Heavy Duty Casting Outfit

[Guest]

Hi AllWithin the next couple of months i'm definitely getting myself a heavy duty casting outfit.Want to use it for GT's when visiting my dad at mission beach north queensland plus down here for throwing large stickbaits into the foamy washes around offshore islands off lincoln. A lot of popular fishing magazines have been writing articles lately about catching kings in the foamy wash of headlands and islands. This has excited me enough to give it a go in my home waters.After doing some research my preference for the reel is a saltiga 6000. I like the 6000 because it has plenty of line capacity, 30kg drag capacity, is lighter than the 6500 exp and only has 1 roller bearing compared to 2 on the 6500 exp. I'm not interested in a high speed reel because they're too hard to wind once a fish is hooked.For the rod i was thinking some sort of saltiga around the 8 foot mark that can handle 80lb braid. It needs to have a tip section that allows me to whip the cast out but then also enough grunt to muscle a big fish.Just wondering what rod and reel you might recommend?Cheers lads.

[urhookedfish 12]

Hi Nanman,Depending on your budget there are many options...There are a heap of Japanese rods available on the market such as Carpenters, Smith, Fisherman etc... but these can retail upwards of $1000.00 (most of these can be purchased from www.Plat.co.jpOut of these expensive japanese brands, Im lead to believe that Seed is the no 1 choice.There are cheaper alternatives such as the Shimano TCurve Bluewater and other Custom rods that your local rod builder may be able to whip up (using blanks from the likes of GUSA/Hastings, Calstar, SEED etc.) Knowing how good Calstars are, this would be my pick for building a custom rod.There is also a new Berkley Venom GT Stick which wouldnt be half bad either available through Purefishing.I havent had any experience with GT fishing, but I do spend a fair bit of my time on fishing tackle websites.

[Guest]

Cheers for your help UHF.Yes those Japanese rods are very dear.I think i will stick with the saltiga rod range because they're good quality and moderately priced at around $650.

[urhookedfish 12]

Cheers for your help UHF.Yes those Japanese rods are very dear.I think i will stick with the saltiga rod range because they're good quality and moderately priced at around $650.

ah no worries. But just wondering what Saltiga's can you get that are 8foot and are you looking for PE5 or maybe 6-8??

[Guest]

From memory there's 3 medium to heavy saltigas around 8 foot long.One of them is a brute of thing designed for GT's using 80 to 100 pound braid. then there's one thats designed for around 60 pound braid and one for about 40 pound braid.I'll assess them all and probably get the one designed for 60 pound braid. the Saltiga GT might be too stiff and heavy...not sure til i check it out though.

[plankton 725]

One thing I would reccomend if you're going to use a spinning reel with a large spool face like the Saltiga make sure you get a rod with a big stripping guide (the same size or slightly smaller than the reel face). If the stripping guide is too small it will seriously shorten your casts, not a big difference when jigging with 400g knife jigs or casting haymaker poppers, but definitely a factor if you're going to throw 30-40g stickbaits and hard bodies. I personally don't like big spinning reels for casting lures, but prefer to use overheads like the Penn International baitcasters, however that doesn't sound like what you're after.

[urhookedfish 12]

okay just remembered..you mean the Saltiga GT86 but this sounds too heavy for what your thinking (BRUTE 80-100LB)Was doing some more reading on custom builds and apparently the Calstar model for popping is the GF 800 H (which I reckon you could have built for $450- commonly used for Tuna but would also handle some good GT's and is rated PE 3-6 although I dont think its in the same league as the saltiga but would be a lot cheaper than the Saltiga which I saw at Campbells for $649.heres a link to onehttp://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170402491109+&clk_rvr_id=232895505153&item=170402491109From my experience with Snapper rods, the Saltiga was good but the Calstar was better.and for complete value for Money the T-Curve are just AMAZING.If it was me I would either build a Calstar or get a T-Curve GT Special. Link Below.http://www.rayannes.com.au/daiwa-shimano-reels-australia/rods-reels/shimano/shimano-rods/shimano-tcurve-gt-special-rod-399/

[Shark_Fisho 1]

I would recommend the 6500 S-Extreme or the S-Xtreme Maverick (High Speed) as it comes standard with carbontex drag washers. Saltigas are bullet proof. A lot of guys prefer to run high speed reels for popping and Low speed (Expedition, S-xtreme) etc for jigging. Although it comes down to personnel preference. For rods have a look at the new PE 10 or 12 Livefibre Venom. Awesome stick and the PE 12 will deadlift 45kg block of cement. Come with full silicons etc

[Nikhum 16]

Hi Nanman.In the Saltiga range I'm pretty sure the SG80TN fits your bill as I have one myself, its a LIGHT rod for its rating and it's got the whip action that you're going to need for big casts. And perfect for the GTs up north too!Have a look at this review: http://www.fishingworld.com.au/news/tested-daiwa-certate-hyper-custom-4000-and-saltiga-sg-80tnI'm looking to sell mine soon too so PM me if your keen!

[Guest]

Cheers thanks for your help everyone.Yes i'm going to settle on the saltiga sg80tn match with a saltiga 6000.I considered the 6500 exp but the saltiga 6000 is lighter and doesn't suffer from the problems associated with the dual roller bearing that come with the 6500.again thanks for your help.