THE most popular offshore fishing rod here in south east Queensland is the M10. It’s a seven foot rod aimed at lines of ten to fifteen kilos. For an offshore rod it is a reasonable slow tapper and when loaded up on a good fish the rod bend right through to the foregrip.
This allows the outfit to be rather forgiving as many anglers fish with lines heaver than the rod is built for. When a fish turns the give in the rod absorbs a fair bit of the impact, saving many fish that may have been lost to a shorter stiffer rod.
The length of the rod is of advantage when offshore fishing as the strike curve when trying to set a hook takes up a fair bit of slack in the line and does help set the hook.
There is nothing really flash about the rod, other than it takes a fair bit of punishment and has enough give in it to be forgiving to the anglers technique.
Most of those rods are made up as an overhead version for bottom bouncing or float lining for the likes of snapper. A number of versions are made by various rod builders, most of which fit Fuji BLRLG guides, which are a heavy duty guide.
The overall out fit is a bit old hat really, with most keen offshore anglers having at least one in their collection. There is nothing wrong with the outfit, but as a rod builder I was looking to come up with something a little better but still along the same lines.
Two new products were introduced onto the market which have proved highly compatible and what I believe to be a better version of the M10 in certain applications.
Firstly is the blank. Pacific Composites have taken advantage of the popularity of the M10 to produce a graphite version. The MG 10 is in their new Graphbutt range and has a component of graphite including into the blank.
The graphite in the butt has stiffened the butt section of the rod giving it more striking power and fighting power. The fibreglass tip retains the flex of its predecessor, bending with the bites and surges of a fish.
The extra strength in the butt comes as a big help on those confrontations with amberjack and kingfish, two species often encountered in offshore waters.
The blank doesn’t have a heap of graphite in it but enough to give a slight weight reduction.
As mentioned earlier most of these rods have been fitted with Fuji BLRLG guides, a great guide, but something a little lighter would be better.
The perfect guide for job has just been released. The use of this guide will reduce the overall cost of the rod slightly and make the rod a better product.
The guide is a Fuji BHNOG. These letters mean very little to most, so a look at the picture of the guide will put you right.
The guide features a one piece stainless steel frame that is 25% thinker than other guides of similar style and models. The guide foot is also wider to give better bonding to the blank as is the frame around the ring to give added protection against impact.
Yet another advantage of the guide is that has a higher frame. This sees the ring of the guide higher off the blank. A distinct advantage when building overhead rods to ensure that the line remains higher than the blank when the rod is under load.
As more rod builders and manufacturers becoming aware of these guides you will see more and more of them on rods in the market place. They are ideal for reef fishing, trolling and land based rods in the 20 - 50 pound class.
The come in sizes 8;10;12;16;20 with the matching tip BULT or UST in silicon.
I’ve included the recipe for the MG 10 with the new BHNOG guides for those of you that want to make one for yourself. If not most leading tackle shops in SEQ will have one of mine on their shelves or you may opt to having their rod builder make one up to suit you.
I’ve chose to fish with a 8” butt and a gimbal, giving 10” all up. Most of the time I fish with the rod under my arm, especially when float baiting. This length is comfortable for me, but you may whish to adjust it accordingly.
The foregrip is a long one as often the fight can be a little lengthy with big fish and you find yourself leaning back with both arms straight and on the grip together.
I haven’t used a silicon tip on this rod butt the option is there if you want to spend a few more dollars.
SPECIFICATIONS:
BLANK Pacific Composites MG 10
BUTT 8” X 5/8” game grip
WINCH Fuji FPSH - 24 ( thread down)
FOREGRIP 14” X 1/2” game grip
GIMBAL Fuji BCGC 25G & gimbal cover
TIP Fuji BULT 10/ 4.0
GUIDES Fuji BHNOG 10 - 9.5
10 - 10.5
10 - 11.0
12 - 13.5
12 - 15.5
16 - 17.0
16 - 21.0
20 - 24.5
