ideal length of popping rod for the big E ???

[fishingduck]

Hi all, I'm in process of looking to buy a popping rod. what do you think is a good length for the rod for casting on the big E, given that I'm with average built and strength? Would 8 ft or longer rod collide with any overhead structures on the big E?
Also, does any one have any experiences with those high end Japanese rods like
Carpenter, Smith etc.? I really like them but most of them are longer than 7 feet, so that's why I asked about rod length.

Thanks

[Minnow]

Fishingduck,

Those Japanese rod are great, but I wouldn't use anything longer than 7' for our area. In Asia those long rods are use for shallow water popping for GT, on the deeper water if GOM 8' rod will put a hurt on the angler. JMO

[Deep_Sea_Gull]

How tall are you Fishingduck?
I am 6'1" and find that an 8 ft rod is comfortable.

[Anglers Pro Shop]

Originally Posted by fishingduck

Hi all, I'm in process of looking to buy a popping rod. what do you think is a good length for the rod for casting on the big E, given that I'm with average built and strength? Would 8 ft or longer rod collide with any overhead structures on the big E?
Also, does any one have any experiences with those high end Japanese rods like
Carpenter, Smith etc.? I really like them but most of them are longer than 7 feet, so that's why I asked about rod length.

Thanks

Hi Fishingduck,

What I would say about Japanese popping rod is they are powerful, compact and lightweight. You do not have to struggle with a traditional 8ft pole with thick heavy butt sections.

They are also a joy to cast since they are mostly designed for casting poppers to GTs, you can get the best distance with them.

Randy

[fishingduck]

Deep sea gull, I'm just about 5'8'', so I need as much help from equipments as possible :-)
Thanks Minnow & Randy, that's exactly what I want to hear. I won't get anything longer than 8ft for sure.

I love this board, very informative & personable.

[Sea Crappie]

Fishingduck,

I fish a 7'6" Zenaq rated for 60-80lb and love it for YFT. The extra 6 inches helps with casting and I don't find it difficult to fight fish on at all. If you know how to fight a fish with a spinning rod without bending your arms, I would think anything up to 8ft would be fine. In fact I've been looking into an 8 ft. rod to go with the 7'6". That said, I am 6'2".

Randy is also correct, the action of Japanese rods makes both casting and fish fighting easy (or as easy as big tuna on spinners gets). Another benefit is most of the Japanese rods come with butt joints so transporting the longer models is easy.

[Deep_Sea_Gull]

I wish that I had got a butt joint on my spinner. It would be an improvement.
I say take a pull on a quality blank and see how it feels to ya Fishingduck.
You should find a comfortable match between 7 and 8 feet.
Please post up what you decide on and how it works.

[fishingduck]

Sorry for the late report, I finally decided to get a Smith Kerama 7'3 from Randy at Angler's pro shop. I must say I'm very impressed with the rod and Randy's services as well. I don't have much heavy tackle experiences to compare the Smith Kerama against, but it is really light weight, easy to cast, and its small butt, which fit very well for small hands. I also like the understated decoration of the rod, simple but very elegant.

The other rods I consider was the Carpenter and Fisherman, but most Carpenter rods are longer than 8ft while the Fisherman rods are way too expensive, even compared with the Smith rods. :-(, besides they're not easy to find.

[Uncle Russ]

Fishingduck:

Question: Did you (or anyone else) have a URL for Carpenter rods for sale in the U.S. with prices in U.S. dollars? I would like to look at them for their length and casting ability, even though I probably would not buy one.

I bought an 8-foot Smith WRC 80P/35 from Randy, although not so much for offshore fishing (I was afraid folks on the Big E might think I was using a fly rod. ) I am not an especially accomplished caster, and I wanted something for casting off the Texas jetties into the ship channel for catch-and-release on bull reds and jacks in heavy current--something that would provide a combination of extra casting distance with a 4 ounce lead casting spoon as well as the ability to end the fight quickly. Although I have no doubt that experts could cast the 700H just as far, I for now, cannot, so it was an excellent purchase for me.

My problem is that I like both the Japanese rods and the Calstars. I may have to buy a Tokara for my Twinspin 30, even though I know that would be overkill for the Gulf. Like Snoopy, sitting on top of his doghouse, fantasizing that he was fighting the Red Baron, I could catch Texas jackfish while pretending I am Bertrand Picarda, hauling up 300 pound GT s from the coast of Komodo Island.

On subject of Japanese rods, I also needed a rod to cast 3/4 ounce to 1 ounce gold spoons off the jetties as well. As I strongly suspected, (and as Randy warned me,) the 80P/35 was worthless for that. So I also bought a Smith KGS-68M from Randy. 6 feet 8 inches, medium action, and rated for up to 2.1 ounce lures and 40 pound braid. When I got it, I was amazed. I could not only cast the 1 ounce lures, but I put a 1/4 ounce on it and no, it was not as effective as a somewhat lighter Falcon with 12 pound mono, but it was very very good. So now, I am planning to buy the 7-foot model rated for up to 50 pounds and 3.5 ounces, and the light 5-11 model. I will use a Stella 8000 on the 7-foot model, and 5000's on the two smaller ones, and use them for my 3 bay rods. They will be great, not only for skinny water and the jetties but for light offshore stuff as well. They all have removalble butts and are very reasonably priced.

I know that Rick, T.J., Kevin, Kil, and the rest of you would all love to see me walk onto the Big E with those three rigs.

Russ

[mcgolfer]

we might let you on with the stella 8000 rig but the 5000 rigs are going overboard.....rick