you should be running mono on those reels, if your fishing for marlin you are gonna drop alot of fish or bend alot of hooks. i would suggest spooling them up with 15kg mono, asfar as rods go theres heaps to choose from  just depends how much you want to spend

yeah luke im aware of the mono lines being stretchier ... the mono topshots are about 100m to give a bit of spring .. but they are also going to be used for deep drops over the shelf (if i ever get a day off to get out there)

Matt @ The Tackle Shack can empty your wallet pretty quickly, but his custom rods are first class. They really are the best way to compliment quality reels though.....

oh yeah i recall seeing a rod mako made .. im not sure i can afford 3 of them :)

so might have to find a few off the shelf products for a while

question is whats gonna be the other 2 rods??

So 1 x 37kg standup rod....

whats your budget ???

I think the question that hasn't been asked to date is what size are the reels.  The drag systems on game reels generally designed around the line strength.  This means a Tiagra or Penn Inter 50 reel is generally suited to 50lb line or 24kg and similarly a Tiagra or Penn Inter 80 is generally suited to 80lb or 37kg line.  Having 100lb line on a reel designed for 30lb (example) is perhaps less than ideal so I think we need to understand the reels size / design criteria before suggesting rod sizes.  

oh sorry Alan

30vsx running 80lb and 2 x 50vsx running 100lb ... i actaully wanted 60lb on the 30 and 80lb on the 50's but the tackle shop didnt like that idea ... i'll just back the drags off to suit the rods  ... so yeah 3 x 80lb standup rods .. but i would like at least one of them to be bent butts (maybe 2)

Matt i have no idea on prices as i havent bought a game rod in many years :)

i have an old custom iron glass rod here but its a bloody broom stick that i got built in geraldton over 15 years ago.

With the introduction of braid lines into fishing and gamefishing we also have the new style reels, mainly I think due to the demand from the American market via their recreational tuna fishing industry.  Smaller reels loaded with braid capable of holding as much line as the larger more traditional game reels spooled with mono.  Effectively what you are going to end up with is one 37kg outfit and two underrated 60kg outfits.  With respect to rods there are a number of options.  Short strokers come into their own when a fish goes deep but are not so effective when a fish remains on the surface.  Guides or rollers or a combination of the two is another decision.  If you are considering custom made I would recommend you look at both Calstar and Sabre blanks or for a ready made look at the Shimano Tiagra T Curves.

thanks for the info Alan .. hoping to stay with guides and not rollers .. will have a look at the calstar blanks as im sure there will be info on the net about them somwere

hey feral definately go the calstar over the sabre, and running sic guides over rollers should keep costs down .

need anymore info just pm me mate