[Mike Sullivan]

Well the more and more i have thought about it the more seriously i have been looking through rids ect.
When bait fishing or fly fishing i had many many rods though with my mullet fishing i only ever used a single rod no matter where i fish.
So then i started ready through the afaw reviews all over the net and on ben's opening day i was speaking to julian about there design and ability to cross bridges ect.
Now i have decided i will have 1 lrf rod and reel sorted that in my head anyway and a single lure rod to start off with.
Now i tend to favour xlayers, or surface poppers, so i was was to only use a single rod would i be better off with the 8 or 9?
Bearing in mond that for light work i have the lrf rod rated to 10grams already.
Personaly i have been leaning towards the 9ft to cast 10 to 60 grams.
Though would appreciate info from more experienced anglers here. which ever rod i get will be teamed with a rarenium 4000 byy the way.

 

[Adrian]

Personally I'd go for 8ft. long enough to cast as far as you'll need for most situations but not so long as to be too tiring for long sessions and doesn't give the fish so much leverage.
I used my new rarenium for the 1st time last night, perfect and so smooth.

 

[Dave Irving]

Mike,
The 9' will cast further-given everything else is equal, so will allow you to cover more water. The 8' will tend to be slightly easier to work topwaters/jerkbaits with. So alot will depend on what you will do the most of. I fish 99% off the shoreline, be it beach/rock or wading, I use a 9'4" rod and it handles topwaters and jerkbaits fine. But on those days when the fish are just out of most peoples range, the extra length allows me to reach out and hit them at distance.
Pretty sure Nathan (of BassMasters) tends to use a 9'8" Ultimate One, and he is fishing down your way.


Adrian,
Could you expand on your comment about giving the fish too much leverage-curious to hear what you mean.

 

[Toby Harnett]

Mike - see my reply to your pm on this.

Also, I put my Rarenium 4000 on with my AFAW 8'. Personal preference only but I felt that it was too tip heavy i.e. the reel was too light for the rod. For me my Quantum 830 reel (that I also won in Ben's raffle ) balances the rod better as its heavier than the Rarenium. Net effect for me is less strain on the hand/arm even though the whole set up is heavier (not having to resist the tipping all of the time)

If you like the same feel as me when fishing then I guess what I talk about above will be even more noticeable with the 9' AFAW???

Cheers

Toby

 

[Toby Harnett]

Mike,
Adrian,
Could you expand on your comment about giving the fish too much leverage-curious to hear what you mean.

Wouldn't it be something to do with the force the fish puts on the end of the rod x by the extra length of the rod (9' as opposed to 8') = more work done, more effort to resist in the hand/arm. Leverage principle & all that????

Adrian - we await your answer:-D

 

[Adrian]

Wouldn't it be something to do with the force the fish puts on the end of the rod x by the extra length of the rod (9' as opposed to 8') = more work done, more effort to resist in the hand/arm. Leverage principle & all that????

Adrian - we await your answer:-D

exactly Toby! = applying as much pressure on the fish with a 9ft rod requires more energy than with an 8ft rod.

 

[Toby Harnett]

exactly Toby! = applying as much pressure on the fish with a 9ft rod requires more energy than with an 8ft rod.

Good. Glad to know that getting my degree in structural engineering all those years ago hasn't gone to waste lol!

 

[Adrian]

of course, it does mean that the 9ft rod gives a better fight out of smaller fish too

 

[Henry Gilbey]

Got to waggle the rods a bit more at the T&G show yesterday - the 8' 2 piece would be my own personal choice. Ain't a bass in our waters that is going to trouble 99% of the rods that any of us are using...........

 

[Matt Newcombe]

Ain't a bass in our waters that is going to trouble 99% of the rods that any of us are using...........

Perhaps one day the Injection will seem heavy? Probably is for the majority of fish I run into.

 

[Luke Fox]

I have the 8ft AFAW rod and am really enjoying it. When I parted with the cash I knew I wanted something shorter than I had been used to ie. 9ft. I find the rod can do everything my last one could and more. I have not lost any distance on the cast and have gained a whole bunch of sensitivity with the tip and was amazed how well the rod performed when I bagged my PB at 8 1/4lb the rod handled it beautifully. The tip is just as I want it to be but there is a whole lot of grunt in the blank further down the rod that you can rely on when that biggie takes the lure. Like yourself I mainly fish top waters (patchinko2 yellow) and giant xlayers and in my opinion the lures could not be more different but the rod handles both really well and presents them in the way they were designed for. Are you going to the meet this weekend? as im guessing there are going to be a few AFAW rods there so why not try before you buy.

 

[Ben Field]

I'd go for the 8 footer too.

 

[Mike Sullivan]

A big thank you to all that have taken the time to answer another of my newbie questions.
Looks like i will opt for an 8fter and go from there knowing me over time i will buy more rods and build up a selection though i need a go to rod at the moment.
it seems that lure fishing through the year is the way to go with minimal costs aswell always a good point lol.

 

[Matt Newcombe]

with minimal costs aswell always a good point lol.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm, I wouldn't count on that lol.

 

[Mike Sullivan]

Hmmmmmmmmmmm, I wouldn't count on that lol.

yeah i just thought that when i read it though always an optimist..

 

[Dr.Thomas k]

ahhhh, it will get you, the virus...

Theres some Lureporn around here, if you dont fear looking at all that jewels.
^^

Thomas

 

[Mike Sullivan]

mate i think it has already started, i have started to salivate at lures all the time is there something wrong with me?

 

[Toby Harnett]

Hmmmmmmmmmmm, I wouldn't count on that lol.

I'm with you on that one Matt. I came into lure fishing thinking that it would be cheaper than bait fishing. Nope! I suppose in theory if you bought all of your gear, never lost or broke any of it & never wanted 'that next rod' or another plug that would be the case. However, as we all know it's not. It's as bad if not worse for the pocket

 

[Matt Newcombe]

You're bang on there Toby!

 

[Dave Irving]

Guys,
I am more than a little confused by this one

Wouldn't it be something to do with the force the fish puts on the end of the rod x by the extra length of the rod (9' as opposed to 8') = more work done, more effort to resist in the hand/arm. Leverage principle & all that????

The princlpe of the lever and all that, however a fishing rod doesn't work like that-drags fight fish not rods, they are there to cast lures, and allow alittle directional control when playing the fish. Psuedo physics, the real physics of playing a fish are far far more complicated. Based of this theory the best rod effort wise would be a foot long-same length as the butt section-Hmmm

Worth bearing in mind, that although the likes of Henry Gilbey/Veals have done an excellent job of promoting 8' rods as the "All round bass rod". The most popular seabass rod in japan- is still between 9-10'. Worth remembering that they might just know what they are on about, when it comes to shore lure fishing.