RE: Calstar GF760L Jigging Rod

RE: Calstar GF760L Jigging Rod

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RE: Calstar GF760L Jigging Rod - 1 July 2004 9:34:45

Wade Micke

Posts: 66
Joined: 17 November 2003
Status: offline

Andy,
i got my Kilwells from the Sportfishing Scene here in Adelaide, but you can order them from anywhere that stocks Kilwell. I watched in absolute delight as my mate knocked the crap out of a 90cm blue groper with his rod (GBB60MJ) i had built for him, highsticking the rod and bending it into hoops. I swear it was going to break- graphite shouldnt do what he did to that rod. He told me later that he "tested" it before we left, and deadlifted 6 kilos (i dont necessarily recommend this!!!).
I dont think FISHERMAN rods have a warranty, which is pretty scary for something that costs over a grand. For that price it had better cook me breakfast in the morning!!!!

Wade

(in reply to Garry Lilley)

Post #: 16

RE: Calstar GF760L Jigging Rod - 1 July 2004 11:35:08

Andy Woodford

Posts: 1522
Joined: 5 June 2003
From: NOR
Status: offline

Gary,

The "Fisherman's" look like a real monster of a rod, but they're unfortunately well beyond my means. I'm also not sure how many time a year I'll be able to get out Sambo Jigging, so am unable to justify spending too much on gear.

One things for sure though. I'll be stumping up for a Gym menbership before I get out there. That really looks like some serious hurt the fish is putting on the angler.

Cheers

< Message edited by Andy Woodford -- 1 July 2004 13:44:44 >

_____________________________

The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope.

John Buchan

(in reply to Garry Lilley)

Post #: 17

RE: Calstar GF760L Jigging Rod - 1 July 2004 13:07:26

Mark Heath

Posts: 251
Joined: 5 June 2003
From: Coogee, Western Australia
Status: offline

Andy, Cost was not my deciding factor, I would gladly pay another $100 if I thought the Calstar blank was going to perform a lot better.
The Calstar blanks I looked at also seemed to have a fairly fast taper & were fairly thick & a bit on the heavy side in my opinion.
With the livefibre blank I'm partly trying to emulate some of Daiwa Saltiga graphite rods that range upwards from $700, reportedly very good for jigging - (amazing power in a superlightweight rod that's only about 10mm thick)
If you look at my earlier thread when I was deciding what blank to buy, AB did comment that his own Calstar Rod was pretty heavy at the end of a days fishing.......

Anyway "the proof of the pudding is in the eating", so I won't really know until a couple of weeks when the completed rod is made up & still then got to get out on a charter & nail a big Sambo to really field test the rod.

BTW The livefibre blanks can be ordered from most tackle shops - mine had to come from the Eastern States & took about 10 Days.

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Cheers

Heathy

" I can see the tunnel at the end of the light....."

(in reply to Andy Woodford)

Post #: 18

RE: Calstar GF760L Jigging Rod - 1 July 2004 16:42:49

Doug Gordon

Posts: 99
Joined: 24 March 2004
From: South Australia
Status: offline

Andy, I agree that the 760L has a nice bend back to the butt, but take note of what Mick says....IT TAKES A LOT OF EFFORT TO KEEP A BEND IN IT LIKE THAT! That's what I thought, when I had a good pull on one! An "M" would be a killer I would think! It might be OK on ONE or two fish but after a few you could be dead!
Also note that the 80lbs braid parted company!
You would be mad NOT to use heavy braid in deep water, BUT IMHO braid needs a SOFTER rod, to compensate for the zero stretch, which is transmitting stress straight back to the angler, as well as putting the line under more stress as well. Graphite sticks are HARD and IMHO braid needs a softer action. There is nothing wrong with letting a fish run a bit! If you think you can sustain 20lbs+ of drag, then go for it, but in reality, that is a hell of an effort, and you will wish your rod would bend more!
I am speaking, too, from the point of view of having to fish over a HIGH rail, unlike Shikari, which is much lower. When the rail is high, you have to hold the rod up under your arm, and a heavy rod action is a killer in this position! (If you are built like Arnold Swarzenegger, you will be fine with any of the rods suggested!)
Good luck!

(in reply to Andy Woodford)

Post #: 19

RE: Calstar GF760L Jigging Rod - 1 July 2004 17:10:12

Garry Lilley

Posts: 1435
Joined: 5 June 2003
Status: offline

our front rail is pretty high doug.minimum survey specs,but high all the same.under the arm is how i prefer it,but i wouldnt usually do more than one or 2 fish.
pic is barson relaxing on the bow

edit,not sure what rod mick is using there,maybe a silstar.

(Click Image for full size)

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< Message edited by Garry Lilley -- 1 July 2004 17:13:09 >

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Post #: 20

RE: Calstar GF760L Jigging Rod - 1 July 2004 17:11:37

Hal Harvey

Posts: 2079
Joined: 4 June 2003
From: Perth, Western Australia
Status: offline

I've been away for a bit so have only just waded through this... couple of comments to make. First up on cost - I haven't gone looking these up, but the Calstar GF760L I'm pretty sure is $219, and if a GBB60MJ is $180 as Wade says, and presumably the GBB60XJ is a bit more expensive, then there isn't 50% or $100 difference as Mark suggested.

A few years ago we built a few GBB60s (both MJs and XJs), and most of them broke. That was out of their first and second incarnations, and they're now on their third or fourth. They might be fine, but I guess you can understand why I wouldn't push them. Wade also talks about the XJ being a 50lb rod, so perhaps far too risky with the 80lb Andy will use.

The difference in rod weight is insignificant - they get all the same components, so we're only talking about the difference in the weight of the blanks. A built rod, reel and line combination weighs about a kilo and a half, not counting say a 300g jig. The difference in the blank weights is less than 3% of that. Anybody who can tell the difference... anyway, any perceived difference is much more likely to be a function of rod length and grip diameter. The first response from most people picking up a built GF760L is, "Jeez that's light..."

Andy, a 7460 is what the septics call a rail rod - bigger and beefier in the butt to use as a lever across the boat's rail. Not good as a spin rod in any situation.

Wade suggests the GF760L has a light tip - that's not right. Ditto with Mark's fast taper comment. The 6'6" and 7' Calstars have casting tips, but the 6' blanks don't. They will easily work a 500g jig if required, and bend back to the foregrip under the kind of drag you'd use with PE8.

Che's still muttering abouth building a GF760M and using PE10, but for PE8 I'd still say the GF760L. We usually use 11 or 12 kilos of drag (dead lift if you like) on the GF760L. If a GBB60MJ is good for six kilos, I'd be surprised if an XJ was good for twice that.

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(in reply to Mark Heath)

Post #: 21

RE: Calstar GF760L Jigging Rod - 2 July 2004 5:52:44

Andy Woodford

Posts: 1522
Joined: 5 June 2003
From: NOR
Status: offline

Doug,

I'm with you all of the way on using a more forgiving rod with braid. The reason that I went with a Calstar GF900H for my GT Popping rod was partially that it was a carbon/glass composite. I'd already broken a couple of pure carbon rods on GT's.

Cheers

_____________________________

The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope.

John Buchan

(in reply to Doug Gordon)

Post #: 22

RE: Calstar GF760L Jigging Rod - 2 July 2004 5:59:25

Andy Woodford

Posts: 1522
Joined: 5 June 2003
From: NOR
Status: offline

Hal,

Thanks very much for that input.

I must admit there are some very convincing arguments in favour of the GF760L there.

Cheers

_____________________________

The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope.

John Buchan

(in reply to Hal Harvey)

Post #: 23

RE: Calstar GF760L Jigging Rod - 2 July 2004 9:50:48

Mark Heath

Posts: 251
Joined: 5 June 2003
From: Coogee, Western Australia
Status: offline

Hal, I bought a GBB60XJ blank for $130, (from your own business), so I was incorrect $89 difference or 41%.....

I was planning on running 9kg of drag (the limit of the reel I have) & using 50lb braid for the setup I'm getting made.

80lb braid & 12kg of drag would be pushing it too far...

Were the Live Fibre blanks that broke being over fished or was it a manufacturing problem?

_____________________________

Cheers

Heathy

" I can see the tunnel at the end of the light....."

(in reply to Hal Harvey)

Post #: 24

RE: Calstar GF760L Jigging Rod - 2 July 2004 19:13:45

Che Carson

Posts: 70
Joined: 18 February 2004
From: Bluewater Scarborough, Western Australia
Status: offline

Mark,

Hal's away again but I can tell you. It was definitely a design problem. They changed them to fix it a few years ago and we haven't seen any broken for a long time, but as Hal said we haven't been pushing the GBBs. We do sell a lot of Kilwell Live Fibres so it's not a slight against the manufacturer. Everybody makes a dud somewhere along the way, and hopefully Kilwell's is back in history now.

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Post #: 25

RE: Calstar GF760L Jigging Rod - 3 July 2004 10:13:00

Allan Bevan

Posts: 740
Joined: 5 June 2003
From: Rockingham, Western Australia
Status: offline

I have some Fisherman rods on the way into the country and if you compare the price against a custom build both are a similar price ( I have a arrangement with Fisherman).
The point of the Japanese gear is the weight factor. You can work these rod all day and still have feeling in your arms

As for the rods, yes i drive a 760L and it is a fantastic jig stick but it does get heavy after a few fish.
I also have a Smiths WGJ jig stick that is 37KG rated, two piece wonder that is half the weight of a calstar.
The last is a Jacker, looks more like a herring rod but again 24 - 37kg rated.
The list could go on and on with the likes of G-Loomis, Graphite USA or even the ugly stick.
The best is try some before you buy. In the long run it can save a lot of money if you build something that does not suit your fishing style

(Click Image for full size)

Attachment (1)

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Live all you can; it's a mistake not to. It doesn't so much matter what you do in particular, so long as you have had your life. If you haven't had that what have you had?
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Post #: 26

RE: Calstar GF760L Jigging Rod - 3 July 2004 11:22:51

Cameron Burke

Posts: 27
Joined: 2 November 2003
From: Charters Towers
Status: offline

Allan,
A couple ogf questions for you;
Which specific Ugly Stick/s are you using for jigging. Are they spin or overhead?
Are the GLoomis rods the newer Obsidian Saltwater blanks / rods?

Cheers
Cameron

(in reply to Allan Bevan)

Post #: 27

RE: Calstar GF760L Jigging Rod - 3 July 2004 11:57:59

Wade Micke

Posts: 66
Joined: 17 November 2003
Status: offline

I agree with Allan about the weight factor of the japanese gear, and i guess it has a lot to do with the "balance" as much as the overall weight of the set-up. This is something that i aimed to imitate in using the Kilwell blanks and i think they are a viable option. I will agree that they dont have the power to fish 10-13kg drag settings so perhaps not suited to the 80lb rod that was the requirement of this thread initially. Once you start pulling on rods with this sort of firepower i guess composite blanks do help keep it all in one piece, and i think this is something Smith concede with their WGJ (wonder glass jig) series of rods.
Doug's comment about graphite sticks being "hard" isnt totally true. he is right that braid needs a softer action, and graphite is stiffer than glass, but it can have a soft shock-absorbing ability if incorporated in a slower tapered blank, just the same as you can build a fast action glass rod.

Wade

(in reply to Allan Bevan)

Post #: 28

RE: Calstar GF760L Jigging Rod - 3 July 2004 12:10:40

Allan Bevan

Posts: 740
Joined: 5 June 2003
From: Rockingham, Western Australia
Status: offline

Hi Cameron, the two that i use as a customer rod are
black tiger 1484-006 1.65m medium13-25kg. On this rod (and yes it is for a o/head) i am happy to run 8500/9500 spinfishers with 50-80lb braid. To date no problems
The other is a 483-052(BWB1100) 1.8m 10kg stick which again I am happy to run a spinfisher or a o/head.
Yes I would rather fish with gear from the "TOP" end of the market and in my opinion the expensive gear does make a huge difference with all the blends of materials( glass, carbon, boron etc). But the lower end of the scale does have gear that can and does handle the rigors of jigging.
The other thing is the depth that you will be jigging- damn hard to work a 120-150grm jig in 30m of water with a calstar. In the shallow water you need something softer to impart action into the jig.
My 760l works best with a jig 300grms+ and normally a Fisherman Crazy Long at 520grms

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Live all you can; it's a mistake not to. It doesn't so much matter what you do in particular, so long as you have had your life. If you haven't had that what have you had?
Henry James

(in reply to Cameron Burke)

Post #: 29

RE: Calstar GF760L Jigging Rod - 3 July 2004 14:20:35

Cameron Burke

Posts: 27
Joined: 2 November 2003
From: Charters Towers
Status: offline

Allan
Thanks for the details on the Ugly Sticks - how is the butt length on those rods for use with spin gear - I find some are too short to be used under the arm and need to be worked from the rod belt.

Thanks again

Cameron

PS Where did you source the Smith and Jacker rods from?

(in reply to Allan Bevan)

Post #: 30