I'm looking at getting a new topwater all-rounder setup for the rocks.  

I would be mainly fishing off rocks in the Coromandel or the east coast north of Auckland with a handful of serious trips here and there Far North or at the top of the Coromandel. 

I'm tossing up between either the 2015 Saltiga 5000H or a 2020 Saltiga 14000XH on PE6 with a leader of between 100lb to 130lb.  

The main difference between the pair is the price - the 2015 one is almost half the price of the 2020 one and I'm not sure whether the 2020 one is worth that extra $600 or so, even with the new internals and the 10kg increase in drag (from 15kg to 25kg). 

Good idea mate but as I have a couple of mid-level reels already, was hoping to get something nice and shiny 

Fair enough Muppet thanks for the advice, I'll look at the gosa as well 

Love the slammer, have my 6500HS as my go-to topwater reel these days!

Does look nice!  Good specs on those. 

jac wrote: Worth a mention for a rod is the new MC WORKS Trident series in both the Raging Bull and Explosion series. 3 piece rods designed exclusively for landbased. Also the standard 2pce Raging Bull rods. That new Twinpower looks sweet

Cheers mate!

Structfab wrote: I've got a 2nd hand MC Works Seven Miles 806CR looking to sell shortly. PM if interested

Thanks Structfab, I'll let you know if this carpenter falls through! 

That is a beautiful rod! Let me know how it goes mate!

With my sub-standard casting techniques, I need all the help I can get with getting the lure out there hahaha

Hahaha so I hear!!

As other have suggested there are plenty of other  alternatives including the new Certate SW, the new BG series, and I think there's also a new saltist series coming out. Then there's the various Shimano equivalents, twinpowers etc. 

For my lbg stickbaiting set up I'm using a 10 foot tailwalk Okinawa Manbika 100sxh with a 2013 twinpower 14000xg. I'm pretty happy with the rod, although I'm yet to hook anything over 10-12kgs with it. It cost around $500 on sale from plat in japan, even with some eye watering shipping costs.

Tailwalk also do a 10 foot 6 'plugging special which is designed specifically for stickbaits and looks pretty nice.  https://www.tailwalk.jp/en/product/manbika-ver2/" rel="nofollow - https://www.tailwalk.jp/en/product/manbika-ver2/

Yeehaa in Auckland were bringing in a few tailwalk rods, but I'm not sure if they still have any? Otherwise it's a case of ordering from overseas. 

I've been looking doing a bit of lockdown rod research and the Apia Grandage XD 100EX  looks really good.  https://fishingtst.com.au/product/apia-grandage-xd-rods-for-land-based-game-fishing/?v=9630b94eacc0" rel="nofollow - https://fishingtst.com.au/product/apia-grandage-xd-rods-for-land-based-game-fishing/?v=9630b94eacc0

There's a few videos on youtube and it doesn't look as brutal as the specs suggest.

If you want to go custom CTS in Auckland make a few blanks that would fit the bill including the GT fight series. They're definitely not cheap though.

There's a bit of debate around using10 foot rods versus more traditional 8 footish rods from the rocks, both have their pros and cons, so it's really up to personal preference. 

The daiwa spartan series has an 8 foot 5 pe8 model which could be good for lbg, and it's stocked in NZ which is a bonus. There's also a similar spec rod in the Saltiga C series, although daiwa NZ don't seem to be importing them yet. 

Pico thank you for your well-thought out advice!  I appreciate it and will definitely save it away for the near future as I've somehow ended up with a blue chaser 80/35!

I'm still keen on a 10ft at some stage and will be saving up for one. The tailwalk looks really good. 

Three topwater setups later and I still haven't caught a kingfish off the rocks hahaha

Go for MC Works Raging Bull or Ripple Fisher RunnerExceed. You can't go wrong with either. I take them around the world for GTs, Kings, Amberjacks and tuna from the rocks.

Saltiga 2020 14000XH or the 18000.

I have 4 land-based setups.

Ripple Fisher Runner Exceed Final StandUp 100SXH (PE10) + saltiga 2020 18000

Ripple Fisher Runner Exceed 100SHH LIMITED (PE8) + saltiga 2020 14000XH

MC Works Raging Bull RB98XS-2 (PE8) + saltiga 2020 14000XH

MC Works Raging Bull RB104XX (PE10) + saltiga 2020 18000

I do prefer a little the Ripple Fisher, but both are amazing. The PE10 rod has unending power, for the hardest spots when I really need to put extreme pressure on the biggest fish. The PE8 is amazing, the 100SHH LIMITED, by far my favorite rod. So much power and elasticity, the second the fish stops pulling the rod pulls back immediately and is a lot more forgiving on the body.  It is my go to setup in most of the spots.

The MC Works Raging Bull RB104XX (PE10) is not as "flexible" in terms of allowing to work well all kinds of lures and the Runner Exceed, but it is on par with it with strength. The MC Works Raging Bull RB98XS-2 works supper well with sticks, but you'll have to pull a bit more from her with poppers. It is less capable and pleasant as the Runner Exceed 100SHH LIMITED, but I think that RF rod is on a scale of its own, quite unique. Still, that PE8 raging bull will subdue big big big fish easily!

That's my recommendation. And I do like to change and rotate all 4 setups in different trips and fishing spots. If I had to pick only one, it would be the RE 100SHH PE8 with saltiga 2020 14000XH, it is by far the one I prefer, can work and do good with almost any kind of lure and it is perfect for my body weight too. Has power for everything.