Light combo suggestions.
Submitted by robduca on Sun, 2014-04-20 16:53
Hey guys,
I am going to purchase a new small rod and reel and am after suggestions.
Will be used to target smaller fish like black bream, herring, flathead, whiting, fresh water fishing, etc.
Thinking of spending around $200 on the combo. Will prob put 8lb braid on.
Cheers
Rob
nathanrg10
Posts: 8
Date Joined: 23/03/14
Are you land based or will
Are you land based or will you be doing majority of your fishing from a boat?
robduca
Posts: 30
Date Joined: 13/10/08
Both
Will be doing both, but majority will be from land.
nathanrg10
Posts: 8
Date Joined: 23/03/14
I wouldn't of recommended
I wouldn't of recommended this until I actually used it but I needed a set up a little while ago ASAP and all my gear was across the other side of the country. I went to kmart (only shop open late at night) and they had a little sienna 4000 on a shimano power spin 902 for $140 odd. You could probably get it alot cheaper online. It sounds perfect for what your after. It is a great little budget set up that works as good as anything if you look after it.
If you were worried about using the sienna, you could upgrade it to something like an exage?
Shimka
Posts: 465
Date Joined: 06/02/14
A 9ft rod & a 4000 size
A 9ft rod & a 4000 size reel? Not the sort of thing to be waving around among the trees or on a boat. That's a tailor/salmon outfit. The sienna is a good little reel but I'd go for a 2000 size & hang it off something like the Daiwa Gen Black 6'4" 2-5kg.
nathanrg10
Posts: 8
Date Joined: 23/03/14
a 9ft rod will help manoevre
a 9ft rod will help manoevre around those obstacles like tree's etc when you are land based, helps to get up and over things and gives you a little more leverage. A 2000 size reel when he wants to use 8lb??? Id agree a 2000 size solely for bream but not for flatties. A 4000 is a good 'general' size reel for the species mentioned.
Shimka
Posts: 465
Date Joined: 06/02/14
I'm going to assume your
I'm going to assume your from over east going by your earlier post about your gear being on the other side of the country. We dont get dusky flathead over here (I miss them) only small species like bar tail & blue spot flathead. A 2000 size reel is more than enough to cope with them, in fact it overkill. Myself & many others use 1000 size reels loaded with 2-4lb & that is actually more than is needed to.
Obviously you have your own opinion on rods but in over 30 years landbased fishing I can't think of a single time that I would have wanted a rod over 7 ft to catch any of the listed species. The rod you mention is next to useless for casting 2-4g lures & baits & that alone rules it out, let alone the fact that it is also complete overkill for the small species that are mentioned.
Myself (& 100's of others) use the type of outfit you mentioned for throwing 20-50g lures at tailor & salmon that can weigh as much as 8kg. Using it on the small fish mentioned is like using a 37kg outfit to catch a pink snapper.
nathanrg10
Posts: 8
Date Joined: 23/03/14
Yes my apologies, I was
Yes my apologies, I was basing that on duskies. I was also basing it on the fact he wanted to use 8lb which I most certainly wouldn't put on a 2000 size. I do agree with the 9ft in terms of it being overkill for a boating situation, I only mentioned it purely because I used it today and it was fresh in my mind. You are also right, everyone does have differing opinions as I could think of several times where this particular rod would benefit. One other thing I will add is not everyone has 30+ years land based experience, therefore cannot handle fish as well on that particular gear.
Sunburntfeet
Posts: 160
Date Joined: 04/01/13
Check out the daiwa aird or
Check out the daiwa aird or pfluger asaro combos in 6-7' range 2-4kg, both decent little combos for under $200.
Fisherman, constantly trying to out-smart fish.......with limited success
Niko
Posts: 213
Date Joined: 26/11/13
I got a 2500 sedona on a
I got a 2500 sedona on a 2-4kg starlo stix 702 for $180 at bcf as a combo.put on 6lb braid and so far have caught bream, flatties, tarwhine, herring etc on it, great bit of gear. I was thinking of going up to 8 or 10lb so I can target river tailor n mabye even shallow snapper but 6lb has been heaps for the smaller stuff
Shimka
Posts: 465
Date Joined: 06/02/14
Unless your braid is IGFA
Unless your braid is IGFA rated or weakened somehow it will break well above the stated breaking strain. Your 6lb will be plenty for the river tailor but you may need to go up to the 10lb for the pinks. Just keep in mind that the rod is only designed for line up to 8lb so you won't be able to use the full benefits of a line much heavier than that.
Niko
Posts: 213
Date Joined: 26/11/13
Thanks was never 100% sure
Thanks was never 100% sure on whether going up to 10lb would mean replacing the rod, which I had considered, so id been testing the strength of my braid. I can see what people mean very difficult to break when snagged and never been busted off, even had to lower the drag to stop pulling the hooks. Might just try 8lb for snapper and get a smaller 1000 reel for smaller river fish but still undecided. In my still limited exp ive found the 2500reel with 6lb almost overkill for bream and herring etc but great all around light combo and id get another.
Also braid is fireline is that IGFA rated?
Shimka
Posts: 465
Date Joined: 06/02/14
You could use 10lb line with
You could use 10lb line with the rod you currently have (the reel is suitable for 10lb), it's just that the rod would probably break before the 10lb line so you couldn't take full advantage of the extra breaking strain. Being patient & avoiding putting too much of a curve in the rod will allow you to use a bit more pressure but it is only a 2-4kg rod so it will always be the limiting factor when hooked to a big fish in a boat. I reckon grabbing a second spool (one for 6lb one for 10lb) & a heavier cheap rod OR just grabbing another heavier combo would be the way to go. I reckon a rod in the 4-6kg range would be much more suitable for snapper.
Fireline is not an IGFA rated line, IGFA rated lines are for record chasers & are usually more expensive than standard braids. Actual breaking strain of Fireline (& many other braids) is well above what it stated on the packet & you will find your 6lb is probably much closer to 12lb breaking strain if you put it on a spring scale & test it. There's no stretch in braid & that it why you have had hooks pulling when the fish lunge or shake thier heads. Adding a longer length of mono or flourocarbon into your rig will help add some shock absorbtion into the rig & help reduce the number of pulled hooks.
Niko
Posts: 213
Date Joined: 26/11/13
ok well that makes sense, at
ok well that makes sense, at this point id probably end up breaking the rod, im alot better than i was when i started but im still quite heavy handed when i go for the strike and with a hooked fish. i have considered stepping up the rod when i get my lighter combo but im going to try and get the most out of my current rod for now as im trying to avoid ending up with 15 different rods for 15 different scenarios. not that im judging those that do. i do have a heavier 30lb combo, for snapper and other bigger fish we may get into, ive gotten recently to head to shark bay next week, but some of the closer areas we fished last year had fairly small snapper in 3m deep water, biggest we caught was 62cm but most were bellow 50cm. would 8lb be ok for them just for some fun? ill probly step the rod up next year just hard to afford all at once.
oh ok id seen IGFA before but never really known about it, probly stay away from it anyways now that i do. i had been experimenting with length of mono as usually i read a rod length or 2 is enough and just gone with that but ill definately have a go using it longer as a shock leader and see if that helps. thanks again for all the info! ive been figuring out alot of the basics from reading the net and the forum but theres abviously alot more to learn and test, Fishwrecked and its members have been extremely useful even just to read, even more so when i started being a more active member myself so very glad i joined. thanks again mate
Shimka
Posts: 465
Date Joined: 06/02/14
Half the fun is buying more
Half the fun is buying more combos, your missing out ;) Nah, nothing wrong with just having a select few to cover the type of fishing you do. I've got 18 different combos here but if I'm honest I could comfortably get by with just 4 of them.
Yes your 2-4 kg outfit will be fine for a bit of fun on the small snapper & other small species. You'll lose the odd fish to reef etc but half the fun is getting smoked.
Niko
Posts: 213
Date Joined: 26/11/13
haha mabye one day when i can
haha mabye one day when i can afford it then and have a big shed to store them all, wouldnt be suprised if i just collect them without thinking bout it anyways.
yeh thats the way i figure it, i put some 8lb on it today and gonna see how it goes not fussed bout losing a few fish mostly catch and release anyways up there, u can only eat so many.
robduca
Posts: 30
Date Joined: 13/10/08
Stradic
Thanks for the suggestions.
Went and got myself a setup today. Really wanted a 2pce rod for ease of transport.
Ended up getting a 7ft 2pce 2-5kg Shimano Sahara graphite rod and a Shimano Stradic 2500.
Chucked some 4kg Fireline Exceed on. But over budget coming in at $280 but seems like a decent setup.
Was looking at the Daiwa D-Redback combo but was only available in a 1pce rod and was $319. If it was a 2pce I would have left with this one.
Shimka
Posts: 465
Date Joined: 06/02/14
Good choice, that Stradic
Good choice, that Stradic will last you a lifetime if you look after it & is very capable of subduing some big fish.
Niko
Posts: 213
Date Joined: 26/11/13
sounds like a pretty sweet
sounds like a pretty sweet setup and nothing wrong with going over budget a little, only ever heard good things bout the stradic, sure itll serve ya well
crasny1
Posts: 6986
Date Joined: 16/10/08
Wont regret that choice
For the fish you suggested a little heavy/strong on the reel, but that is a setup I often use as a general choice, sort off a little heavy for bream etc, sort off a little light for Dhu's and Snapper etc from the boat. However it is do-able in both direction. Just dont hook a 25kg Dhu on the boat
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