Sweetwater Fishing Forums
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: takrat on September 15, 2011, 07:29:19 PM
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Every one has their own ideas about what makes a good Barra rod, and up north there seems to be a bit of a trend towards lighter gear. We're not talking about Impoundment fish here (Pond Donkeys) but barra in the wild. I have seen plenty of wild fish taken on rods rated as low as 4kg, and I'm sure there are a few other thrill seekers about with stories of even lighter gear. To narrow things down a bit more I'm going to stay with rods for casting only, not broomsticks that only get to be used for trolling. To kick it off I have a Daiwa Spellbinder that's rated as a 3-6kg rod. It has plenty of backbone but casts lighter lures extremely well. Any takers?
JD
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For Darwin Barra, I've used a B2 and a B4 Egrell. It's really a matter of finding a rod that will cast the weight you want to fish, and it has bugger all with the size of the fish you're chasing. Heavier fish just need a lower rod angle.
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Thanks Dale that's point I'm making and why I put trolling aside to concentrate on casting. I also put the impoundment fish aside because a lot of people troll for them, and they often use heavier lures ie flickbaits etc.
JD
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Ive got a light barra rod well i would use it for anyway. Its a St.croix medium power 6-10lb spin blank ... would be a great rod if i ever build it ;D
Steve
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Just any standard 2-5 kilo baitcaster rod for little uns. Got a pair of Pflueger trions I usually use from the boat,
As you say "Pond donkies" I get serious, an egrel B6 being my weapon of choice in those cases.
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Those Egrel rods seem to be pretty popular, the price stacks up well against the likes of Loomis too, and a bit cheaper than Millerrods. The line ratings are a bit different though. How do they compare, like Binder's E6 to a 6-8kg rod?
Steve, you had better get building mate.
John
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B is for baitcaster, 6 is for 6kg rating.
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The length of the rod can also play a big part in getting further distance when casting lighter lures along with the size of your line which is also something to consider.
Dave
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You're right there mate, there's been a gradual increase in legth of baitaster rods, in fact I have a Temple Fork Outfitters rod that's 7ft and tosses relatively light lures really well with a Daiwa Alphas. I bough a Samaki the other day from Motackle that's 6'2". I'm thinking of stocking a little shop the way things are going. Turning into a tackle tart. This what prombted the original post; the trend that seems to be going towards lighter gear overall for barra, stuff that would have been considered solid Bass gear not so far back.
JD
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Since the advent of low stretch GSP lines, we lose the "sling shot" effect that the 25-40% stretch that mono gave us, so to generate higher velocity there's a tendancy to go longer rods which generate more centipetal force to get that speed higher.
Getting the "right" rod for the weight of the lure you're tossing can see a rod unload to its peak efficiency & thus negate the need for the longer rod.
Under loaded or over loaded rods (read not matched to the weight of lure/bait being cast) can be as detrimental to a quality cast as any other factor IMHO.
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The rod is the delivery system, to get the lure to the fish
To decide which rod to use, make the choice which lure and how you are fishing the lure, each lure and how you fish it, can dictate which rod,
Unless you know which lure and style you are fishing that day, you can take em all, 2 to 4 rods and more
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.....that was the point I was going to add to as well. 3 rods, 3 reels, 3 line classes to cover the spectrum from tiny to big lures- as on the day it may be one over the other that gets the best interest. I'd ignore some of the trends- they tend to be a bit like fashion, rather than purpose.
I get away with 2 outfits, but 3 would be the best in my opinion. Thin 15lb braid on a light rod fished to middling potential, then 20lb on a medium stick fished to maximum potential and 50lb on another fished to the hilt when required- all spin reels by the way. This covers light 60mm lures through to 200mm honkers. Pond donkey or Wild fish- they all grow the same size, and the salty is the more powerful of the two- don't sell yourself short on the wild ones.......
Johnny
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Every one has their own ideas about what makes a good Barra rod, and up north there seems to be a bit of a trend towards lighter gear. We're not talking about Impoundment fish here (Pond Donkeys) but barra in the wild. I have seen plenty of wild fish taken on rods rated as low as 4kg, and I'm sure there are a few other thrill seekers about with stories of even lighter gear. To narrow things down a bit more I'm going to stay with rods for casting only, not broomsticks that only get to be used for trolling. To kick it off I have a Daiwa Spellbinder that's rated as a 3-6kg rod. It has plenty of backbone but casts lighter lures extremely well. Any takers?
JD
Is it a trend or mainstreaming ?...... I've certainly noticed more and more the move away from broomsticks as fishoes realise that the rod is the "delivery tool" . With better designed blanks using higher tech materials the need for those heavy rods are fast eroding . These days we have blanks that look like long knitting needles that can fish a line class to the hilt & cast a greater variety of weights with aplomb ..... yet still have the power low down to move a fish if need arises.
The developement of better spin reels matched to the newer blank designs will continue this mainstreaming away from the old broomstick - with longer rods not only able to deliver smaller / lighter lures but allowing for tapers that will absorb the lunge of a fish against a low stretch braid while being able to control a fish.
what wonderful times we live in ...... :youbeauty
Chris
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I use a nitro 8kg and a samurai 20lb rated rod (amongst others). It's amazing the amount of feel you can get through the thinner blanks. There's always the "thrill" of man against beast when fishing. I have always liked longer rods as I like to fish light and the absorbtion in longer rods helps tremendously. When in rough terrain it's a completely different ball game. Not much fun trying to ping lures in amongst trees if they're too long. Same if your trying to skull drag a big fish from heavy timber.
From my view point there are many rods that will do the job, just as there is a rod for each occaison. From Ugly Stik through to the so called top end loomis rods. Sometimes it's more to do with the understanding of the angler/fisho and his pocket money ;). Never used an Egrel but like the action of the blanks. I don't like the look of em but. I wonder what the choice of most people would be when it comes to chosing a reel? Spin reels would be my choice for most senarios but I still like throwing a curado on the Samurai.
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This is a real open ended question there are so many variables its like playing golf with one club(I dont play golf) but heres my two cents in rivers I have always used a 4kg stick with 30lb braid it allows sweet presentation of small to mid sized barra lures. When it comes time to stop something bigger you have the ability to put some serious brake on.Long rods are suited to open water not river casting
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Once again it comes back to how many sticks you want to take. (Another golf reference) My preference is for 3, but as the rod box on the boat will handle six I may get greedy at times. I like Johnny's simplified scenario and while I like to use a baitcaster I do think a spin stick is handy for lighter lures and windy conditions. I prefer to cast, so I like a rod that will handle that. I've never had a problem with a 7ft rod in a river situation, but that would depend a lot on the sort of boat you fish out of I guess. My longest baitcast rod is a Temple Fork Outfitters 7ft 4 to 10lb with a Daiwa Alphas. I actually bought it for Bass down in the Clarence Gorge, but I suppose it would handle a smaller Barra.
JD
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i have been using a tcurve 2-5kg rod for just about every thing, for the reason every one has pointed out, i can flick all day long with it using light , medium and heavy lures. plus when a metre plus fish jumps on it has done the job great.. i have a cheaper reel the saros 3000f spooled with 10lb on this rod and have landed metre plus barra and threadfin with out to much trouble at all.. it makes for more excitement using the lighter rods too! :)
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Wes, makes me feel a bit overgunned with a Stradic 4000 and 30lb, but it also does a good job on Mackerel in the rusty stuff
JD
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haha i forgot to mention the macktuna 7kg and 10kg long tail on this combo and played with the schoolies and spotties back in march this year. but will keep the rust talk to a minimum ;D ;D
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i have been using a tcurve 2-5kg rod for just about every thing, for the reason every one has pointed out, i can flick all day long with it using light , medium and heavy lures. plus when a metre plus fish jumps on it has done the job great.. i have a cheaper reel the saros 3000f spooled with 10lb on this rod and have landed metre plus barra and threadfin with out to much trouble at all.. it makes for more excitement using the lighter rods too! :)
Wes,
If you want to give that reel a bigger cranking handle, I found the handle from a saragosa 4000 fits it perfectly. I did this by accident to try and get a faster winding ability when cranking frogs for barra. I also found the bigger handle better when fighting fish...They are great reels for the price point. I have a few now.
Cheers Steve
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Wes,
If you want to give that reel a bigger cranking handle, I found the handle from a saragosa 4000 fits it perfectly. I did this by accident to try and get a faster winding ability when cranking frogs for barra. I also found the bigger handle better when fighting fish...They are great reels for the price point. I have a few now.
Cheers Steve
cheers mate, i ordered a new handle from charltons because i wore the rubber grip off, they ended up getting me the handle from the 4000f saros by mistake ;D same thing longer handle and mad it easy for high speed jigging for macks ;)
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Wes, those Saros reels are pretty good. I have a couple 1000 size and they worked well on the Jungle Perch and really good on Bream. I may get crazy and give them a run on Bass???
JD