Best Rod And Reel Combo For Drummer?

[steve76]

gday

ive been hitting norah head rocks after drummer the last couple of days and ive been hooking some beauties , but for the life of me i cant get the bloody things up , ive had about 6 good hookups so far and i havent landed one fish , yesterday i was up there hooked a good one and pulled as hard as i could trying to get this thing to surface my rod was at breaking point .......im using a 12 ft beach rod and shimano big egg beater reel with 15 pound mono line im guessing this is not the right gear for these huge fighters.........so my question is whats the best rod and reel for drummer and line i want to land one of these big suckers

cheers steve

[brewboy]

gday

ive been hitting norah head rocks after drummer the last couple of days and ive been hooking some beauties , but for the life of me i cant get the bloody things up , ive had about 6 good hookups so far and i havent landed one fish , yesterday i was up there hooked a good one and pulled as hard as i could trying to get this thing to surface my rod was at breaking point .......im using a 12 ft beach rod and shimano big egg beater reel with 15 pound mono line im guessing this is not the right gear for these huge fighters.........so my question is whats the best rod and reel for drummer and line i want to land one of these big suckers

cheers steve

Are you sure there drummer steve could be some big groper ive hooked up to them myself at norah head good luck in the future you should be able to land a drummer on the gear your using just keep at it

cheers brewboy

[slinkymalinky]

If you're after Drummer and want a good chance of landing one over 2kg in rough country, up the gear to 30lb outfit. They're catchable on 15lb but it takes luck and even the most experienced pig fisher will lose a good number of fish over 2kg on 15lb.

A great outfit is a 6.5" alvey on a heavy 10-12' rod like an MT 8144 or an FSU 5120, loaded with 30lb hard wearing mono like Tortue, Schneider or Platypus Platinum.

A more high tech approach would be to get a much lighter (but equally strong) graphite rod like some of the new generation Daiwa or Shimano sticks, fished with a grunty threadline reel (Shimano Baitrunner, Penn Spinfisher, Daiwa Saltist) loaded with 30lb braid. I normally don't suggest braid off the rocks but with a 3m+ mono leader the lack of stretch of braid can be the difference between a pig making back to the rocks or not.

If they really are Grouper (what have been using for bait??), then the same ideas but up everything to suit 50lb line... and hang on.

Cheers, Slinky

[steve76]

hey thanks for the reply guys , ive been using cunjie, peeled prawns and chicken gut for bait with the best results on prawns and cunjie , i have seen a few groper landed up there in the last week with a few huge drummer in the mix as well whatever they are i cant get em up (through no lack of trying) , i might get my self a heavier rod and reel and up the line to 30lbs or so and see how i go

cheers steve

[Rode Cary]

hey steeve

u will find that each drummer fisho has his or her own preference in terms of what gears to use. lots of anglers use the traditional alvey and a few use eggbeaters. having targetting drummer all year round for the last 3 yrs, i personally enjoy targetting drummer on light to medium gear. its just a personal preference as i get lots of adrenaline rush compare to if i was fishing heavy (and u get tired at the end of the day). i use a abu baitcaster 6500 series on a 13 ft rhino df rod. very light but enough grunt to turn the heads of drummer up to 2-3kg. i like baitcasters b'coz i find it easy to give and take line...its just a personal preference. i'm pretty sure your outfit should be able to handle good size drummer (not sure for groper though). one thing u can do is to upgrade your line to 20-25lb and make sure u use a good abrasive resistance leader. the fight is won in the first 10sec where the aim is to turn their heads up...otherwise thay will snag u in the rocks or other structures. keep trying mate as that's the best way to learn. i'm sure u will get further valuable advice in this forum....this is where i learned most of my fishing...from fishraider members:)

bertrand

[tide'n'knots]

I have caught some good ones in the gutter at the front of the lighthouse I use 20lb mono on a solid eggbeater reel and a rod at least 12 ft long definately no shorter with a fairly powerful butt section and a resonably light action near the tip. fish under a float with bread on a size 1 hook but make sure the hook is strong not flimsy, and burley with bread mushed up in a bucket of water. I drop a handful at my feet on the rocks and scrape my foot on it until the waves wash it in and the current will disperse it for you. tighten your drag fairly tight ( about 12-15lb) but dont lock up! others may disagree but although a few have reefed me at times, you will land most of them up to 2kgs or more. there are other ways but this has been successful for me at several spots including norah head, catherine hill bay, and long reef. the last ime i fished norah head was about 10 years ago but I remember it was christmas time and I caught several 2 or 3 days in a row. I could show you some pics but I cant figure out how to get a processed photo from the photo shop on to the computer?

Pete.