Popper outfits
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=53778
Printed Date: 28 Jan 2026 at 6:36am
Topic: Popper outfits
Posted By: Manoa
Subject: Popper outfits
Date Posted: 18 May 2010 at 1:25pm
| Any recommendations for good spin rods to use as popper/ stickbait set ups. |
Replies:
Posted By: MupeT
Date Posted: 18 May 2010 at 1:30pm
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my mate asked this same question at the boat show last week and ended up with a okuma x factor for his pooper rod. hope this helps ------------- Feal The Fear And Do It Anyway |
Posted By: Badfish
Date Posted: 18 May 2010 at 1:36pm
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What reel and weight line are you using? The true popper rods aren't really all that cheap but if your not running the big animal drags then it may not be such a big deal.
I use a 24kg CD gamecaster for no other reason than it's a 24kg spin rod. Was the only one I found back then... Id recommend it hands down but they're really hard to find these days
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Posted By: JK
Date Posted: 18 May 2010 at 1:39pm
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The T Curve T special isnt a bad option off the shelf but a wee bit heavy for my liking
http://www.smartmarine.co.nz/tcurve-spinning-jigging-popper-2pc-fishing-rod-80-37kg-p-7435.html - http://www.smartmarine.co.nz/tcurve-spinning-jigging-popper-2pc-fishing-rod-80-37kg-p-7435.html
I had Matt (killakustoms / just fishin) make me up a custom jobby on an 8ft6 Killwell blank - is set up to fish PE5 but could go a bit heavier if I wanted. Have matched it to a saragosa but there are quite a few more options available when it comes to the reels.
I know Matt also has some beaut xzoga popping rods which would also definitely be worth the look at. ------------- LedgeNZ LBG |
Posted By: Capt Asparagus
Date Posted: 18 May 2010 at 2:12pm
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Kilwell have some awesome new 2pce popper rods. Luuuuuurrve them! :-) Not cheap, just very very good! Ask Nagged for availability. |
Posted By: Seth
Date Posted: 18 May 2010 at 2:20pm
| Hey Manoa. Check out http://www.360tuna.com/forum/f76/intro-popping-gman-reference-beginers-4762/ - http://www.360tuna.com/forum/f76/intro-popping-gman-reference-beginers-4762/ for a great article on the basics of popping and the gear to use. You will notcie that most dedicated popping rods are in the 7'9" - 9" range. I would tend to go up to the higer end of the lenght range (much like JK's 8'6") as the further you can cast the more popping your popper/stick/swim bait is going to be doing. Weights a biggie for this type of fishing as you need to be able to cast and retreive all day long and dont want to be fatiged and then hook into a decent kingie, so a nice light popper rod and reel will pay for itself pretty quickly. |
Posted By: xsspeed
Date Posted: 18 May 2010 at 2:28pm
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My 'popper setup' at the moment is a kilwell rocky 2 and a baitrunner 8000D. Though as seems to be the case as soon as I land or lose a kingi on this I will hunt for a more suited setup.
I am still using mono so not really a true popper setup - only used twice so far and can still generate a bit of splash from the cup faced surface poppers.
This is also my straylining rod so the way I have rigged it is Mainline - Slim Beauty Knot - 40lb leader (depending where I am) - 2.5 rod lengths or so
Then for straylining: swivel - trace - hook
And for poppers: No name/lethal knot - trace - roller/bearing swivel - popper
Straylining I tend to keep my trace at 40lb, poppers so far I have been using 80lb - would go higher if need be.
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Posted By: Seth
Date Posted: 18 May 2010 at 2:33pm
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Just posted these links on the other post but check out these two sites for ready and custom built popper rods. http://www.offshorerods.co.nz/landbased.html - http://www.offshorerods.co.nz/landbased.html http://www.reelrods.co.nz/ |
Posted By: Bricky
Date Posted: 18 May 2010 at 2:45pm
| I was about to say the offshore popper rods are pretty sweet, am definitely going to get one when I have the cash. |
Posted By: Badfish
Date Posted: 18 May 2010 at 3:07pm
| If you do look down the custom route be sure to flick MIB a PM. He's got some rods you could popper fish for boats that got to close! |
Posted By: Seth
Date Posted: 18 May 2010 at 3:16pm
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Hhad a bit more of a think on your request as well Manoa. Your going to have to make probably the hardest descision after the rod and reel are bought... braid or mono for your main line. Braid is the best to use when popping due to decreased resistance when casting and not cocking up the action of you popper/stick or swim bait. But if your fishing fairly foul areas and lets face it, most LBG spots in NZ are foul, the smallest touch will result in a bust off. Mono wins for abraision resistance hands down but casting distance will be effected and increased diameter and strech will impact the action of your lures, especially trying to get a good 'chug' going with a popper as the mono will stretch everytime you try to load it up. If your going to be doing a mix of boat and LBG fishing or fish areas with limited foul go braid. If only using off the bricks and/or areas of high foul go mono. All just IMHO though. |
Posted By: JK
Date Posted: 18 May 2010 at 3:23pm
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Should make that decision before ya buy the rod and reel and some of them wont suit braid. Need to make sure get the right guides (well more so not the wrong guides) if going braid. Also seem reels dont seem to like it.
Personally I'd go braid - am using Xzoga PE5 at the mo and no issues so far. Just use a decent length mono (or fluro if ya wish) leader to give ya some protection.
Bricky - I think theres one of the lighter offshore spin rods on trademe right now - 8-15kg. ------------- LedgeNZ LBG |
Posted By: Seth
Date Posted: 18 May 2010 at 3:51pm
Good point JK, especially if going for a smaller reel as line capacity will be an issue with some of the smaller reels designed for poppin and the bail need to be up to the task on spinning reels when using braid due to instant weight being applied with braid on hookup.
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JK wrote:Posted By: Photofisha
Date Posted: 18 May 2010 at 4:23pm
Originally posted by JK
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Posted By: eastcoastlbg
Date Posted: 18 May 2010 at 6:29pm
| hey mate ive been useing the omoto 3 peice 12 to 24 kg rock rod aquired from discount fishing i know its a cheap rod but awsome for casting and man is got some grunt im using a stella 200000 on it and slayed a 22kg king on it had the drag cranked to a real test for the rod and it handled really well,thats what id recommend or spend mega bucks on a gt style rod |
Posted By: Nagged
Date Posted: 18 May 2010 at 6:39pm
Sorry, wish I could help.
The range of 7 different blanks using the new designs are being exported by Kilwell Fibretube mainly to Aussie but local sales for blanks are now through Kilwell Sports.
Best to check with your local shop.
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Posted By: JK
Date Posted: 18 May 2010 at 8:35pm
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photofisha - just using 80lb mono leader mate. Stays on the spool better than springy old fluro.
Lengthwise, long enough so have about 1m or so hanging off the tip when there is a wrap or 2 around the spool - means no braid cuts on the old fingers from hours of casting. ------------- LedgeNZ LBG |
Posted By: Bricky
Date Posted: 18 May 2010 at 9:52pm
Cheers for that. Might buy it as a second snapper rod, could go well as a popping rod with the Fin-nor OS95 too. |
Posted By: timfish
Date Posted: 18 May 2010 at 11:00pm
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Hey, The gt special is a good rod, pretty stiff though and not too forgiving. (just got my second one ordered), id be careful using fluro no give when using braid, too many lost poppers. and i rekon leader not all the way to the spool, (never had any cuts but get a good calice) line comes off spool way better. have heard 6 or 7 wraps is the go aswell mono has time to straighen out before braid goes though the guide. my 2 cents.
pesonally dont like kilwel guide configerations, had to take all my guides of my rocky11 and re guide it, goes sweet now. havn't seen the new ones though.
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Posted By: laidbackdood
Date Posted: 18 May 2010 at 11:00pm
same  ------------- Once the idiots turn up..Im outta here...No time for Drama Queens. |
Posted By: laidbackdood
Date Posted: 18 May 2010 at 11:06pm
I have a 7 foot 3 jelly tip 15-24 kg which i am getting some fuji alconites fitted to as we speak....I took it down to my local field and tried casting with 3 oz cotton cordells and to my suprise...it cast as well as my 7 foot 3 composite developments gamecaster 10-15 kg......I will be using as a popper rod for the boat but might use for the rocks too.Got good grunt down low and it bends over nice too,so will more than lightly use 65 pound power pro on it...Do the job but its not as light as more modern rods ------------- Once the idiots turn up..Im outta here...No time for Drama Queens. |
Posted By: LBGer
Date Posted: 19 May 2010 at 9:32pm
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Hmm, dont know what weight you are wanting to fish - I have been looking around as well....
will share what I have found - Some options mentioned already - T-Curve 10-15kg spin is grunty, but a bit heavy. Okuma 10-15kg 2 piece 8'6" looks ok on paper, have heard they are ok. Okuma 2 piece 7'6" braid concept - nice and light,I owned one but didnt push the 15kg end of the range, casts well, slim design. Xzoga takadum, 7'6" nice looking rod, rated up to 7kg of drag which isnt that high (for 24kg line etc)there may be other models. There are offshore models for 8-15kg/10-15kg, the ones I have seen have heavy duty fittings and they appear to be a bit heavy for fishing lures all day (but up to the job), the better popper rods are graphite slim line style i.e Daiwa Monster mesh- I managed to score one off TM, $199. rated 6-8PE but fishes 15kg (PE3)pretty good, nice tip for flicking 40gr lures, even though on paper its rated for 200gr lures. Have used teh 3 piece 12-24kg rod (was originally branded Youvella awesome I think) Nice rod, has teh grunt, I replaced teh guides with alconites, cast pretty good, a bit heavy to cast all day. If you want to go custom, CTS have some sea master popper blanks, 8' 30, 50, 80lb. The nice popper rods have a fair amount of graphite as they need to be strong and yet light to be cast all day. Ocean tackle International (US brand) have the Tuna Sniper rods, expensive, but by all accounts, they are good rods. I would say if you want a good value rod, check out the Pioneer Gt rods, very good value for money, less than $200, 2 piece, up to 8'3"
http://www.thetackleteam.com.au/FishingStore/tabid/103/CategoryID/1/Category2ID/21/Category3/Pioneer/List/0/Level/3/productid/1531/Default.aspx - http://www.thetackleteam.com.au/FishingStore/tabid/103/CategoryID/1/Category2ID/21/Category3/Pioneer/List/0/Level/3/productid/1531/Default.aspx
I am looking to get a 20-30lb 9' lightweight rod for casting poppers/lures but then for bait fishing etc. Been hard to find something suitable - has to be super light for casting all day, and grunty enough in the 30lb end. Shimano tiralejo 9' looks good, as does the Okuma Solaris 9' 20-40lb surf spinning rod, There is a Xzoga 9' 12-25lb that can handle the drag, not sure if I would like the parabolic action... havent quite decided yet, have been looking at getting maybe a CD graphcast blank or CTS blank and have a crack at making it myself. Will pair with a daiwa capricorn 4500j.
As has been said, the kilwell 15-24kg 1 piece spin rod is up to the task, offshore do a 15-24kg as well, grunty blank..... hope that helps... havent researched the Kilwell blanks yet, will drop them a line.... ------------- A king on the bricks is worth 5 in a boat. |
Posted By: JK
Date Posted: 19 May 2010 at 10:06pm
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Hey scott - those pioneer popper rods were retailing cheap as not long ago, know a few people who picked them up for about $45.
They are ok but good value for the $. May still be a few floating around. ------------- LedgeNZ LBG |
Posted By: LBGer
Date Posted: 19 May 2010 at 10:09pm
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I saw that a few were going cheap, didnt sound like there were any left? ------------- A king on the bricks is worth 5 in a boat. |
Posted By: PandaUltracool
Date Posted: 20 May 2010 at 7:33pm
ive been researching on popper rods also. those carpenter made in japan ones look real mint but wud cost a bit 2 ship in. daiwa make some pretty good 1s 2 but yeah popper rods are pricey... the only thing stopping me from getting one 
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Posted By: ET487
Date Posted: 05 Jun 2010 at 9:27pm
| There is one Pioneer GT Striker left at the Bait Station (Constallation Drive) for $55 .It pretty good rods. I have two a 7'3 and a 8'3.Caught a 32 kg GT on the 7'3 with 15kg braid. |
Posted By: Blue Asparagus
Date Posted: 05 Jun 2010 at 9:36pm
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I have a 24k Kilwell Jelly tip well two of em, both are the original JTs not the new ones, have got some great fish on both. use a shimano bait runner on the red and a tsm 4 on the black, am going to get the small finnor 75OS and spool it with PE 5 and play silly buggers with that, so yeah recon the old Jelly Tip is a good option, ------------- Ultimate GAME Fishing Adventures. Northland |
Posted By: Photofisha
Date Posted: 05 Jun 2010 at 10:03pm
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I picked up 1 of those Pioneer rods a few months back was all of $45 so cheap i was actually worried about its quality. Spoke to a guy who took 1 up to the islands and he reckons it worked fine on a decent size GT. To me it feels a little stiffish all the way thru almost in the same way a solid fiberglass used to feel if anyone remembers them  Anyhow haven't got a reel to throw on it yet and because it was so cheap what would you use with it anyhow? |
Posted By: Murph
Date Posted: 06 Jun 2010 at 7:02am
| I've done heaps of popper chucking with my trusty old BTR6500 on a Shimano Backbone rod, hasn't failed me yet. |
Posted By: Capt Asparagus
Date Posted: 06 Jun 2010 at 10:21am
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If you are looking for a decent heavy duty reel that is pretty reasonably priced, I'd suggest looking at the Fin-nor Offshore 6500. The larger ones are a bit heavy for my liking, in fact my 8500 I have not used for the last few years as ...well, that is anotehr story, it is just not usuable for me as a popper reel. However, the 6500, being slightly smaller dimensions weight etc, yet the same drag/componentry etc as the larger reels, seems a very nice compromise to me. Also a huge line cap... I have spooled mine up with about 1/3rd spool of 50lb mono, and 300m of 30lb fireline. It is really a KISS style reel too. No automatic bale arm flip over or anything like that (something that will sooner or later crap out on you if poppering all day every day), but just the simple old clunk-over of the old style reels.... you'll see what I mean. enormously solid handle and feel to the reel. When I get back from the islands I will be able to tell you more about them, just bought the 2 of them for the upcoming trip, but they seem like a very nice outfit to get. Things to look for in a popper reel... no flex in the reel stem. Solid, pref. one piece non-collapsing reel handles to take the pressure of the hits on the poppers. Those handles you un-screw one side so the handle can fold in neatly when packing it will sooner or later flunck out, as when poppers get hit, you are usually cranking on the handle so tend to use it as part of the hook-setting hit, if you know what I mean... you lift both your rod and use the reel handle to help strike the fish... so a solid, well set reel handle is essential. (I prob haven't described that very well, i know what I mean though :-) ) Get a reel that does not have that stupid anti-reverse switch on it. Those things are just access points for corrosion to enter the reel body, they are the second thing to crap out on your after the auto-trip on the bale arms, and you really do NOT want to have the anti-reverse go on you when a fish hits your popper... snapped wrist city here I am telling you, and the mother of all birdsnests! :-) Use fireline. It is not as skinny as braid, but casts reliably without wind-knotting as easily as braid can do. There, thems my thinks on it anyhow. |
Posted By: cosmo
Date Posted: 07 Jun 2010 at 3:04pm
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for my self the popper outfit i have set up is a offshore fxs85 graphbutt and a penn ssm 950 reel but hasnt seen a lot of action yet still running mono on the 950 but will be getting braid shortly ------------- i just want to go fishing..........amd ignore all my adult problems |
Posted By: mozz
Date Posted: 07 Jun 2010 at 3:09pm
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Have a look on the net for an Ocean Revolution black devil 100 or 200. The company went tit's up so alot of website's are clearing stock. Built on smith blanks and simply awesome! I have the 100 and 200g along with a xzoga pe5 and a custom stickbait rod built on a calstar blank currently being built
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Posted By: Boulder
Date Posted: 07 Jun 2010 at 3:38pm
nice to see you still hoo.ooing away Mozza ------------- http://www.boulderguiding.co.nz">  http://www.boulderguiding.co.nz">www.boulderguiding.co.nz |
Posted By: letsgetem
Date Posted: 07 Jun 2010 at 5:01pm
| I have had a Shimano TCurve Bluewater 15-24kg spin rod for a couple of years. Length 2.28m. Cast poppers with it - worked well I think - but, if getting one now, I would be looking carefully to try and get a lighter rod, as its exhausting stuff (my more recent jigging rod, is so light (and powerful) it amazes me). On the plus side - its got plenty of low-down grunt to pressure big fish and its two-piece; important to easily take it overseas. Incidentally, it originally had a problem with the two pieces sticking together (like coud not get them apart) - this has been overcome in the later model which Shimano gave me as replacement. |
Posted By: mozz
Date Posted: 07 Jun 2010 at 7:28pm
I have been carrying around about 15 setups since leaving mexico last year. Tiagra 16's to 130's.... you name it I have it. I blame it all on you!
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