New Rod 'n' Reel

[Terry H]

G'day guys,

I'm after some recommendations on a new setup. I'm after a good general purpose spin setup to run 20lbs braid. Budget is about $250 or so. I'd like to be able to cast slugs, and then even just use it in the river for rays/salmon/sharks (whatever) or off my kayak.

I was thinking of the Okuma Epix 60 for the reel, but not sure.

I have no idea on the rod

Any thoughts?

[Cowfish13]

If your only going for 20lb braid, an Epix 40 will be fine.

[Terry H]

Thanks Cowfish. Any recommendations on the rod?

[dhess]

I hope I don't offend anyone by saying this but I prefer to avoid okuma. Shonky build quality. Poor components and durability. On my baitrunner the screws started rusting even after a few outings. A few months later the anti reverse system broke. And I look after my reels pretty well. I reckon your much better off with a lower end shimano reel. i.e sahara or sedona or spend a few $ more and get a 4500 baitrunner. Would be great for the fish you are targetting.

As for rods ugly sticks are still pretty damn good even though they are now made in china. (so is everything else):whistle: Some of the better silstar rods are good and are great value. I have a few silstar rods that I abuse the crap out of and they are still going strong.

[Cowfish13]

The PC802GPM is a great rod. See this site: http://motackle.com.au/index.cfm?pr=product&product_id=483

It is also cheap rod. Brother's got one and he can cast a slug a mile and there is a lot of power in the butt section.

I've also had great experiences with the Silstar rods.

[Mack_attack]

yep the rod is great and pretty much unbreakable. also doubles up as a great snapper rod. last week even caught one on a 5\" gulp though probably wouldn't recommend it for jigging SP's as of the long butt. but for casting slugs its perfect with say 30g + 20lb tuffline i can easily get 50 maybe 60m and even more with tailwind.

[Tim a]

I got this set up for chucking slugs at straddie. 4000 symetre with a 4-8kg 7\" starlo stix. It's pretty mad. I havn't used it too much but it can cast slugs a long long way. I have 15 lb tuffline on it atm which is strong line and you could just upgrade to a 6000 size reel. I also casted pretty hefty snapper leads out a good few metres. I'll be using it for my salmon in the river this summer. Should be fun.

I've heard a loooot of bad reports of okuma like the other guys did. and my first sp rod was an silstar and it did pretty well.

[Terry H]

I would generally stick with Shimano, but was just thinking of giving the okuma epix a go, since a few guys here seem to think it's ok.

[Schultzy]

Terry,

My current favourite slug throwing/all rounder spin outfit:

Pflueger Contender 7560 reel, great drag, saltwater grade everything, $149.

Ugly Stik Platinum SP1176-2 rod. Throws 50gm slugs comfortably, used for everything from 40lb longtails to 1lb squire on 1/8oz softies. $82.

The reel has been in use for 3 years, lots of big fish and abuse, still going like the day it came out of the box.

[Terry H]

Nice, Thanks Schultzy. I'll have to take a look at that one

[Terry H]

Schulzy: what line class do you run on that outfit?

[Schultzy]

Terry,

I'm running 20lb Bionic Braid on the tuna outfit. However...I've just returned from the national trade tackle show. The bad news is that rod has been dropped from the range and the Contender reels are gone too.

The good news is a new tuna stick has been added.:cheer: The Ugly Stik Gold BWS802M, looks even better than the other. Slightly faster taper, a little longer at 8' so should cast further and still a two piece for transporting. I've got mine on order already.

The new tuna reel in the Pflueger range is the Medalist 6060HS. I've been using medalists for a couple of years. They are high quality gear with 9 stainless bearings and sealed drag systems, etc. More pleasant to use than the Contenders because the Medalists have infinite anit-reverse.

The 6060HS (stands for high speed) is very quick at 6.2-1 with a line capacity of about 300m of 20lb braid.

Being a 60 size reel it is still small enough for a bit of other work.

If you want a bigger reel for big tuna, spaniards, throwing poppers at GTs, spinning mulloway from the rocks, etc the 6080 Medalist is a real weapon!

I've even used mine for jigging kingies. Medalists are $115 from MO Tackle.

[Angus]

I would vouch for Ugly sticks. Have a pair of them for 9 years and they are not retiring yet.

I would also go with a lower end Shimano Reel. For the price i think they are soundly reliable. So yeah Symetre or Sedona.

I actually got a good Viva 5000 reel from Ebay as well. Its nothing amazing, but its copped serious abuse and still running fine. I run 20lb on it and its caught dads biggest snapper among other things.

Angus

[Brian D]

Schultzy

Can I book you for all my shopping trips, you might just save me wasting my $$$$$$ on crap that is no good.

[Angus]

Courtesy of Schultzy i will be soon uploading some great product reviews.

So stay tuned.

Angus