Is the Daiwa Sensor 16ft Surf Rod Any Good?

[Amatuer]

Hi Everyone

Has anyone owned or used a Daiwa Sensor 16ft surf rod? If you have, is it comfortable to use and how is the casting distance? I have held the rod in the shop and I like the look and feel of the rod but the butt seem a bit long and I am worry it might be uncomfortable hold the rod for long time (over 3 hrs fishing).

Also does anyone know how much further you can cast with a 16ft rod compare to a 14ft rod? I currently have a 12ft but I want a bit more casting distance so I am looking at a 14ft and a 16ft. The 16ft is cost lot more than the 14ft so I just want to get an idea of how much more distance I can get for the extra $ (and I am asuming here that I will get more distance from the longer long).

Thanks

Tim

[Amatuer]

Anyone?

[Bri The Pom]

I have a 10ft 10-40 gram spin rod, great rod. Seems no-one has a 16ft.

[Binder]

Never had or used a 16. thats an awful lot of rod!

I prefer 12's.

I had a couple of 14's over the years but I reckon they were less sensitive and a bit unwieldy, but they were not a high end rods, just wilson surf rods. To be honest they just felt sloppy.

[Dubbzy]

i held one at the boat show in Adelaide today, to me it seems too much rod to be effective , i reckon id cast further with my 12 ft set up then that.

cheers

[fifis101]

16' is massive. I've used a 13' for many years now. I'm a little bloke and I can outcast a lot of people, especially the big blokes with their big rods. Unless you really know what you're doing and find the 16' comfortable, I would recommend the 14' one. It may be shorter but you'll be able to give it a lot more oomph than the longer model.

You also mentioned about the long butt. If it's a wooden butt, then the length is easily sorted there. The few surf rods that I have owned, I have cut and drilled out the standard wodden butt and whipped up a longer one on the lathe out of a spade handle. As I got more experienced (and bigger and stronger) in casting, the longer butt gave me the ability to put a lot more power into my casting.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth. Good luck in your choice.

[benno573]

I have a 9ft 6" rod that I use for casting big metals (up to 150g) from the stones. i have stood side-by-side with people using 13 and 14ft rods and large sinkers at tallebugera and mine clearly outcast them - was hilarious when I was the only person on the rock groin who could cast to the school of tailor sitting out the front, the local ethnic population was not impressed, even less so when I started tossing the fish back after I had a feed!

It is not so much the length of the rod that is important, it is more to do with the construction of the rod, the line used and the technique of the caster. A longer sloppy rod will not have the same "whip" and produce the same momentum in the lure as a shorter rod of a stiffer / more springy construction. I use 20lb braid spooled on a 4000 size reel and it will launch a 70g slug about 120m if I give it some. I rarely have to go much further than that but I do have a few 90g-150g slugs that will go a bit further although the cuts on the fingers start to get to you after a while... Make sure you fill your spool properly and don't let the line cut in on itself. After a decent fight it generally takes 3-4 casts before you get back up to max distance due to the line being more tightly packed.

tip - for distance, use the lightest best quality line you can and really work on your casting technique - the old addage of "put your back into it" really applies. Also really work on your release point, launching at approx 30-45 degrees will give you the best distance providing your line comes off the reel nice and easy (lower if wind in your face, higher if wind over your shoulder). Some people get right into it and use silicon spray to lube their guides and alike to cut down resistance, i don't bother with that. Apparently if you can master overheads they go further... I'm very good at making epic birds nests so I don't bother too much with them. A well spooled spinning reel is more than enough for me.

I wouldn't bother with a 16ft rod. sounds a lot like far too much hard work for me.

[rinkerdink]

IMO and that of a lot of the Australian Surf Casting Federation guys to get a good distance surf casting rod together with some value you really need to import it. Hard to swallow but true unfortunately. I recently bought a Mojiko Surf Cannon from Anaconda as it had some interesting review from the surf casting guru's. crappy build quality but the blank is the goods, full carbon fibre and loads like a proper distance rod, I got one for $40 I got an email a copuple of days ago saying they knocked a further 25% off! I plan to replace the guides at some stage but for light surf work 50-70g- ish I can't see you beating it for value. For what you'd pay for that Sensor surf you'd be better off waiting, putting another couple of hundred together and importing a Century TTLDSM - you will never look back - at least that's what they tell me I'm still in the process of putting the money together :woohoo: But one day...

/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-crUKGS7Obo

[rinkerdink]

If you try a Penn Squall 12 or 15 (all of $160- cracking value!) the magnetic cast control all but eliminates the possibility of an over run during the cast, set them to max and gradually work down the scale until you start getting problems. You still need to thumb the spool when the sinker hits the water but it's not that hard to get used to (in daylight :-D )

[Amatuer]

Thanks everyone.

Interesting, I thought the longer rod would give more distance but that seem not to be the case. I did thought about cutting the butt back a bit but as fifis101 indicated the longer butt is for greater casting power so I can't really cut it back.

I feel more comfortable with the 14ft so I migth go with the 14ft and use good quality line and work on my technique as benno573 suggested.

rinkerdink - I have never heard of a Century TTLDSM until now, from what i could find on google, it looks good. I will have to look into this further.

Thanks for all your suggestions

[Croozer]

I have been using16' rods for the last 40 odd years. They are so much better for casting and line control in boisterous surf conditions . I am yet to fish with any body that has cast further than I do, which is not always critical, but at times it is. Yes it will take a little time to master the extra length, but once you do, you will never go back to a 12 or 13' rod. My 2 bobs worth.