[Keith White]

Has anyone seen a 7' 6" 3g - 18g SG Bushwhacker.

Thoughts ?

 

[graham johns]

Harris Sportmail have them for £69.99 atm,also a few reviews on their site.
Its the XLNT version.
IMHO for the price all their rods deserve serious attention.
I have a Butch Lite...........superb.

 

[graeme barber]

i bought one for use on local fresh waters, but am now using it for s.p on the coast.very impressed with it,like all the bw good value.also got a 10,30gram bw but find the xlnt easier to keep in touch with the jig head.

 

[wjmoree]

Keith,

I ordered one with the intention for a mixed use: do some plugging with small plugs and also start experimenting rockfishing (MRF) here in the NL with softbaits on jigheads primarily.

Had to wait nearly 2 months before the rod actually became available and after testing it, I got the impression that such a combined use wasn’t going to be ideal . Noticed that allthough it had a very good feel (resonance), that my other BW 7´ 10-30 was not only a much better caster with little plugs (< 7 grams) but in comparison also had the better backbone for twitching/jerking plugs , so I thought it would be better to make a choice: adept it and make the rod more suitable for the intended light plugging or save it for MRF exclusively.

Anyhow, after some deliberations I customized it quite drastically (JAMO-style… LOL) by shortening not only the butt (as I did with my other BW’s) but also shortening the tip and rearranging the upper guides and I now use it for plugging exclusively. Christened the rod recently with my first bass (70 cm) of the season on a 12 lbs 0.8 PE braid and the rod (or what’s left of it… LOL) handled it quite well.

So I turned left and use it for plugging now… didn’t turn to the right, and don’t use it for MRF purposes. And I suppose this aspect (MRF) is what’s interesting you the most in the rod, but sorry I can’t help you out on this one.

 

[Retired]

Very interesting. Fair play to you for having the conviction to get the tools out and change the rod to how you want it.

 

[Keith White]

What is it about the XLNT version that makes it easier to keep in touch guys..

I'm looking to research a number of mid gram rods for use whilst guiding.
I need about 3.

So far...

Best contender is the Shimano 7ft drop shot rod but....
I have to make sure anyone can use these rods from the off with zero experience.

More and more.., people booking to go plugging are seeing and experiencing LRF/MRF and HRF and get hooked.
It happened 3 times just last week alone.

One guy out last week took to it almost immediately. He's used to 20lb braid and 9 -10ft Bass rods.
He picked up one of my rigs and was like....

I'm buying one.

All coursework now adjusted of course.
We'll add the plugging stuff in later.

So 3, maybe 4 rods..
I have to get it right.

 

[James Davis]

I got one of these rods last week Keith and mixed it with a Rarenium 3000. I dont know a lot about rods/balance etc compared to you, but to me the balance is a dream.

Haven't used the rod itself yet so I can't tell you about its pros and cons. Hopefully I will like it more from the get go than Wjmoree! I got mine to learn basic SP work and lighter plugs. Sorry I couldnt be of any more use. Will let you have some feedback soon.

 

[James Davis]

Ok, used this rod for the first time this morning. After punching out 20-30g plugs in to wind with ease on my stiff Shukan (more tea vicar?) for the last year it was somewhat of a culture shock using this lighter rod, 3000 size reel and getting used to the more "whippy" action.

You can't flick plugs out at speed with a wrist snap as the rod can't catch up. I have 12lb mono spooled up and found having the plug about a foot from the tip and almost having a "lazy lob" (another brew vicar?) casting action reaped the best distance.

One thing I am disappointed in, not in the rod mind you, was the fact I wrongly assumed that because the bushwhacker XLNT rod was rated 3-18g and the Shukan is 15-40g, some of my 6-12g plugs would go further than they did with the Shukan. Not so. So unless I've got the casting action all wrong the small plugs in fact go less distance. Hopefully this will change when my briad turns up shortly.

Overall? I likes it I do. But I don't have anywhere near the level of expertise Keith does when it comes to judging rods.

Still, only tried the rod for 30 mins on a ebbing tide 1 hour after high with lots of weed about. Had 2 fish on a chartreuse buzzjet Jr and lost them both and still am puzzled as to why. First one I think shook the lure free and the second one gave me a scrap for about a minute and again eventually wriggled free. But, what GREAT fun on a light/whippy 115g rod. Savage Gear rate the rod as fast but I'm not too sure myself, I would have said medium - fast.

Gutted the waether looks poor from 1pm today for the next few days.

Edit: Oh an WtD on a rod like this with mono is so much easier than a stiff rod with braid/mono leader.

Edit II: I doubt very much if I hooked in to a strong fighting 3+ lb bass on this that I'd be able tokeep my pants clean. Seriously good fun.

 

[wjmoree]

James,

Very much in accordance with my own observations. I really had to ´load´ the rod, starting slow and then speeding up, with a longer movement to get some distance. And with maybe hundreds of casts during a session, I just don´t like this type of casting… just as I don´t like throwing plugs that don´t fly straight… it starts to irritate me eventually.

As for twitching lures: I hardly use stickbaits anymore as diving jerkbaits always brought me better results, but it really surprised me how easy and subtle I could fish small diving jerkbaits I thought I knew well, like the Pointer 65 or Flashminnow 80, and found out that their potential was much bigger than I always thought off (even could 'kick back' a Pointer 65 S, never done that before)… really liked this aspect. On the other hand and quite disappointing, it hadn’t the backbone to really brutalize (jerk/rip) a small plug like the Asura, a rather shallow diving plug and thus not giving much pressure on a rod and weighting only about 8 grams.

I used the rod with braid, so I don´t think your switching from mono to braid will make such a difference, except for more casting distance.

And finally… the retailer where I got it from, thought the rod would be really great for dropshotting… I wouldn´t know, never done that type of fishing.

 

[graeme barber]

bought mine in the first place for dropshotting for big perch between narowboats on the local cut,but now use it for jigging xlayer and fishing sluggos and other various lightweight plastics and loving it.

 

[James Davis]

James,

Very much in accordance with my own observations. I really had to ´load´ the rod, starting slow and then speeding up, with a longer movement to get some distance. And with maybe hundreds of casts during a session, I just don´t like this type of casting… just as I don´t like throwing plugs that don´t fly straight… it starts to irritate me eventually.

As for twitching lures: I hardly use stickbaits anymore as diving jerkbaits always brought me better results, but it really surprised me how easy and subtle I could fish small diving jerkbaits I thought I knew well, like the Pointer 65 or Flashminnow 80, and found out that their potential was much bigger than I always thought off (even could 'kick back' a Pointer 65 S, never done that before)… really liked this aspect. On the other hand and quite disappointing, it hadn’t the backbone to really brutalize (jerk/rip) a small plug like the Asura, a rather shallow diving plug and thus not giving much pressure on a rod and weighting only about 8 grams.

I used the rod with braid, so I don´t think your switching from mono to braid will make such a difference, except for more casting distance.

And finally… the retailer where I got it from, thought the rod would be really great for dropshotting… I wouldn´t know, never done that type of fishing.

Good info... Yes the lack of casting distance will become an irritant over time especially if I can see activity a few yards further. I'm sure with practice I'll be able to get more distance. Did your adjustments make a lot of difference to distance?

Anyone got any tips on increasing distance?

It will be a lovely little rod for low water marks on springs.

My set up feels perfect, very happy with it. Was going to buy an Exage 3000 but my gf heard me saying I liked the look of the rarenium 3000 and went out and bought it as a surprise. Silly bint went to her local tackle shop and I think they stitched her on price. £45 more than most online shops. Bless her. Now I make a point of of buying my bits and bobs from my local dealer because the online guys are slowly killing their trade, but this one was a bit naughty because she didn't know anything.

 

[wjmoree]

Did your adjustments make a lot of difference to distance?

Anyone got any tips on increasing distance?

Shortened the butt as I did with my other (3) BW's by exchanging the EVA rear grip for an EVA fore grip 'Big V' style (I just kept the winding check in place and recycled the butt cap) for easier animating plugs... I like it that way and it doesn't effect the charasteristics of the rod much, hardly even the balance of it (the butt cap of a BW goes with a balancer btw).

Shortening the tip (by roughly 8/9 cm) however will have much more impact on the rod and forces you to rearrange at least some of the upper guides and was mainly aimed at getting more of a 'bite' into the rod for better casting distance and ability of working small plugs. It really did improve casting distance without loosing too much his resonance (a trade off)... but don't get fooled by all this, it's sticking an elastoplast.

 

[Keith White]

Anyone got any tips on increasing distance?

the NT Speedo technique ?

 

[James Davis]

I haven't got the legs for it, Keith! Or the balls for that matter.

Thanks again Wjmoree.

 

[Dr.Thomas k]

like my 2009er 7´Bushwhacker more than the xlnt ones. But have to say, mostly I did not like the cork grip from the beginning.
So, the differences at same lure casting weight (10-30g) was not "feelable" to me, but who wonders about such? ^^
Only my two...

Cheers
Thomas

 

[Hurdy Gurdy]

Thought I might resurrect this thread as opposed to starting a new one. I am still trying to restrain myself from buying a second bass rod as I promised myself that I would try to keep things simple! However if I succumb I would be tempted to buy something better suited to SP fishing. I haven’t fished SP’s very often but found it difficult to fish standard size x-layers on my 2009 8’ 6” 10 - 50g Bushwhacker, I freely admit that may have been due more to my crappy technique than the actual rod. Anyway, the new rod would be for standard size X-layers and that kind of thing (optimum weight around 7g I suppose), since I can't afford the fancy stuff I am tempted to stick with Savage Gear and go for the Bushwhacker 3 - 18.

Would I be better for going for the 10 - 30g version, also I suppose a 2500 size Shimano would be a good fit on either rod (especially the 3 - 18)?

 

[Simon L]

Evening Walter. I havent fished with the 3-18g version, but if it's as good as the other rods in the range, it'll cope just fine. My son fishes with the 10-30g version though (7ft), and with standard Xlayers (& equivalent), with Jig Heads 5g+, it's a cracking rod. He's landed Wrasse over 5lbs & Bass over 6lbs on it, and it's still going strong. Paired with either a 2500 or 3000 Shimano (or equivalent) it's a nicely balanced, light outfit that will give you all sorts of options (it'll handle hard plastic just fine also).

 

[Hurdy Gurdy]

Thanks Simon. I love the Savage Gear rods (although I am open to considering other brands). I have three of their rods for freshwater as well as the Bushwhacker. I guess I just need to get some feedback on the 3 - 18 versus your son's version.

Oh, and please tell your son to keep up the good work!

 

[Conor Hallahan]

Thinking along the same lines as yourself here Walter...

 

[James Davis]

I have this rod for using SP's and small plugs teamed up with a Rarenium 3000 and the balance is fine as far as I can tell. Very sensitive especially if you use 8 strand braid.