okuma andros 8ft stickbaiting rod pe4 to 6 $300 retail, offshore rodworks make stickbait rods like their illusion softbait rods round $400. the old okuma x factor 8ft6 xf862 retails for $120! and was someone on this site put up some photos of some mean kings taken on one!

For the budget starter, a rocky 2(spin version) would do the job...especially off the rocks(which i will be doing tomorrow)....I have caught a 22.5 kg king on it off the bricks,so can vouch for it there....not so sure on a boat as its no so bendy...The shimano caranx Pencil instrument would be the next stage up and often on here or trade me for 400.00 used.If you have the dosh...there are the likes of smiths,ripplefisher and Carpenter(if you can get hold of em).You need a softer tip than a popping rod to help cast the stickbaits and then move them somoothly without lifting them out of the water.The rod needs to bend midway as kings tend to fight more straight up and down(boat).

been looking at the shimano terez popper rods online they sound good if you believe the hype ,a forward powerhandle grip, good price and nice colour range as well but i cant find anyone selling the 7"8 popper rod in nz ? seems theres about 24 modals in the range but we only get a few brought in . has anyone tried them out the yanks are hypeing em up but thats wot they do .

Youll find its hard to find a rod that is good for sticks and pops and might well need two different ones or one popper rod that can do a reasonable job of stick baiting...The rocky is good for pops and sticks as long as you dont use big cup type pops or bloopers(hard to get the action on em with softer tip).....pencil poppers work well and williamson jet poppers work well as they have little resistance in the water.

laidbackdood wrote: Structfab=How long is this rod mate?=CD Rods Gamecaster 10-15kg 2nd hand ($200).....Wondering if its the same as mine. Another option for the thread writer...as above.

It's 2.3m, so thats 7'6"

It is a stiff pole of a rod from yesteryear. You would find it extremely hard to get thing to even bend. It has a short limp and bendy bit on the end. Do you remember those stiff graphite rods with the little soft bit on the end, from that era. The sort of rod that loads up ridiculously unenevenly i.e. super soft to super stiff. rod like that would kill you on a kingfish from a boat. Can't understand why it is being recommended here. Things have come along along way since these sorts of rods

The shimano t-curve and offshore illusion will get you there for around the 4 to 5 hundy mark, won't break your wallet or your back and would swim sticks and small poppers no problems. Can remember before christmas there were about 4 shimano caranx Kaibutsu  rods on here in the buy/sell, seemed like alot of people upgrading as the bug grabs hold.

Yep, you''ve got to work them gently at first and even ongoing in windy / swelly conditions. The slack line is the key, using that to load up the tip of the rod which causes the bait to dive and fizz through the water. I'm pretty inexperienced, but already i can see it taking over as the #1 technique for catching kings from the rocks for me, over live and dead baiting.

Don't be too worried about the weight - I'm using an 18000 reel and it was a bit tiring at first but I've quickly got used to it an have had quite a few sessions of continuous casting both from the rocks and boats. Probably just hardened myself up...

To be honest, if you get a good stickbait rod and a good lure (I'm completely sold on the carpenter gammas - they will raise and hook fish in the most unlikely places as I've found) you'll likely find it so effective you'll not want to even bother with a popper if Kings are your target.

The Caranx is a good rod, I sold mine not long ago as I was lucky enough to have a Carpenter come up second hand.

I'm using a Offshore Illusion 8ft, lighter version,  rated to 37kg but a nice light action good for working stickbaits and forgiving on the angler as they fold away nice and 'evenly. Bang for buck, the CTS blanks are awesome and Leon does a good build on them to put them out for an insanely good value mid priced rod. His stated casting weights are a bit off thou. You'll be more than happy with it mate, especially if you're getting a good deal.

Haven't noticed too much of an issue with line twist for working stick baits, but I have been shore jigging with mine recently and have noticed a bit of line twist. Swivels are all good for using with poppers, but make working stickbaits a bit more difficult. If you do use swivels those jigstar ones with the grommets would be a good option I'd imagine, especially if using a lighter weight casting leader and you want to put some hurt on them.

There is a good 'indo' crew making more affordable topwater lures ~ Adhek. Check out the Adhek Penipen.
I just make my own topwater lures, save a whole lot, and pretty happy with results and action thus far.

Bro, I'm sure people that use them will tell you they are worth every penny. It's not a status thing at all, more well tuned well proven fish catching enticers.

sorry for sarcasm but im not gun spend the equivelent of a day on a charter boat on 1 lure unless i win lotto .