The beauty, and fascination, of targeting snapper with lures largely comes down to the wide variety of tackle and techniques now in use.
In the rod and reel department, Shimano has been at the forefront of development with many of the concepts and techniques stemming from product available on the Japanese Domestic Market (JDM).
For myself and many of my peers, lure fishing has put the sport back into snapper fishing. Throwing a bait over the side and waiting for something to happen doesn’t seem as much fun as ‘stalking’ snapper with a soft-bait or metal jig. It presents more of a challenge. The gear is lighter, and although the reels are smaller in size, they produce some amazing drag performance – and it feels like you are actively targeting the fish.
One such combo is the Shimano Genpu baitcast reel and Salty Advanced Tairaba slow-pitch jig combo. I managed to get out after lockdown and put this kit through its paces in Bream Bay, chasing the bait aggregations.
The Shimano Genpu 200PG XT reel/Salty Advance Tairaba B69MH-S baitcaster combo is ideal for lure fishing for the likes of snapper under the spring work-ups.
Priced at under $400 RRP, this is ‘middle of the road’ tackle and I found it spot on for fishing lighter lures such as inchikus, micro jigs and slider-type lures. Although it has a particularly fast tip action, there is still plenty of strength through the bottom half of the blank. The rod is acid wrapped, taking any twist out of the blank when under load.
It is a smart-looking bit of kit, with a blood red butt section and white tip, it stands out in the crowded tackle store rod racks. Over several sessions I managed schoolie snapper to 3.5kg, which the gear handled no sweat. Five kilos of drag will stop the biggest of snapper, but I am not so sure about a decent kingfish, especially over the initial run before you get yourself organised to chase the fish down.
You get quite a bit of technology for your money. The blank is constructed using Shimano’s proprietary TAFTEC technology, creating good sensitivity. The TAFTEC blanks are made using a pre-stretch directional yarn fibre, the end result of the process being a spineless blank that weighs less, offers a faster taper and has great sensitivity to transmit even the most insignificant attention from a tentative fish.
The ‘soft tube tip’ is constructed in a similar way, combining the sensitivity of graphite with the lightness of hollow construction.
The reel matches the lightness of the rod, weighing just 195g. I particularly liked the large, ergonomic power handle which includes ball handle. Having a good free spool factor is an essential feature of a good lure fishing reel. This property is enhanced in the Genpu 200PG with Shimano’s ‘super free bearing-supported pinion gear system (SF)’. When the clutch is disengaged, the pinion gear and spool shaft are kept in precise alignment, resulting in zero friction and great free spooling properties.
While I didn’t have the outfit long enough to see for myself, Shimano tell me there is plenty of internal protection. The SF system is shielded to eliminate the ingress of salt and grit, with the anti-reverse bearings put through the same protective process as the A-RB bearings.
In summary, this was a fun combo to fish with and its lightness means you can fish it all day in comfort. Once you have become familiar with the particularly fast taper tip, you will appreciate its fish-catching capabilities.
Weight 195g
Gear Ratio 5.5:1
Braid Capacity PE1.5-2/200m approx.
Bearings 3BB+1RB
Drag System Star
Max Drag 5kg
Handle Power handle
Retrieve 59cm per crank
Construction Ci4+
Length 6’9”
Pieces 2
Line weight PE 1.5
Lure weight Max 200g
Action Fast
Guides and reel seat Fuji
Grips EVA
For more info click here.
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