ANYONE who has had fishing on the mind for a few years would be aware of how strong the baitcasting sector of the market has become. Ten years ago very few anglers would have had a baitcaster rod and reel.
For that matter there wasn’t even that big a range to choose from. Today of course, just about every manufacturer of rods and reels has a list as long as your arm of the various styles and sizes of baitcasting gear.
Your fishing and casting ability can be enhanced or inhibited by the gear you choose to use. No one should expect to get the same performance from an ultra cheap rod and reel as they would from the top shelf material. While top shelf is certainly great gear to use, it does have its drawbacks, the most obvious of which is the price. Secondly, you really do have to look after the gear and for the money you pay for it, you are mad if you don’t.
Looking at the fishing rod side of the equation, the high grade graphite rods in particular can be fragile. We see enough breakages come through our factory on blanks due to neglect and a few heavy hands to realise that not every one that buys a top shelf rod is going to look after it.
It is not always blatant abuse that causes a breakage. Many anglers just don’t know how to use the gear and what limits to take it to. There is nothing wrong with this as we all have to learn somehow. It is just that learning can sometimes be an expensive exercise!
Over the last eighteen months or so we have been producing a baitcaster we call the Northern Terror. It is well suited to 4kg but is rated to 6kg. For lure casting and trolling it has been extremely popular and for a while there we could hardly keep up production with the sales, particularly in the north where lure fishing is very popular.
The rod is made up on a Pacific Composites GBW M9 blank featuring a woven graphite butt section with a fibreglass tip. The blank measures 159 cm and weighs 90 gm.
There are a few advantages in this blank, with the tip nice and soft to cast lures or to baitfish with. The butt section with its woven graphite offers good strength and is in fact quite strong as far as being “knocked about” is concerned.
Of the scores that we have built we haven’t had one come back broken yet. That’s not to say none have broken out in the field, but no returns is a pretty good indication that the rods are faring well. Though not what you would class as the very top shelf, it is certainly good quality and builds up into a good casting or trolling rod.
As far as I’m concerned for the little bit extra you pay, Fuji rod components are the only way to go. They are strong, durable and resistant.
Just as a matter of general interest we suffered a fire in our block of sheds over the Christmas break. A lot of black soot from the plastics factory that went up landed on the rods. We have a few other brands of guides and componentry in stock and when you see how they held up against the Fuji ones you can appreciate the difference in quality. Not that I recommend sticking your rods through a fire!
Rest assured though those that do buy the Gary Howard brand rods - there won’t be any fire damaged rods in the shops. All that remained of our stock was crushed, destroyed and buried. Not a nice feeling I can assure you but a necessity none the less.
Most of your tackle shops will carry the Fuji components that you need for this rod and you should not have to order them in specially.
The grips are your standard eva material of which we have used a seven inch butt, and this is a little longer than you would use for pure casting. The reason being that this rod is placed in rod holders and trolled quite a bit. The longer butt sits better in the rod holders, minimising the risk of it being ripped out by a fish. You can make the butt shorter or longer as required.
The reel seat is just your standard number 16 Fuji trigger - DTPSM16. The foregrip only needs to be short and four inches should suit most angler’s needs. The guides are Fuji BSVLG. These are perhaps the most widely used and most popular style guide. They are used on everything from baitcaster rods to estuary and surf outfits.
With the blank costing between seventy and eighty dollars and the components around the thirty dollars, you should be able to put the rod together for around $120 by the time you buy your thread, epoxy and glue.
Specifications:
Butt 7” X 3/8” eva
Foregrip 4” X 3/8” eva
Winch Fuji DTPSM 16 trigger
Butt cap Fuji BRC 19mm
Tip Fuji BPLT 8/ 2.8mm
Guides Fuji BSVLG 8
8
8
10
12
16
