Surf Rod recommendation

[cboy69]

Hi,

I am looking at a new rod in preparation for Tailor season and to chase the typical beach species Bream, Dart, Whiting and possibly Jew Fish.

Currently I am using a 11' Penn slammer graphite rod paired with a Daiwa Windcast x5500, spooled with 16kg Unitika braid.

It has been pretty good so far, but it's very stiff and quite an effort to cast for distance. With a size 5 sinker and max effort I get somewhere between 50-75m on a cast. No matter how hard I cast I can't get to the offshore banks.

I am thinking of upgrading to a Daiwa TD sensor 13' 2 piece rod. I would love to go longer but they are 3 piece rods and I'm concerned about increased failure rates.
/>http://daiwafishing.com.au/?p=4362

If anyone has some opinions on the TD sensor range that'd be great.

Cheers

Chayya

[Scope]

I've got a Td Sensor paired with an emcast for flicking slugs and baits. They're not a bad rod for the price.

[grander]

I have a daiwa sea jigger 325 I've been thinking about selling......

[natang]

I've got a Alvey 13ft rod med-hvy action with a Alvey 650 reel. Best thing is you can drop it inthe water and get it splashed on and not feel guilty.

Also have a 10ft light-med alvey rod paired with a cheapo spin reel off Flea bay for slugs and whiting. Have had this reel for 12 months and used it loads at the beach and its still going strong. Caught a 1m shovel nose with the reel and no problems.

[cboy69]

I've got a Alvey 13ft rod med-hvy action with a Alvey 650 reel. Best thing is you can drop it inthe water and get it splashed on and not feel guilty.

Also have a 10ft light-med alvey rod paired with a cheapo spin reel off Flea bay for slugs and whiting. Have had this reel for 12 months and used it loads at the beach and its still going strong. Caught a 1m shovel nose with the reel and no problems.

Hi Natang,

How much is the 13' Alvey setup worth? Have you landed anything big on it?

Thanks all for the info

[cboy69]

After speaking to the Daiwa service dept and MoTackle (I am sending in my windcast for service I dropped it in the surf) about the TD sensor surf rods both mentioned the 3piece rods are no less sturdy than the 2 pieces rods with no increase in comparable returns.

So I am still tossing this up.

So many things to think about.... I would love a new surf rod, but perhaps I am just better off putting the money towards a offshore yak and chasing pelagics for greater variety in fishing and some biggun's.

Sorry for rambling, but I thought I'd share the info re: reliability in case anyone else finds this thread.

[waldo]

Long version

I had a nice daiwa emcast which I think would be on a par with the sensors. It never ever saw the water as I pile drove it into the ground while I was still testing :woohoo: Exit 6 inches of tip. It was rated as 15 to 30 same as the sensors and never really got hot with 2 ounces and was looking for more. I'm guessing 3 or 4 ounces would be needed to get the best from it. A 7 ball is roughly equal to 2 ounces so 2 of them would probably be needed to bend it for maximum distance.

Just looking at the rating of your slammer its rated for 2 ounces up so a 5 ball with small bait isn't going to get the best out of it. That 16kg will shave a few metres off as well. Do you have a 2nd spool for your windcast? 6kg mono would go well on it if you did.

What might help things with laoding your rod is the extra weight of a pilly or cut bait. You might not get extra distance as the bigger bait will tend to spin and give more wind resistance but should cast ok for what it is. It will be more than enough to get to the fish most times.

Short version

The sensor is somewhat similar to the slammer so is probably too heavy for your current needs as well.

There are a ton of options for the surf. The alveys are great and handle the conditons well but do have a learning curve if you haven't used them before, and they seem to get heavier as you get older :whistle: ~ 150ish for a decent rod and ~ 180ish for 650 C5 and not braid friendly so 350+ after grabbing some mono.

A 12ft spinning rod in the 4 to 10kg range should have a sweet spot around 2 ounces which will suit your fishing and suit the windcast. Just depends on what you want to spend, some reasoanble cheaper choices in chain stores like anaconda, bcf and kmart.

[cboy69]

Thanks for the info Waldo

I have a spare spool with 10kg black magic mono. I planned to use this off the rocks but never needed to as braid + 2 rod lengths of leader prevented abrasions on retrieval.

I'll give 6kg mono a go. Any mono recommendations?

I'll try casting 10kg mono just to see how far that can go.

You are definitely right about the slammer. It really needs weight to get a decent cast.

Thanks very much once again for you help

Cheers

Chayya

[waldo]

There is a distance difference between 6 and 10kg but for the gain you will get its not worth the effort. My prefered mono in 6 and 10kg is platypus platinum and low stretch.

The style of fishing you do has to be your decision. The current gear you are using is like a winch for your target species so is probably making them seem even smaller. A lighter rod will put a bit more bend into things and make it a tad more fun. Just grab a 12ft cheapy for $50 or less, no big loss if you decide to go yakking instead or if you stick with the surf and upgrade it will do as loaner for a mate.

[cboy69]

Thanks for the input Waldo

I am now thinking of the Daiwa Tournament Master Surf. Should be soft enough to pick up gentle bites like Tailor and help me cast further out too.

/>http://daiwafishing.com.au/?p=4342

Motackle are doing 15% off rods this weekend so I might go for that. If anyone has some feedback or suggestions. that'd be great.

Cheers

[jeff f]

cboy there is usually nothing gentle about a bite from a tailor its usually a violent rat-a-tat-tat

was looking at a very very nice lox yoshi 12foot surf rod in bcf the other day for $299

[cboy69]

cboy there is usually nothing gentle about a bite from a tailor its usually a violent rat-a-tat-tat

was looking at a very very nice lox yoshi 12foot surf rod in bcf the other day for $299

They are violent? I spent alot of tailor season last year trying to get one on ganged pilchards and never got hard bites despite everyone around me catching them. I kept winding in with empty gangs. I did get one tailor last year on a halco twisty though.

It was my first attempt at tailor and I was waiting for strong bites like a bream, which never happened. Hence missing the strike.

I'll have another go this year. Really keen on landing one on pillies. I'm thinking of going down to the cabarita classic and watching the pro guys do it during the green back comp in June.

[natang]

I've got a Alvey 13ft rod med-hvy action with a Alvey 650 reel. Best thing is you can drop it inthe water and get it splashed on and not feel guilty.

Also have a 10ft light-med alvey rod paired with a cheapo spin reel off Flea bay for slugs and whiting. Have had this reel for 12 months and used it loads at the beach and its still going strong. Caught a 1m shovel nose with the reel and no problems.

Hi Natang,

How much is the 13' Alvey setup worth? Have you landed anything big on it?

Thanks all for the info

I bought the rod years ago now for around $50 and the reel was up around $100 again a few years ago. I've landed some big tailor and some mid size jewies on it but never had an issue with it.

[cboy69]

In the end I have ordered a 10'3" Daiwa SeaJigger 315 to cover the 18-55g range and a 14' Daiwa Tournament Master Surf to cover 60-150g.

I might move my windcast onto the 14' rod and test out my Biomaster c3000HG on the SeaJigger.

Thanks for the insight on weights etc' Waldo. In the end I think I am more comfortable with spinning reels despite the extra care required. Thank you to everyone else for your input also.

I am hoping the occasional bait fishing with the SeaJigger increases the entertainment as SkullDragging everything with the Slammer&Windcast combo is very sporting or entertaining.

The SeaJigger is expected to arrive on Friday and the 14' TMS rod is on back order.

Once I get the windcast back from Daiwa (I dropped it in the surf) and put it on the TMS I'll again and try to give some info on what I think of both combos

Cheers

Chayya