rock fishing equipment help required.

[grantbudd74]

Hi Guys

I am wanting to look at doing some rock fishing from the headlands off Noosa National Park etc. I know there is a chance of getting some good sized mackerel and tuna and so I want to have the right gear. I would also like to look at land based game fishing for shark too. I have overhead reels and rods but casting isnt easy to do with big deadbaits and im not about to paddle them out.

For a reel I am wanting something that will hold around 4-500yds of 30 (36lb S.A.S) braid. Price wise around the $300-$400 mark. Rods? Im a bit lost here but know around $200-$250 ish. Length of rod I dont know as I havent been out there. I hear anything up to 9ft is suitable but then 12ft for casting poppers and big baits around is probably easier.

I know that with a longer rod it is easier to avoid rocks and snagging as you get your gear closer.

I would love a Terez but the size they come in isnt anywhere near suitable unfortunately. I'm currently very happy with Abu garcia veritas rods and use them in a 3-5 and 4-7kg rating for my plastics

I was thinking stradic as I have a 5000 but the spool size and drag is a problem. Currently looking at the Saragosa 10'000 which is $330 and has 15kg's of drag. It holds 400 yds of 50lb power pro.

thoughts??

cheers

Grant

[Damien2Rad]

Daiwa SeaJigger for the rod would be worth a look.

[Bri The Pom]

Use your boat. Easier.

[Do$tylz]

12ft rod for any topwater would be tough to use - or maybe it's just my technique. I use a downward stroke to work the lure. Others work the lure with their rod up in the air.

I have used my 8ft GT popping rod relatively successfully recently but I'm far from being more than an amateur at rock fishing. I was using a 10000 stella. I think a 5000 would be ok if you like dicing with the big boys and you have a bit of space where the fish can run. Bigger if you need to put a stop on them or will be tangling with the big boys.

[benno573]

I think there are several variables in play here.

Firstly, I would suggest finding a rod that will live bait, cast and work big poppers, cast slugs, cast dead baits all in the same package is going to be a tough bill to fit. I run a 9'6" rod that is fantastic for launching large lures into orbit, very hard work working a smaller popper with it though but it can be done. The same rod is not as good for casting and fishing with dead or live bait, a heavy 12-13ft surf rod would be better here, more gentle action in the cast.

I use a spheros 14000FB running 50lb braid for live/dead baiting. Very solid reel, great drag system and not too expensive when you are bashing it around on the rocks. Good line capacity too, easily holds 300m of 50lb, about 50m of mono backing required to fill the spool. it is very heavy to hang on to for a long time though, usually ends up in a holder. This usually gets mated up to a 12ft live fibre surf rod which does the trick nicely.

for throwing lures around i use either a saltist 4500 running 20 or 30lb or a saltist 6500 running 50lb if the big boys are about or I am throwing large lures such as 150g+ or big roosta poppers. I love these reels owing to the fast retrieve and good drag pressures, not overly exxy either (relatively speaking). line capacity has never been a big issue for me, i have 300m of 50lb on the 6500 and about 400m of 20lb on the 4500. These reels both get mated up to the 9'6" surf rod mentioned above - it is actually a mojiko brand from anaconda which cost about $75 but it is a phenomenal stick for casting big lures off the stones and has plenty of guts in it when you hook something substantial. It has a cast weight of up to 10oz... ~280g haven't tested it out that much yet!

None of the gear mentioned above is what you'd class as high end but is very effective for the price.

I definitely prefer fibreglass (or live fibre which are a bit of a hybrid) rods off the stones. much better bash factor tolerance and no issues with highsticking etc if you need to lift the line over a rock or something. yeah they are heavier and old school tech wise but it doesn't mean they don't do the job! also feel a lot more confident casting big weights on the glass rods, seen a few tips come off graphite rods casting larger slugs due to the whip the action creates.

Another important point to consider especially when looking for casting distance is the line itself. Some braids definitely perform much better than others in this regard. One I really like is the fins or power pro. I like using bright yellow, especially good if fishing pre-dawn or around dusk, much easier to pick up with the headlamp.

If you are based around noosa and have a 4WD, definitely head up the beach and try off double island point. Best rock fishing platform in SEQ in my opinion. everything from pelagics, GT's, big goldens, mulloway, snapper, shark, tailor... you name it, you'll catch it there.

Not sure if this has been helpful or not but I have had fun typing it while I should have been working... :whistle:

[Aggro101]

I won't be much help from a rod point of view as I still use my dad's 40 year old Shakespeare surf rod for rock fishing.

With the reel, I have been really happy with the D series shimano bait runners. So happy in fact that I now have 3 of them that I use for everything from rock, beach and boat.. Good line capacity and drag. I have bought 2 of them from a NZ tackle shop as they were more than 50 bucks cheaper than anywhere in Australia that I could find, less than 200 delivered for the 6000D The 3rd one I bought spur of the moment locally.

Having said that, bcf have them on sale for 189 until February.

I run 50lb fins braid and even with a medium action 7 foot rod, I can flick a 75g raider a hell of a long way. Happy to lend you one for a few weeks to try out if you like.