Carpenter rod. Worth it?
Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Saltwater Fishing
Forum Name: Popper and Topwater Fishing
Forum Description: If you're into a bit of action on top, this is the forum for you
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=103788
Printed Date: 05 Jun 2026 at 1:56pm
Topic: Carpenter rod. Worth it?
Posted By: fishoooo
Subject: Carpenter rod. Worth it?
Date Posted: 13 Sep 2014 at 6:32pm
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I'm new to stick baiting and looking at different options. What I want to know is do you think carpenter rods are worth the money and why? Monster Mesh and other rods are less than half the price. Are they half as good? If the $1,400 wasn't an issue would you buy a carpenter rod and why? Cheers :)
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Replies:
Posted By: segador
Date Posted: 13 Sep 2014 at 7:34pm
i used to fish a cheap van staal rod which did work but when fishing with a mate with a carpenter he used to outfish me everytime if you can afford a carpenter rod buy one not only are they super powerful and cast well they make it very easy to swim your baits which is important when targeting large kingfish as they are smarter fish in my opinion and will shy away from a skipping stickbait go talk to boys at yeehaa they will steer you in the right direction they will also fix you up with a carpenter stickbait to go with your rod which is a must ask for luke he knows his topwater and has put me on some good fish
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Posted By: PE Pete
Date Posted: 13 Sep 2014 at 8:21pm
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Carpenters are good I have one but they are not the only good rod for this application. There are many other brands of good rods for top water such as Smith, Ripple fisher, and more locally Synit. Synit rods are an option you may want to consider probably similar price range maybe a little cheaper, locally made & finished by hand by forum member called Men In Black aka Graeme give him a PM I'm sure he could help. Or contact another forum member Nomad aka Ben who is the agent for Ripple fisher rods. Good luck it's an awesome form of fishing get the best you can afford! Cheers Pete ------------- Tight lines PE Pete |
Posted By: Aaron32987
Date Posted: 16 Sep 2014 at 8:07am
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Put it the other way - is a Carpenter twice as good as a 1/2 price alternative? No. It's many times better. Do it once, do it right.  plenty of other alternatives also in the higher end range
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Posted By: jac
Date Posted: 16 Sep 2014 at 11:32am
| FCL Labo, Salty Water Tackle racepoint, Temple Reef, HOTs.......... |
Posted By: Structfab
Date Posted: 16 Sep 2014 at 11:39am
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You won't get all the benefits of a high end rod if you're only willing to swim budget baits. Also, if you're planning on landing a couple of kings a budget rod will prob suffice, 20-50 kings in a day, then a high end rod will absorb alot more of the hurt, and will better attract the bigger models (using high end lures), of course this only comes after practice, and with all types of fishing, some days nothing will work. Of course how often it'll be used is a consideration, a $1000 rod used 40 times in a season is far better value then a $500 rod used twice. If you plan on getting serious, get serious gear, the best in the sport use the best gear, and that's no coincidence. |
Posted By: C A
Date Posted: 16 Sep 2014 at 11:40am
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don't forget yamaga as well, heaps of options other than carpenter ------------- http://www.legasea.co.nz" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: fishoooo
Date Posted: 16 Sep 2014 at 5:33pm
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Thanks for the advice. I just purchased a brand new shiny Carpenter BLC 83/35R Power Max! Cheers Yeehaa and Luke for all your help. Much appreciated.
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Posted By: Eastender
Date Posted: 16 Sep 2014 at 6:36pm
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Noice
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Posted By: segador
Date Posted: 17 Sep 2014 at 6:18pm
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awesome mate you can stop any king that swims the ocean now you wont be disapointed
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Posted By: Structfab
Date Posted: 17 Sep 2014 at 8:26pm
any good sized king won't give a hoot about ya fancy new rod, and will do it's best to find a weak link somewhere in the chain. Fish shallow reefs with top end lures that you can't afford to loose, best form of gambling ever invented.
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segador wrote:Posted By: PE Pete
Date Posted: 18 Sep 2014 at 7:26am
Nice one mate they are beasts I've got the 83/40 & still haven't maxed it out. What reel you planing on putting on it? Pete ------------- Tight lines PE Pete |
Posted By: Boxee
Date Posted: 18 Sep 2014 at 9:49am
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"Fish shallow reefs with top end lures that you can't afford to loose, best form of gambling ever invented." Classic! Structfab for PM. ------------- http://www.legasea.co.nz" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: sid fishus
Date Posted: 18 Sep 2014 at 1:33pm
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Another type of gamble, throw exy stickbaits around wash with lots of kelp and swells too big to get near the rocks..... As in 'Theres my bluefish stuck on that kelp on that rock bro, you can see it when the swell drops down, come on mate you can get the boat in there!, I wanna get it back!' ------------- I always tell the truth about things that never happened |
Posted By: Kinghitter
Date Posted: 18 Sep 2014 at 3:03pm
Haha great line that one!
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Posted By: segador
Date Posted: 18 Sep 2014 at 7:13pm
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Posted By: Structfab
Date Posted: 18 Sep 2014 at 7:37pm
congrats, that's a good win. Now spin the dice again, it's never a sure thing, that's half the fun. |
Posted By: Structfab
Date Posted: 18 Sep 2014 at 8:06pm
The fight was not long but troy had some massive drag on the fish and for most of the fight was just pinned to the rail trying not to get pulled in!....sounds like you were gambling to me
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Posted By: segador
Date Posted: 18 Sep 2014 at 10:00pm
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Posted By: Aaron32987
Date Posted: 18 Sep 2014 at 11:47pm
Bloody good fish, got a photo? 
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Posted By: segador
Date Posted: 19 Sep 2014 at 7:03am
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Posted By: Structfab
Date Posted: 19 Sep 2014 at 8:17am
yeah righto, "knotflash" has bought a great rod, no question. Given he's new to the sport I thought I might shed some light on the fact that now he can focus on all the other elements. And the awesome fun to be had. There's a thousand scenarios where that 40kg could have had you busted, like if you'd been catching fish all day, would your leader to lure knot still be 100%, or would have you re-tied, but at what point? what if the other 2 fish were still on, and you couldn't have been "backed hard" off the reef, bla bla bla. Surely as informed and practised as you are, you can understand these things.I stand by my words, the fish don't give a hoot about brands, for them it converts to one thing....resistance. Some times maximum resistance is not the answer, and basically can be little dull if you're not into the larger specimens. I bow humbly at your feet, as although |I've had 1/2 doz in the mid 30's I've not had a 40+. You are the king.
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Posted By: segador
Date Posted: 19 Sep 2014 at 10:54am
| Haha I'm no king and by far no expert just got lucky on the dAy but I'm glad I had a carpenter you can count on your hands the amount of fish over 40 that have been caught on topwater in nz and a lot of those have been caught on carpenter rods I wonder how many fish that size have been lost due to poor gear I would say a few |
Posted By: Structfab
Date Posted: 19 Sep 2014 at 11:32am
it's also harder to entice over 40's with poor gear, big n fussy. yeah it would seem carpenter has a more then a good market share in the NZ stickbait scene, prob mostly thanks to the hard work from ya mates at Yeehaa, but as mentioned previous on the thread there's many manufacturers that do a quality product. |
Posted By: MarkE
Date Posted: 19 Sep 2014 at 12:00pm
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Carpenter have good marketing thats for sure. Theres are other brands just as good though for less $$ IMO. ------------- Sea Strike 18' Centre Console - Under Construction.... http://www.fishing.net.nz/asp_forums/sea-strike-18-build-thread_topic87723_page1.html" rel="nofollow - Build Thread here |
Posted By: YeeHaa
Date Posted: 19 Sep 2014 at 12:13pm
Not too sure what you mean by that MarkE? i havnt noticed carpenter sponsoring big tv shows or adds.... What we have seen is a lot of massive fish been caught on Carpenter rods and lures and well that speaks for its self. no marketing needed. GT Gamma keep casting never give up!  -------------   WWW.YEEHAA.CO.NZ (09)5705058 30 Jellicoe Road Panmure |
Posted By: Titahi
Date Posted: 19 Sep 2014 at 1:49pm
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Sponsoring TV shows and big ad campaigns are only one aspect of marketing, in the current environment, social marketing is lilely to have better penetration to your market.
I think Carpenter have a very good grasp on the economics of supply and demand, by limiting supply the exponentially increase demand, they are also a company the specialise in topwater equipment, and have done so for a long time.
I think there is no doub that they produce very good gear, they also produce stuff that has obtained a cult status. ( sea frogs) The reality in my mind is there are other companies who also produce very good top water gear, and they shouldnt be discounted when considering your options.
Synit
Patroit design
smith
FC labo
Zenaq
------------- "I love standing by the ocean and just knowing what its for" |
Posted By: fishoooo
Date Posted: 19 Sep 2014 at 7:47pm
I haven't worked out which reel yet mate. It's a tricky one.
I've been thinking Stella 18000 or Daiwa Saltiga 6500H or even Daiwa Dogfight... Dogfight seems a bit overkill but I think I would rather be over gunned in case I do the odd Mayor Island or Three Kings Mission. It's still lighter than the Stella 18000 too. Some people will say Stella 14000 or Daiwa 5000 I guess but the rod can handle more than that from what I understand? What's your thoughts? Whats on your 83/40? |
Posted By: Structfab
Date Posted: 19 Sep 2014 at 8:35pm
| Saltiga Expedition 5500H is the reel you want IMO |
Posted By: groovyfisherman
Date Posted: 20 Sep 2014 at 6:11am
| i just went through the whole buying a carpenter rod thing a few weeks back and decided to match it with a stella 14k even though i already had an 18k as i wanted a lighter reel for casting all day. the thing that swung me was that the drag power of the 14 and 18k are the same at a drag power of 25. |
Posted By: strike.nz
Date Posted: 20 Sep 2014 at 8:08am
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Go with the swb14000 or saltiga 5500. You will fit 300m PE6, perfect for the rod and the rod will balance really nice. I have a sw10000 with swb14000 spool running PE6 matched to my BLC80/35 and when i put my sw20000 on it, it just doesn't feel rite for how light the rod is IMO
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Posted By: Kinghitter
Date Posted: 20 Sep 2014 at 8:26am
Go the Saltiga 5500h expedition... You won't be disappointed. When the 14k and that are sitting side by side, I'd pick that up first every time. |
Posted By: Aaron32987
Date Posted: 21 Sep 2014 at 10:02am
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I use an 18k with my 83/40 from the rocks and boat. It does get tiring and I'd go with a lighter reel if I did it again today. Either that or harden up.
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Posted By: fishoooo
Date Posted: 22 Sep 2014 at 6:24pm
Yea I looked at this. Has a good review even from Alan Hawk. The drag is 15kg though? Enough for topwater in shallows?? Whats everyones opinion?
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Posted By: PE Pete
Date Posted: 22 Sep 2014 at 6:42pm
I started out with a Stella 18k but have down sized to 10K SW with Amigo casting braid PE6. This after doing top water all day with the 18K & realising for a slight decrease in max drag & spool cap I can fish all day with the 10K ------------- Tight lines PE Pete |
Posted By: MarkE
Date Posted: 22 Sep 2014 at 7:00pm
try lifting a 15kg weight off the rod tip - its a lot more than you think... ------------- Sea Strike 18' Centre Console - Under Construction.... http://www.fishing.net.nz/asp_forums/sea-strike-18-build-thread_topic87723_page1.html" rel="nofollow - Build Thread here |
Posted By: Snag
Date Posted: 26 Sep 2014 at 8:10pm
| Whats wrong with Ripple Fisher rods?, have they been mentioned?. |
Posted By: Structfab
Date Posted: 27 Sep 2014 at 9:01pm
yeah it's plenty on a stick bait rod, a short jigging rod you hold a bit more, but 15 for topwater is heaps. p.s I'm totally bias in that department as use a Saltiga 5000H with the same max drag rating. |
Posted By: Structfab
Date Posted: 27 Sep 2014 at 9:05pm
don't seem to have the following here. Fished Ranfurly with a bunch of guys from Asia who had heaps of them, nice rods, no question
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