Barra/Jack Rod

[NeilD]

After following the thread on gear for impoundment Barra I would like to know what everyone thinks makes a good casting rod for general tropical creek work to double up on an occasional foray onto one of the big ponds.
I am looking for a blank capable of being easy to cast with but not likely to self destruct when the question is put to it. I would rather not pay more than $200.00.
I am thinking about 5'6", 6-8kg. The blanks I have come up with so far are the PacComp Braidbuster BC 170, 3-8KG or the Samurai NV7 6', 6-8kg.
In ready rolled the sicstik 5'10'', 6-8 or the Live Fibre Blade 5'6'' in either 6 or 8 kg.
Can anyone let me know what they think or advise on other alternatives.

Cheers

Neil

[StevenM]

Niel,

I am more than hapy with my Saurai Blanks that have been made up. Cant comment on others

Cheers Steven

[wheezer]

If you are into rolling up your own, you cannot go past the Samurai stuff. There are 2 blanks you should consider.

Firstly the RBC008, starts out as a 7' fast taper 6-8kg spin blank. Trimmed to 6' it makes a perfect all-round baitcaster. I use it with 25lb braid/5kg drag. 2.2mm tip is light enough to flick 'regular' northern estuary lures like tilsans,c-lures etc but it has plenty of meat in the butt. The blank is extremely lightweight and you can cast it all day. I have also used it in monduran to catch decent barra flicking bombers, B52's etc. I would recommend this blank if you do more saltwater work than impoundment work.

Otherwise go for the NV7, it is a 6' dedicated barra stick. Although rated at 5-8kg, it is far stiffer than the RBC008. It has a more moderate action, slightly larger tip dia. Definitely better suited to impoundment fishing casting bigger lures. I would go this blank if you mainly fish impoundments for the big girls with occasional forays to the salt. Or better still, do what I've done and build up one of each!

Depending on where you shop, you should be able to build up one of these rods using cork grips and fuji alconite guides for no more than $200, and if built right it will be far better than anything else in that price range. If you do go for one of these I can help with guide spacings/butt setup advice if you like.

I used to own a few Live Fibre Classics, then a few Loomy GL2's, and have also used mates Loomy Crankbaits and GLX's, and I can honestly say I would not give up my Samurai sticks for any of them.

I hope this advice has been helpful.

[Kiktz]

Have a Looksee at the Graphite USA,
Seen some of them around and awesome strengh and verylight.
You can hold'em all day and Fight the world

[NeilD]

Thanks for the input fellas.

Steven, what blanks are your rods built up on. I am looking at something close to 5'6". What are you fishing over them.?

Wheezer, pretty good endorsement for the Samurai's. I could not find the RBC008 mentioned anywhere but found a S008 7', 4-6kg. What length is your NV7 built at?

Kitz, have you got any blank details? There are a mile of Graphite USA blanks in all sorts of materials. They are well priced direct from US.

Thanks

Neil

[wheezer]

Hi Neil, don't bother with the S008, the RBC008 supercedes it. It has a better taper for lure casting, with a softer tip and more grunt, hence the higher rating of 6-8kg.

I left the NV7 at it's standard 6' length.

I guess because not alot of people roll their own, not many people are familiar with the Samurai product, but everyone I've spoken to that has one has only very positive things to say. I now have a couple of different baitcasters, a light spin rod and even a heavy jigging outfit based on their NV10 jig blank and it's all great stuff!

[StevenM]

Niel,

I have one of the RCB008. Used as a spin at full length, but nice stick and good action. Dont know about cutting it down to far but. NV7 would be a good option. But 6 foot.

Steven

[Dual_Helix]

UR56XH 6-8kg or UR56XXH 8-10kg are the models you could be looking for
in Graphite USA. 5'6" in length.
You cannot get them from the USA as they are only made for Australia and specificly Barramundi.

There is a UR56H, P-UR56H & B56H all 4-6kg that is available in the USA.

[StevenM]

Niel,

Had another look at the NV7 last night at the local tacle shop. Really would make a nice rod.

Cheers Steven

[NeilD]

Wheezer, how would the NV7 go for casting lures less than 15gms or so. Would the 6' length make it harder work to cast with all day. The rod I use now is an old Composite Development at only 5'4". Almost all of the Yank stuff starts at 6' so it must work.

Dual Helix, is there anyone in the Brissy are actually stocking ant Graphite USA blanks. I would like to see one in the flesh. The Mudhole site claims that the UR56H is 8-25lb. I have felt a lot of older US blanks and their ratings are different to what we call them.

Steven, where is your local store? I still have not seen the NV7 yet. Do you know anywhere on the Southside that holds them?

Cheers

Neil

[StevenM]

Niel,

My local is Charletons Fishing at Redbank. Just across the road from the Redbank Plaza shops. They are on the inbound side of Ipswich Road heading to Brissy. Also have a RCB008 there if you need to have a look at cutting one down.

Cheers Steven

[wheezer]

NV7 really is a brutal little stick, I'm quite tall at 6'5" so I like my rods at 6'. Besides I couldn't bear to trim any off and lose any off the butt section. It is noticeably heavier in weight than an RBC008 but you should still be able to cast all day. The RBC is an absolute featherweight and with my CVZ203 is perfectly balanced when palming the reel.

15g is certainly the lightest you'd want to chuck with the NV7, it is much more suited to chucking bombers etc in the dams. As i said in my first post, go the RBC008 if you mainly fish estuary and cast lures around the 15g mark. I have used mine in monduran and caught barra up to 80cm with 5kg drag no problems, but I am chasing the monsters this year hence the move to roll up an NV7 just for that purpose.

[NeilD]

Thanks for that.
The lighter rod is probably the go for what I want to do most of the time. I can always fall back on my 10-15kg Kevlarwrap if I am getting smoked too much.
I will have to have a good hard think about rod length,

Cheers

Neil

[roz]

Neil,

Where are you going for your blanks? If you don't mind me asking.

I am after the same thing as you for my next one.

roz

[Tony_l]

Hi All,

Go with the NV7, I finished mine last Thursday.

Very nice action, with ample power in the butt. I have built it for Barra and Black Jew.

I purchased the gear from therodworks.com.au in SA. Blank was just short of $150. Everything was packed well in a PVC tube.

Modern fishing (i think) had a recent article with all the detailes for rolling your own.

I am considering rolling one as a HD soft plastic stick (for the above species) with and Okuma VS50 spinning reel.

I have a scan of the recipe if you need.


Cheers