Graphite rod advise

[Tally]

G'day,

I am looking at purchasing a graphite bait caster rod and need some advise as to what to look for (apart from good fuji runners). I most probably will be running 30lbs braid and targeting barra, sooty, etc. If anyone has any other types of rods that are good for these purposes I would appreciate your input also.

Thanks,
Jay.

[Wesley_Pang]

Jay,

Have a look at the Loomis 665 in either GL2 or GL3 graphites.

This is the rod recommended to me for chasing Barra.

I've not used it for Barra though, just Longtail and Mac Tunas.

I run 30lb Braid on it.

Wes

[big_george]

Good call wes[brother of little george]
I have used the loomis 665 on the impoundment and river barra as well as other breeds of fish.Use mine to fish for cod,yella's,flathead,jew.Have also landed some nice 8-10 kg yellow fin tuna and mac's.Don't think because its classed as casting rod you can't troll or use it baiting ect.Look at the site that swano posted on the faust barra.All but one landed on loomis 665.[GL2_GL3]One [25kg] on the loomis 765 crankbait.
cheers big george.

[Basil]

Hello Jay
If you don't have the budget for a Loomis then I highly recommend the new Diawa Procaster-V IM7 graphite rods. The rod comes with Fuji Alconite guides and Fuji reel seat with cork handles. It would set you back around $160 but it looks and performs like a loomis.
Basil

[Tally]

Thanks for the advise fellas,

What is the difference between the Daiwa and Loomis rods apart from the price? Basil, what is the maximum line class rating on the Daiwa Pro caster-VIM7? If I go to Faust later this year to chase the big fat (55lbs+) ladies I might need to run 50lb braid, will the daiwa handle it?

Thanks,
Jay.

[big_george]

Jay.
The loomis 665 is rated for 8-10 kg.It has a fast taper.I fish 20 pound fireline that breaks at over 40 pound.Started using 45 pound leaders.Now use 70 pound schnieder.Some fisho's will say 70 to big.Wait till you get a big girl on in the timber,if you get wraped around timber that extra diamiter might make all the difference between landing that once in a life time fish and loosing it.I fish my tackle to the hilt.Chronarch. with the drag done up as far as it will go ,appling thumb pressure if i need more.Approx 2kg with the drag and 5 kgs with the added pressure of the thumb.With that much drag pressure you point the rod at6 the fish with upward pressure.NO HIGH STICKING.unless you want your rod blown into fragments,The rods i build [665] have good quality corkgrips.8 guilds plus tip[oversize] to allow your leader knotts to pass the guilds easly .
cheers george

[Tally]

G'Day George,

There are soooo bloody many rods out there and every salesperson you talk to reckons their product is the best (I understand thats their job), but you don't know who to believe. So far I have looked at

Daiwa Procater (X and Z series around $160)
GLoomis Rods (starting from $479)
Wilson Live Fibre (around $200)
Angler Braid Buster (around $160)
Strudwick (SPS series $290, BWS series $330, TPS series $420)

My favourite so far is the wilson rod because for the price it has silicone on the guides even though they are not fuji guides. The Strudwick SPS series is not bad either. As you can see there is a big price difference between the Loomis and Wilson rods, so I have to justify the $300 difference.

A couple of salespeople who sold Loomis rods reckon they are overated and overpriced. They said Loomis are very good rods but not that much better than others on the market. They also told me not to buy factory built Loomis rods but buy a locally made rod that uses Loomis blanks and fuji guides.

Still confused.
Cheers,
Jay.

[big_george]

Jay.
Like you say,every one with different ideas.Confusing
I've fished faust and know what's expected of tackle.When new rods or blanks come out i try them.Thus far nothing in my experience comes up to the Loomis 665 for sheer preformance.That may piss a lot of anglers off with a statement like that.I've landed big fish in the timber of faust,granted luck does play a role in your capture.Have a look at barra dreaming by swano in the freshwater photo's and look on the DK lures faust #site.. We landed over 50 barra in our 7 days of fishing.Some mornings we only stayed on the water for #2-3 hours due to the wind and some days we fished the salt because of the wind.On the last day we landed 18 barra .Some in front of rod harrison and lidsay dobe the guild from prossy.I build a #LOOMIS GL 2 665 for $320 completed.In that price i use top cork and guilds and freight them any where in Australia.
Hope thats not to confusing.
cheers big george

[krazyfisher]

I use a loomis 644 for barra and sooties and have found it to be great I also have a strudwick batcaster in 10-12kg both have been great and I know the money is alot but after having the cheaper rod I would not go back the loomis and strudwick are just plain nicer to use

[Fisherman02]

also the other good thing about a loomis is it has a special warranty, if you break it either by a fish or by standing on it u pay 70 bucks (or something like that) and u get a new rod. U can break it in front of the managers face and give him 70 bucks and get a new one!
cheers jack

[caveman]

for $70 and a bit more you can get an ugly stick lol

[Basil]

Jay
Re: Procater-V
The 7 footer is 8 - 17lb, good for in and out of the boat. Very high module graphite and much improved IM7. The tip is a bit more flexible at than a Loomis but has a good fast tapered bend on it. The alconite guides really suites it too. Compared to what's out there, I find good value in the rod and I'm no salesman.
Regards - Basil

[big_george]

Hi Basil.
Have you ever fished in the timber of Faust Dam.?? I kn ow the blank/rod your talking about.They're great in the right location.Not faust.The lenght of 7 foot is a dissadvantage. The tip being softer allows the bigger fish to get their heads down and have you disadvantaged as well. Can't argue with the price. The rod makes a good heavy plastic's rod.I wasn't paid by Loomis to say any of the above
cheers george

[Basil]

Ok the rod may be too long, the shorter version is only 5 - 10lb. The rod is definately no shoftie, when fully loaded it would match the Loomis. If you can afford a Loomis ...you can afford a Saltiga.
Basil

[Tally]

What do you blokes reckon about the PNG Black Bass rods at $219 they have a 20kg rating. I know they are heavy, but good value.

Big George no offence but I would not buy a rod without looking at it and holding it. GL2 Loomis rods can be bought from $275.

Also would like opinions on Pacific Composite Blanks and Gary Howard custom rods.

Cheers,
Jay.