I have been following this site for a while and thought I would introduce myself. Live in hamilton been fishing most of my life and spent most of the last 10 years fishing out of my kayak and chasing trout in winter. Felt like a change - tired of loading and unloading the yak and dusted off the casting gear a couple of months ago. have been fishing raglan and have been over to Pikowai once - intend on spending more time there. Getting a few fish every time so pretty happy so far. I have found this forum very helpful and bought a bunch of tackle off Phil and enjoy tying up rigs. I have 2 set ups, an Alvey 600 that I used on the yak with a Kilwell rod and a Solaris 14 ft and okuma latitude that I have had for a while but hasn't seen a lot of use. I am disappointed to see that the female ferrule on the bottom section of the Solaris has developed some cracks right through the blank. I have had a binding put around the ferrule with resin but am not confident it will last too long. Here is the question - I want to replace the Solaris and have around $600 or so to spend. I was thinking veritas but see they have their problems. Have also looked at Penn Prevails that look good but can't find a lot of decent reviews. Phil says CD are putting out a new rod as well. I have considered the AFAW 4+bait! but aren't sure about back up. After the Solaris I am concerned about quality of Chinese made rods. I do like fishing light and the one thing about the cheap Kilwell Alvey rod is it has great bite detection. I could spend the lot on a rod or get a middle of the road rod and reel. I generally fish 15lb line and like to fling 4oz around. Got a bit of a buggered right wrist nothing serious but try to avoid too heavy gear where I can. I intend to fish beaches mainly. Any advise appreciated. Charlie
Re: Hi and a question.
Posted by titan on 5/12/2013, 10:47 pm, in reply to "Hi and a question."
Hi Charlie. I got the AFAW rods and sonic rods and many other brands. I have spent nearly $10 000 on surf casting gear in the last 7 years. I would say that the AFAW is your best option as it is a really high quality and strong with a lot of power and with a strong after sale support. I have 3 AFAW rods now and intend to buy some more. Mark will always back you with any thing.
Hard to beat a Veritas for value for money. 15lb line and a 40z sinker with bait will get you as much distance as any of the similar rods on the market. A bit more user friendly if you have a dickey wrist too.Teething problems are a thing of the past.
Disclaimer I designed the Verita surf and sell them to Phill.The snapper don't know where the car park is! Sometimes it is better to travel than to arrive.
Like Gary said the Veritas is a pretty good rod for the money, but if it was me and with your budget get yourself into a Sonik or AFAW, I have a Sonik Continental and its just an absolute beast, I am told the AFAW are even better. As far as the backup is concerned Mark has looked after me well, even to the point one day I broke the top section while fishing (my fault) gave the guy a call while I was fishing, and he sorted me out with a replacement under warranty, no questions asked, cant get better than that.
I am a fan of the fin-nor surf rods even though I am still a penn fan boy at heart and have had no problems with the fin nor-rods. you should have no problems with the abu veritas as they are nice rods but out of my price league at present.
Hey Charlie I to have a Sonic and am looking to go to the AFAW range, Mark (Scuzzy) has been a champ in looking after us he even brought up a 6 & Bait up for me to have a play with, all of the retailers on here will look after you 100% I'm sure. Although I have not fished the Veritas there have been good reviews also and I'm sure Gary and Phill would give good back up on these.
It comes down to what suits you best. With the price range you are talking you have the budget for a nice rod or 2, one thing i have learn't is there is such a range in the Sonic's and AFAW rods so best bet is to try and go for a fish with someone with a rod you are thinking of and try it out. I think Paul is up near your neck of the woods and a good fish'o so might be worth seeing if you could at least have a look at his range. Give Mark a call he's good to chat to and happily gives advice on anything.
I have the veritas rods, 4 of them, they are a good value for money rod however in my opinion the build quality could be a little better. I also have a AFAW 4nbait rod and love it, plan to buy another soon, it's thinner and lighter than the veritas and casts the same distance. The only complaint on the 4nbait would be a slightly stiffer top section would be better as I feel it's a little to soft. I would go with the AFAW, might suit your wrist better being thinner.
Re: Hi and a question.
Posted by Phill on 6/12/2013, 5:41 pm, in reply to "Re: Hi and a question." Tackle Tactics
I have spent quite a lot of time talking to CharlieF about his requirements for his new rod . All the rods that have been mentioned are good in there own right , after much discussion and finding out where CharlieF fishes his limitations and requirements etc I would like him to try the new CD XD Surf , I have two of them, sorry three of them and they an amazing all round rod. Many of you may not be familiar with this rod as they have not been released yet . They are due late December early January and will be very competitively priced . As a retailer listening to your customer is the most important , it's always nice to sell top end gear , you must always ask yourself the question, is it what your customer really wants or requires.
2nd that Phill CD rods are uping the game, tho i fish with Kilwell 222z and wouldn't use anything else really . Depends how much you want to spend in relation to time out on the beach(frequency of fishing), and beaches you intend to fish. There are a lot of options out there
Thanks for all your input guys. Have decided to take Phil's advice and wait for the new CD to arrive and delay the instant gratification buzz. I'm off to Raglan to fish a hole that's been producing a few kahawai tomorrow then Pikowai hopefully for a couple of nights camping next weekend. Just hope the repair on the Solaris holds up or I'm down to the Alvey and Kilwell combo
Charlie, I have a matched pair of Veritas rods but I fish really light. I have yet to discover a reason to go over 4kg line (shock leader to suit) and I have never fished anything heavier than a 3oz lead, wire grips as a last resort ... open face reel.
My only comment on the Veritas rods is they are like fine china, you must be prepared to look after them, the eyes, whilst functional, will not stand a knock, therefore keeping the rods in a soft case (not supplied) is a very wise move.
For casting they can hold their own, and for feel when you have a fish on board they work well, that is providing you don't try to bully a fish to the beach. However, with light line that is most unlikely anyway.
For nine years Pikowhai was my home patch, surfcasting can be exceptional. Snapper and gurnard are frequent visitors but so was the occasional ray, and that is when your rod will get a work out. I will credit all my success to anchovy bait and like other locals a trace no longer than thirty centimetres, which is a great aid to long casting.
Never once in that time did I find it necessary to go heavier than a 3 oz lead and my fish take was up with the best of them.
on 5/12/2013, 9:22 pm
