Do any of you guys know which bluewater flyrod is the strongest, meanest pulling stick available? (#20, 7', glass/graphite composite would be ideal). I want to use it for yellowfin tuna in 100lb range, with heavy 40-50lb tippets. Casting ability not that important.
I´m Jose from Spain, two months ago I bought a Lamiglas grand bw #15. Tried in Gibraltar Straits, had two strikes of big white marlin but no catch at all. My impression is that is a big stick with casting performance. Good finish and still light enough for spending a day after big fish. In january I´ll test with giant tarpon at Bijagos archipielago in Guinea. My article of this place is just published at Wild on the Fly magazine. For me this rod is a very good option for bw big fish. Regards,
TFO have a new composite glass/graphite Bluewater rod just going into production. No hundreds yet, but one field tester landed 14 YFT to 65 lbs. in a single day with it and the new TFO Hayden reel. Tester reported that he actually tried to break the rod, but could not get it to snap.
Both rod & reel combined will sell for less $$ than a single high-end rod. The rod will cast anything from 12 to 15-weights.
I'll confirm the quality of Biscayne bluewater rods. Mine is more than ten years old and still works better than anything I've tried. I don't think they're all that expensive either. My backup is a Cam Sigler which is now available as a 4 piece. I've heard good things about the current TFO Bluewater models, so the new one should be even that much better. For such a small niche in a small market, it's amazing how many fine bluewater rods there really are. Nobody has even mentioned Cape Fear, another incredible rod, but not one designed for the traveling angler.
I have one of the new TFO bluewater ( and blue blank) offshore rods. We had a wide-open yellowfin bite about a month back, and that rod got 7 or 8 fish in the 50-70 lb class without putting up much of a sweat. I had it paired with a TFO Hayden reel which held up fine, but threw tons of brake dust all over the insides. It was a chummed-up bite, so the casts were short, but the rod worked admirably lifting the fish up. It wasn't a bit overmatched by a 70 lb yellowfin in that last, vertical 50' lift. I actually tried to high-stick the rod, but it simply bent into a 'U" and kept on lifting. I think it's a glass-carbon composite rod, and that accounts for some of its' toughness.
It balanced well with a 625 lb Cortland fast-sink head, although I broke the line once right near the leader knot.
The other rod I really like is a Redington 15 wt DFR - also a glass rod. It also matches well to a 600 gr head and is very hard to break. I don't think it's made any more, but I found it a wonderful offshore fly rod. It also landed its' fair share of fish that day, paired with a Pate Bluefin reel. I think our total for the day was 14 or 15 yellowfin.
A 12 wt T&T was completely overmatched by one of these fish, i.e. it couldn't do anything but maintain a tight line until the fish dies, and then winch it it. We tried it on one fish, and then put it away.
PS: On second reading, I confess to being the 'tester' Jay mentions.
The igfa bluefin tuna record (180+ #'s) was landed with a Sage RPLXi 13wt. So it must be an ok stick. The Capt. of the boat (Capt. Bill Harris in N.C.) now swears by the Biscayne blue water rods.
The problem with the Sage is that you cannot make a mistake when using one. I've seen several 3-piece Sages become 5-piecers in a second. They do cast a little nicer, but they just don't tolerate mistakes when fighting a fish, especially a large fish where one tends to get tired.
I believe Bill Harris sold all of his gear and quit fishing--have not seen him in years around Cape Lookout.
I have had great luck with Sage XI2 1480-4 plenty of sails and one 200lb+ Pacific blue marlin all on 20 pound tippet. If you want to use over 20 pound check out the new 1680-4---taking one with me me Costa Rica in March
I look forward to hearing about your angling adventures. I've heard plenty second hand from folks you've taken out in the past.
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