Just Picked Up A New Toy.

[Ed.]

Had to cancel my ski trip to Mt.Hotham due to the Covid-19 lock down so instead I am going up to 1770 with my missus for 10 days in Sept. and taking the boat, so when I was sorting out my gear I was hoping to take a rod up with me that I made years ago but never put a reel on to it or even use it, so decided to get myself a new toy for it. Got approval from the boss, initially I was intending to get a Makaira 15 for it, and although it is a really, really, nice reel it is still  double the price of the next contender which was another Penn Fathom Lever drag and it probably wouldn't get too much use as I have a few other  reels that are similar. So after making the hard decision to not get it (Sob Sob!) I went and bought the FTH25NLD2.

I already have a 30 and a 50W in the Maks as well as a 15-2 and a 30-2 in the Fathoms so I got the 25-2 speed  model which is just a narrow version of the 30 size. So same drag and reel height just narrower, for future reference you cannot go by the capacity printed on the reel, it is about half of what they say it can hold. So after a couple of re-spools with different sized braid I ended up with 280m of 50lb 0.36mm line and a 30m topshot of 40lb mono leader 0.60mm which is enough for now.

Heaps of drag on it, managed to just about lift a 18l bucket of water on full lock which is around the 39lb mark. Anyway changed the drag knob downwards to give me a more controlled drag range and did it mainly to test out my FG knot which held nicely. So now really looking forward to going up there although I do have to do some work on the boat. I will probably build an extra fuel tank about to 60L size in Ally and also fix my wife's seat as she complains that it leans back too much  when bouncing around in the waves and swell.

With the extra tank I should have about 210l of fuel and I am running a 150HP Optimax two stroke so that should give me more than enough fuel to get out and back to the reef with a lot of running around as well.

[Brodie_S]

Sounds good mate hope the reel goes well

[ellicat]

Bring on September, hey.

[Ed.]

Absolutely, can't wait, have the rental house booked now so just waiting for

the date to roll around. Forgot to put pic in before.

 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

That rod is awesome Ed. As well as the reel on it too. I can only dream of having gear like that. 

It will serve you well. I hope to hear about some bigguns coming from 1770. 

Cheers Hamish

[Ed.]

Thank you Hamish, the rod is one I made years ago, I bought 3 blanks when Snyderglass was closing it's business, and this one after I made it, was just sitting in the rack unused as it was 1 of 2 identical blanks I got at the time, that's the problem when you have too much gear and the missus reminds me of that fact frequently but she is understanding though. I don't complain too much about how much she spends on makeup and bags and she doesn't give me too much of a hard time about my gear .

You wont save any money by building your own and it takes a fair bit of time, upside is that you do get to make it the way you want. In fact, it actually costs me more as I usually put SiC guides on them and I try to use use Hyperlon instead of the EVA that you see on so many rods nowadays, it does make the rod heaver but since it is an aerated rubber, if you squash it for example when it's in a rod holder it bounces back, the EVA is lighter but it is an aerated plastic so when it squashes, it leaves a dent in it because the plastic deforms and does not spring back as much, plus hyperlon feels much nicer to me.

Whenever I don't feel the need to build a specific rod I just buy an off the shelf Ugly stick. These reels are on special at the moment, I paid $250 discounted for it and the next day found a place that sells them for about $40 less, which is always the way though!! but at least I supported the local tackle store and it was better than paying full retail.

Eventually your collection will build up as well so just give subtle hints to your family for birthdays, X'mas etc. specific brands, model numbers and even tell them where to go to get the best price, it also makes it easier for your parents and relations to get you presents as they don't have the time and effort work out what you would like so your more likely to get what you want .  I have been slowly increasing my collection since I was 25, I am now 67, although I made my first set of lures when I was about 8, so now I have at least one or two rods and reels to go from whiting fishing all the way through to big game fishing.

It's been great now that all my girls have grown up, so when they ask me what I would like I just say to them why don't you pool the money with your other sisters and I give them a model number, and then I just act surprised when they give it to me, which with my short term memory it isn't that hard  to be surprised. . That's the  one redeeming benefit of being old, there are birthdays, fathers days, anniversaries and X'mas.

 

 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hey Ed.

Great advice - you really know your stuff on these rods! 

The benefits you outlined are certainly good about making your own rods. In saying that, I love my two Ugly Stiks. I honestly think they are indestructible. 

Thanks for the great tips, 

Cheers hamish  

[Ed.]

The one thing I think the Ugly Stik could do better at, is to use better guides, but that is just my opinion, and they are marketed as an affordable rod so that will never happen.

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

1 minute ago, Ed. said:

The one thing I think the Ugly Stik could do better at, is to use better guides, but that is just my opinion, and they are marketed as an affordable rod so that will never happen.

Yes, true that Ed. 

On one of my rods some of the guides could be a bit sturdier. Like you said though, for the price they're at, that's not gonna happen.

Cheers Hamish