Your favourite whiting rod

[Soobz 557]

Having just broken another lightweight spinning rod I'm in the market again. I'm curious what other people's favourite whiting rod is...

FWIW, the Diawa Infeet 732LFS was mine but not getting another butt section rod.

[Rybak 622]

I stay away from graphite type rods of any sort. They are too prone to breaking. I use fibreglass custom made sabre rods with silicone runners which I have had forever. Initial cost was expensive but have lasted with all the nicks & knocks over time.

[Wert 470]

It remains the Team Daiwa blacks for me, still comfortably the best bang for buck rods I've used, i have broken 2 but neither was on a fish and both were avoidable had I just been more careful.

Mate has had some Shimano jewels, nice rods also and the storm gomokus are also pretty sweet and relatively tough too for modern rods.

Lightweight rods are prone to breaking though, if you want light weight a degree of fragility is unavoidable.

If however by light weight you mean line class and actual weight is not a huge issue but durability is then a sabre per Rybak's suggestion would be the ducks nuts option, have owned a couple, awesome rods, both got stolen.

Otherwise for the more price conscious I find it hard to go past the good old ugly stik, my 30+yo GB1512  (not exactly a cheap stik even now) has been relegated from my number 1 go to but is still in my rotation, great 2nd "in the holder" rod still and not afraid of any fish.

[Territory Lad 1,137]

If your referring to YFW, I have a few different ones, but continually come back to the original Samaki Zing Extreme 7'6, 2-6lb Flats Rod. 

Budget wise, I don't reckon you can go past the Atomic Arrowz Bream Surface - 7ft, light, great in the hand and does a great job! Last time I looked you can pick them up for about $120. 

If budget isn't an issue, you could go worse than pre-ordering the Millerods Flats Freak. 7'9 with titanium guides (super light and sensitive) .

Good luck with whatever you choose.

[yellow door 1 1,821]

Some good points made here - cant comment on the lures but....

when bait fishing from a boat with a couple of other blokes - fibreglass is great - dont have to worry about snapping tips and high sticking - can just skull drag the fish into the boat.

You can feel comfortable handing your rod to inexperienced people knowing they are going to have to try very hard to snap the tip

But with lite graphite - instead of just flipping them into the boat with the rod - I'll bend over and grab the leader to bring each fish in. Which complicates things and will make you jealous of the blokes just using fibreglass to just pole them in.

Some of the disadvantages of fibreglass in lure fishing become advantages on the baits
 

 

[Soobz 557]

I am meaning KGW but kayak/boat use, however something that could be used for YFW too of course.

Light weight as in light to hold. I know there's a price to pay in durability. The breakages are my fault for being lazy, a rod case is on the list now. If I could get a light weight fibreglass somewhat on par with carbon fibre I'd be interested.

Personally I am leaning to the TD Zero range, but TW Adelaide are being really slow to get them in. I was going to go with a TD Black Scratchy, and still might. The rod I broke was the Arrowz, no idea how I did it either, I'm yet to break a rod on a fish, it's always been the flamin car :(.

I did see some fibreglass tipped unknown brand at TW Adelaide, cheap but felt alright in the hand.

[Soobz 557]

Oh, meant to say I wish spinning rod manufacturers would do what fly rod manufacturers do, ie. replacement tip sections are at basically freight only cost, just send back your old one and it's usually a no fault breakage warranty too.  I'd happily pay $500+ for a top rod if I could get that safety net in a spin rod.

Dobyns do a fixed price replacement at about half the original cost which is semi tempting but they are pricey to start with and the bottom end Fury doesn't excite me over a TD Black.

Miller rods interest me, but again very pricey and I'd be scared of breaking it, and you can't play with one locally that I know of.

[Territory Lad 1,137]

@Soobz Sports Fishing Scene stock Millerods if you want to have a gander. They don't stock the full range, but normally have a handful on hand and may even order a specific one in for you to look at.

 

[Des 818]

My favourite ultra light for lure casting at Yellow Fin Whiting is the: 

Abu Garcia Eradicator Real Finesse ERFS-76LT-TZ  7' 6" 2pce Line 0.6-3lb Lure 0.1gm-12gm

Not sure if they are available now. There were some on ebay. The 7' 6" Rod only 66 weighs grams !!!

A couple of slightly heavier models I have (amongst too many others!), which are also good for YFW lure casting,  yet easily handle a few big Flathead or Salmon:

Shimano T Curve Premium 21TCP782LC … 7' 8" 1-4 Kg line,  1-7gm lure. 2 pc

Shimano Zodias ZOD270UL+ 7ft  Line 3-5 lbs  Lure 2-7gms   JDM model

All the ultra light models need some care.

Cheers, Des

[Des 818]

A few rods that I am aware of,  but have not checked them out as I would probably end up buying them!

I keep lists of them just in case 

My list only has rods below $500. Although some are inexpensive like the below Abu Garcia at $160

Abu Garcia Veritas PLX Tournament, VRTT-S 721UL 1-3kg 7' 2" 2-8gms 1pc

Daiwa 20 INFEET EX 752ULFS-ST 7'5"  Line 0.5 - 3Kg  Lure 0.5-5gms  2-Butt    

Diawa 22 TD ZERO 762ULFS, 0.5-8g, 1-3kg

OCEANS LEGACY QUEST  QSR732XUL 2-8LB Weight 58gms 

Shimano Anarchy 21AN782ULF 7'8" 1-4 Kg, 1-5 gm

Have fun looking for your new rod.

 

[Softy 2,991]

I used to use a Gomuku Red with a 2500 on it as a snapper rod to chase snapper on plastics. But with a quick rig change it turned into a awesome whiting rod. Well until it went for a swim at Marino.

Planning to get another before snapper season opens again to use on the kayak.

[HB tragic 743]

Purely for bait fishing my favourite whiting rod over the years was a Jarvis Walker fibreglass rod. The 'Tooradin' model. At 188cm it was a great little rod in the boat and loaded up very nicely with any KGW on the other end. 

[Soobz 557]

I'm terrible with over-researching gear, but it keeps me amused when I can't go fishing. I'm ignoring anything butt section or 1 piece. Possible candidates still in the running with some of the suggestions above;

Murasame 722M - very lightweight and I like the look of the grip, but can't find it locally. I bought the 632ULS for my wife as I'd been looking for a super light rod for her for a while and found it at near half price, it's 70g, 1-6lb 1-12g.

Daiwa Rebellion 742ML+FS, 4-8lb 2.7-14g, on clearance in some places, rating seems heavy but reports are it's very light and sensitive.

Daiwa Scratchy 702LFS 1.5-4kg 1-8g, probably the closest in the TDB range to the Infeet that I really like but in a 2 piece

I may go cheaper yet

Komodo Helios SX 702L 1-3kg 1-8g, action felt good at ReelNDeal Tackle but I think I want something more exciting.

One that strangely caught my eye was the Crucis Tempesta VXS with solid tip. The brand is new/unknown, done by Viva Fishing, at $89 it feels a lot more expensive.

Millerods are out, they're either 1 piece or butt section, same for Zodias/TCurve

If anyone has any of the above or any feedback, feel free.

[Soobz 557]

Tackleworld Adelaide have another 20% off atm, obviously to match SFS. I'd happily buy from SFS but *every* rod I was interested in was out of stock even before the sale.

Anyway, enough head scratching, time to buy, and the winner was;

21 TIERRA 702LXS Light 2-10g 7'0"/213cm 1.5-3kg 2 section ,Extra Fast taper, ~90g

Wasn't actually on my list, but the same grip as the Infeet won me over everything else I handled. I also liked the extra fast taper, more backbone than the Infeet but pretty much the same tip from the last 2 guides. Somehow 20% off $179 came to $119, could not say no.

BTW, had another look at the Crucis Tempest VXS (not solid tip), and I was very tempted.

Heaps of great light action rods these days, damned hard to choose even when price is not an important consideration. What I have come to be more aware of is grip shape means a hell of a lot to how much I enjoy a rod. It's the difference between feeling like you're holding the rod vs. it being an extension of your hand/arm.

[yellow door 1 1,821]

If weather permits this weekend. I’ll give the old Jarvis walker fibreglass nibble tip -a head to head challenge with the daiwa scratchy graphite stick

 

 

[yellow door 1 1,821]

Also slipped some a scrubbies in to see how they like em

[yellow door 1 1,821]

The whiting werent firing as hard as last time but we still got a few - Freshly caught squid was effective early on but by the end  - if you didnt have a pippie squid cocktail - they werent interested.

We had to pack up just as the current started and the fish were coming on the chew -  but you'll never miss a nibble on a nibble tip. 

That Whippy yellow tip leaves no doubt as to whether you've had a nudge or not. You get alot more tip movement from the same bight. Its not a huge game changer, if you are already watching you tips like a hawk - it just really accentuates nibbles which is handy when the fish are tentatively taking bait and having a few goes at it. 

And it makes your mates on the boat, who have never used Nibble tips, think every fish you are bringing in is a monster due to the wicked curve.

I'll definitely give them another run - they do help pick up those micro bites from tiny leather jackets. So you can bring it in and cast to a slightly different spot, to give the whiting a better chance.

I forgot I had the scrubbies so that test will have to wait for another day