Rod Recommendation for flatties custom or shelf

[lukereneeseth]

ok im retiring the Jewel 2-5kg and Biomaster 2500 from soft plastics work and looking to go better quality and a tad lighter...

Specs:
solely for flathead, 1/8th and 1/6th jigheads only, 60-80mm plastics only, land based only, cork split grips, 1 piece. Will be matched to the Stella 1000FE i now have. 6lb sunline super pe. 6'10" - 7'0"
Budget: $250 - $450

as it stands the best ive come up with is the Shimano T-Curve 691 2-4kg (solely on good price good components) or
Gary Howard North Fork 4-10lb (i'd love the 2-6lb but its only rated to 1/8th) for me this rod takes 1 good thing each from the Nitro and Samurai. (1 piece and cork grips)

any experience with custom rods would be good and contacts even better.

ive eliminated Loomis, Daiwa, Pflueger..

thanks

[matt jorg]

To me it sounds like you've pretty much made your mind up, I think by eliminating loomis and daiwa you're doing yourself no favours.
They make top shelf stuff to match a top shelf reel in your Stella.
The tcurve will be good but not the highest quality.

[lukereneeseth]

yeh, ive felt numerous amounts of Loomis rods, not a fan of the lower half/ cork set up. from what i know North Fork are the only real GLoomis rods these days.... plus a GLX is just a tad steep if i couldnt get use to the long cork handle.
eliminated Daiwa cos theres only 1 rod in there line up i like and it has a solid titanium tip which you can make a circle shape back on itself with... too ex'y so i dont want to go with a brand i'll just think the whole time "i wish i had that one now"

[Plugbar]

I have a 7 ft vapor and I was quite surprised how well it performed on a 80 cm flathead it also has accounted for a 54cm jack. If you do go to something in the 1-3kg range it gives a few other options of species to target. Also Nitro has the $60 replacement of breakages on the rod.

[lukereneeseth]

i would go with a vapor if i was puting a 2500 ci4 on it, but i want to go as light as i can find that can still comfortably throw 1/6th jigs. i like the nitro's but would prefer a 1 piece.

[matt jorg]

theres the new loomis gl2 with the split grip and there is one rated 6-10 lb I think? they come in at $250 max have fuji gear on them and have had a good report from most

theres quite a few in the gl2 range.

Have you seen the NRX 802s? 6-10lb 6'8 one piecesplit grip.
I have a NRX 852s 6-12 7'1 it is an unbelievable rod. I have a 2500 sustain on it for snapper etc but it is as light as my glx 4-8lb bream rods that I have my stella 1000 on. an 802 might be light enough for a stella 1000?
cheers mate

[-mYrZ-]

ask on the classfieds for a loomis under $250 im sure someone has one that will suit what you want.
as matty said GL2 split grip GO!

[Herp Affinity]

I have the GL2 850MLESP 7'1" 4-10lb 1/16-3/8oz. Awesome flatty rod. Could easily handle school Jew and pretty much anything else in the estuary you could throw at it. It's not really a "light" rod though and may not match well to a 1000 size reel. Still might be worth a look. I matched mine to a stradic 2500fj and it balances nicely. Best flatty I have landed with it was 73cm around structure. Handled it really well. It is super sensitive and extremely strong.

[BloodWorm]

Sorry guys this thread is doing my head in

solely for flathead, 1/8th and 1/6th jigheads only, 60-80mm plastics only, land based only, cork split grips, 1 piece. Will be matched to the Stella 1000FE i now have. 6lb sunline super pe. 6'10" - 7'0"
Budget: $250 - $450

60-80mm plastics on a 1000 sized reel with 6lb string

Not what I would call a flathead combo, I think you are going to struggle to balance the reel with a good rod. I would call it a bream combo.

When targeting flathead I am using a 3-6kg rod and a 4000 sized reel.

[redfinfisho]

If it ws solely for flatties I'd grab this without thinking twice
http://www.rayannes.com.au/daiwa-shi...-rod-only-429/
Daiwa Steeze Storm Shadow 661MLFS Rod $430 it's a 10lb rod but if your targeting big flatties you want a little grunt

[lukereneeseth]

i did see a loomis today that had recoils and felt really nice, but didnt take too much notice cos i gather it would be around $550. i think a GL2 is pretty much in the same ball park as a T-Curve T Series.
problem ive had before is spending big dollars on rods that feel good, yet on the playing field feel rather dull; on load and casting distance.

if i were to get a Loomis i'd only go with a GLX and 1 piece... theres some GLX's come up on ebay around the $380 mark... but i can get the NF 2-6 or 4-10 for that price.

someone needs to invent a virtual screen you can test any rod you want in a tackle store, chose the back drop, wind speed, etc and somehow the action filtered through computer to give cast distance and speed.. then hook it to a whinch and fight and fish you choose (all demo rods)

as it stands theres the T-Curve T series 691, Samurai 201, Nitro Vapor, GLX 4-8lb, North Fork.... and every one of them has just a little feature of there own that out does the others.... how do people choose when it comes to something like this.

[BloodWorm]

Have a look at the Starlo Stix Tournament Pro series rods.

[lukereneeseth]

Bloodworm - mate ive been fishing flattys a very long time now, i dont even use a 4000 reel for jewies... never had more than 50m of line pulled, never had to wind drag up to a point the line busts, etc so i see no point in using the Biomaster 2500fb for something it doesnt need to be used for.... seems to me like buying a Ferrari and sitting on 60 in a 100 zone... ive caught dozens of GT's, Goldens and Cale Cale on the 2-5 jewel and CI4 2500... its good fun but over it, still feels like winching...

solved the problem by geting a 1000FE Stella... size of the reel has nothing to do with its ability to reel fish in, thats up to my skills. i couldnt ever see a flathead taking 120 meters of line. im sure you'd have next to no chance wrapping 6lb braid around both hands and trying to snap it, ive never known a single person to "break' braid... ive had 8lb sunline cut through 20lb leader, tried pulling a snag on monday with 6lb braid and all it did was snap the jighead hook at the bend.

i dont think there actually is such a thing as "flathead" combo or "bream" combo... for that to be true then that would be the only fish you could catch on "that" combo.... i havent seen a Shimano Bream 2500F.

ive gone a quality upgrade to counteract the possible stress' on the reel and rod, which will never happen to the reel or the rod anyway. all the flathead i catch up here on 70mm plastics are 25cm - 70cm. only ever caught 1 over that and that was 97cm on a 2-5kg Jewel, Stradic CI4 2500, 6LB braid. 12lb rock leader.

just trying to make it a bit more fun

[TheChief]

Steez Tornado with a 2500 size Daiwa running 10lb Braid and 10lb leader...

[ShaneD]

Mate I have a 1pce Luckycraft called a dropshot light, brilliant rod for your application. Split cork grip, Sic guides, 6-20lb is the rating, heaps of balls, but a beautiful tip to throw ultra light lures if you have to. I have a 2500 Certate on mine, pre-magseal model, the perfect match! I got mine from Tacklewarehouse Camp Hill who are one of the site sponsors, I'm pretty sure if you spend over $120 it's free postage. My rod cost $250 from memory.

SD