New boat..now need rods and reels

[Pauafritta]

I have purchased a 5m boat and now need some new reels. I am wanting a reel to target Kingfish with livebaits and maybe to troll with. I was looking at a Shimano Sustain but not sure on what size. Do i get a 4000, 5000 or 6000 and what breaking strain braid? Also what rod to match. If there is a better option than a Sustain let me know.

Now also the same question for flicking soft plastics from a boat. Is a Sustain 2500 ok? With what rod and braid?

[fragmeister]

Hi,

There are probably lots of combos that you could use but if you are new to Kingfish then its probably best to stick with robust gear that can take a knock or two.

If you have been into a few already then you will know they are dirty fighters and a solo effort on a 5 kg king ( or better still a 10kg) in shallow water around the heads is no picnic.

SO, I would tend to go for a 10kg Shimano Beastmaster - Its a robust glass blank , too heavy for jigging all day but great for live baiting or trolling.
I would take a look at the Saragosa range as they have much of the technology used in the Stella's but at a fraction of the price.
Go try them both in the shop would be my advice. I actually prefer the smoother feel of the Sustain but the Saragosa feel more robust.

There is much contention over line but I would spool with 50lb of a known brand from a real fishing shop unless you have a trusted online source - there is a lot of fake branded stuff going cheap on the web and
it is a recipe for heartache when you lose a good fish.

Good quality flouro leader of say 60 lb tied to the end of that and you are away.

As far as flicking soft plastics a 2500 sustain has 8kgs drag but they are often in combos with much lighter rods, say 3 -5 kg. I would check the balance in the shop before I settled on the combo. Better balance is important if you
end up flicking plastics for extended sessions.


Hope some of this helps

Cheers

Jim

Edited August 15, 2016 by fragmeister

[Jewdreamer]

Spend about the same as the boat and motor cost ......like everyone else!

[tackleberry]

i second the saragosa i got one for my tarez

[Guest Guest123456789]

I only buy kast King mega 8 braided line from eBay. Ships from China and takes about three weeks but costs half the price of brand name braids and is top quality casting braid.

https://www.a shop.com/KastKing-Performance-8-Strand-Fishing-300Yds/product-reviews/B017BARBIA

[fragmeister]

Spend about the same as the boat and motor cost ......like everyone else!

Aint that the truth!

I try not to do the math on the fishing gear and boat accessories - too scary!

Cheers

Jim