunno, but the wilson blanks are definitely suited to me, ,
cheers
sams_fish

[Awesome]

I recommend the Gary Howard Surf Classic 13ft 6 also. Love mine

[chiefsimo]

i have a gary howard north shore - about 12 foot and very comfortable to use, allows u to cast a fair way and also has a sensitive tip for feeling the nibbles.... it is a 2 piece rod (comes in 1 piece) but 2 piece is handy to sneak it in the back of the work car for those gold coast visits!

here is a link to his website...

http://www.australianrodmanufacturers.com.au/

[nigelr]

Sam's fish, that is an awesome tailor! At 6'5 your making that fish look small!
Great catch on 15lb! Did you catch it in daylight? Man I am envious!
Like the live fibres myself fly-fisher, tho it does depend on what your total cast weight is going to be, as to what rod you choose, also your budget.
I.e. if you are fishing for whiting and bream a 10' lightweight rod is perfect, if you are night fishing the surf for tailor and jew, 12'-13'6 long and capable of handling 5-6 oz total weight is required if you need to cast any distance and keep your line up out of the shorebreak.
Your local tackle shop should be able to give you reliable advice on the options they have available for what you want, don't know what your budget is, certainly the GH are popular though the live fibre blanks are great also.
Personally, try and get one custom built or make one yourself, then you can pick the blank, components etc exactly as required.
I notice you are on the MNC, whereabouts exactly? Sure to be someone making rods in your area.
Cheers.

[PADDLES]

my main one i use is an old 13'6 one made by allround angler at caboolture that i bought just after i left school, it does the business and is still going strong after the good part of 20 years. another old favourite is my late dad's original len butterworth 11 footer he got made in the 70's that now resides in my shed. i've got another more whippy, locally made 11 footer as well. you can't go past a locally made rod with an alvey reel, it'll last for your lifetime and most likely your son's.

[podo110976]

have you still got that rod 13"6 Zac job lo i will buy it

[nuggstar]

i got to use a nitro beach rod on 1 trip and it was awsome. so light but so much power. i dont no what model it was but it was so good. i want one bad