I usually fish for King Mackeral from a pier and was trying to find a lightweight fast action rod that has the strength and rigidity of a jigging rod. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Wouldn't such a blank rip the bait off the hook when casting?

I really like the rainshadow RCLB line for kingfish. They are a traditional live bait rod. Very fast action with a soft tip. They are a composite so good compromise between weight and durability. They are very reasonable in price too. Fish them near the upper end of their ratings.

My kingfish rig is the rclb80xl with a penn 525 mag.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Well actually there is no casting involved except with a surf rod that holds an anchor aproximately 100-150 yds from the pier. You then take the rod you are actually going to use to fight the fish and slide it down the anchor line with a release attached. That way when the fish hits the live bait, you detach and have just the rod you are fighting the fish with. Thats why im trying to find a lightweight heavy duty rod with a fast/soft tip, that has the back bone of a vertical jigging rod. Also I would like for the rod to be less that 7'.

If casting isn't part of the equation, why not go with something with a moderate action? And if you are set on less than 7', take a look at the Rainshadow SWS65MH, a bit stouter than Russell's RCLB at 15-30#.. The IMU66 musky salt water blank is 6'6" with fast action, rated at 20-50#.

You might look into the Seeker Hercules line SW 748H is a good 40 lb to 50 lb blank and is 7 foot. They are jigging blanks. I like to fish 80 lb hollow spectra for capacity on my fighting rod/reel with a short top shot of 60 lb mono for stretch. I fish small #6 and #4 treble hooks so I use very little drags. As most know you don't need this weight of line to land a King Mackerel according to where you fish you may need it when a Tarpon or Amber Jack jumps on and it helps when you have to horse a little when the sharks cue onto your king. I fish them on SC piers and I use a spiral wrapped rod just for this purpose. We lean our "fighting" sticks on the rail and without the spiral wrap you have to place a guide on the rail to keep the line off. Just bothers me when my line is touching something when a king strikes and smokes a run when you are a good distance away from the rod trying to catch more bait.

Thad
Dutchman's Creek Tackle

Th Hercules INshor Lite INS 72L is 15-30# and I think will fit the bill. Another Seeker that will work in that weight class is the SS-CLB 804, step up in power the SS CLB 806. The blank Thad mentioned is the INS 72H (label mix up)

I have prottpye 8 & 9'ers rated 15-30# and 30-60#. which are goign to be avaialble soon. Will post more whn I do more testing with them.

Wes, how big are the fish? What pound test do you plan to fish? What type reel? How will the fish be landed? (I.E. Will you need to flip the fish onto the pier with the rod). Does the rod need to be durable enough to handle being rested against a railing while a fish strikes the bait?

You have some here fishing 60# and some fishing 15#. I've had better luck using moderate drag settings and letting the fish run. Heavy tackle and horseing them in has resulted in pulled hooks for me.

Why so short on the rod? I'd think a longer rod would be helpful for steering the fish around the pilings.

If I had deep pockets I'd love to try out a Phenix.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Russell Brunt Wrote:
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> Wes, how big are the fish? What pound test do you
> plan to fish? What type reel? How will the fish
> be landed? (I.E. Will you need to flip the fish
> onto the pier with the rod). Does the rod need to
> be durable enough to handle being rested against a
> railing while a fish strikes the bait?
>
> You have some here fishing 60# and some fishing
> 15#. I've had better luck using moderate drag
> settings and letting the fish run. Heavy tackle
> and horseing them in has resulted in pulled hooks
> for me.
>
> Why so short on the rod? I'd think a longer rod
> would be helpful for steering the fish around the
> pilings.
>
> If I had deep pockets I'd love to try out a
> Phenix.

I use a live bait rod for my fighting stick. No bouncing a king that high. Use a stainless grapple hook on a rope for a gaff. The fish are similar in size. The hook set is done by the king when it strikes the bait and light drag pressure on the reel initially and I too let the king make a couple of runs because of the small hooks and I do not want one that is still green around the pilings. Back when I started fishing for em we were using 4/0 trolling gear rollers and all. Now I use a Super Seeker 6470 H with the American Tackle Virtus guides. one sharp looking rod with those guides. 7 foot is sufficient in working a fish around the pilings.

Thad
Dutchman's Creek Tackle

I've built quite a few of these rods for Kingfishermen on the NC coast and in my opinion the best blank for the job is the Seeker CLB 704. Composite with a fiberglas tip and a graphite butt.

i fish in the same manner as Thad and there are some times when you have to horse a 4-10 Lb. spanish out of the water when the toothies (i.e. sharks) are after them. So yeah it does have to have a little strength to it some times other wise though you are monouvering in and out of other rods so the length can come into play.