For well over 12 months , I've been on a bit of journey to find my ideal light barra spin combo - Not a stump puller often favored for impoundment barra - but a delivery tool capable of throwing lighter presentations like frogs & 4" soft plastic swim baits ....... but still being able to fish 20lb braid effectively.
During my search I was shown many rods ranging from cheaper ATC Hardsticks through to the Daiwa Steez Hotdog & Millerods TOAD ($100 to $750) - I had also trialed several & even bought a couple.......... but unless I was after a traditional rod for propelling heavier slick rigs etc , I just wasn't really getting anywhere as most offering just dont load up without really laying into a cast .
Eventually after quite a bit of research & seeing an example on a trip to Sydney .... I bit the bullet and ordered a Lucky Craft LCS 701HXF Reaction Tube (7ft , Action Heavy XF 6-20lb). Designed for deep cover large mouth bass - I thought it just might be what I was looking for.
Initial impressions are one of a well made rod using quality single foot standard size Fuji SiC guides , Fuji IPS reel seet & 1st grade quality cork split grip - Bindings, trim , gold winding checks finishing off a nice looking rod.
Real World : Matched with a Daiwa Certate 3500 & 20lb Nitlon Braid Attachment 55996 - I was a little concerned that the reel may just be a little too large ..... though once fitted a balance point of directly over the spool made for a outfit that was very easy to work plastics with little fatigue.
With the smaller guides - my initial leader set up involved the use of well made wind ons ...... these were quickly discarded as the fast action of the blank would see the wind on causing guide wrap. I reverted to fishing a short leader outside the tip ....... This significantly reduced the occurance of guide wrap.
Casting frogs on weighted 6-8/O worm hooks were a breeze , upping the ante to 110 slick rigs no dramas though laying into a cast could raise a guide wrap ...... so a smooth casting action was called for .
Fortunately my first use of the combo had me tangling with a 96cm & 101cm barra ...... & with both fishing running to & around cover good use of rod angles / drag pressure allowed me to chase the fish down. Once clear of obstacles , it was just a matter of upping the drag and resuming the fight Attachment 55999. with a blank that loads right through to the grip ...... 4kgs could be fished through the rod though you wouldn't want to high stick .
I've included a few photos that demonstrate the action of the blank
Attachment 55993 & Attachment 55994
This shows the rod fishing 4kgs of drag pulled against a 4kg weight Attachment 55995
In summary ..... this is not a stump pulling outfit - More to be used in open waters/ points & bays ...... great froggin outfit or up to 110mm slick rigs -- an awesome bit of kit for working placcys.
The one real down side was like typical US bass rods , the guides are small and limit the type of knot used or leader length ( 12-18" with the knot outside the tip was the best)
As for the Certate ( a 3000 size would possibly be the best choice with this rod - possibly) The certate continues to be my favorite spin reel (4 owned since their introduction some 7or8 years ago ) - being robust , smooth , exceptional drag (wish they used machined handles though) ..... certainly worth the money when purchased overseas. .... Noisy roller bearings seem to be common by most accounts.
With my dislike of paying local prices for tackle - some astute buying had me put the outfit together for A$620 (locally it would be $940) - not a cheap outfit by any means but certainly quality ...... & well worth the money paid .................. I'm sure I'm going to get great use out of it
Cheers
Chris
PS Other rods of note were the Daiwa Steez Hotdog @ $650 , Samurai Reaction 402 @ $550 , Millerod Beast Buster TOAD @ $750 & the value rod being the Rapala X Rap 6-10 @ $300
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Originally Posted by Dan5
- certainly no issues with those fish of around a meter.
