Short Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 Gday raiders, Im getting in to overhead (conventional) reels and rods for surf fishing. Ive got a super heavy (9-14oz cast weight) ulua rod and penn squall 60 reel for slide baiting and have a 4-8oz rod on order for throwing bait. Thing i cant understand is these types of setups are virtually unheard of in Australia. No tackle shops stock braked OH reels for distance casting, same goes for rods to match. All the surf gear here is spin gear with max cast weights around 140gm (3-4oz) or so. Only exception might be a few daiwa rods. Elsewhere (US, UK, South Africa) OH reels and rods are the standard for surf fishing. In Australia tackle shops cant even bring the gear in by special order, ive asked quite a few times, its like it is channel blocked or something... What is going on here? I dont get it. We have a huge amount of coastline for good surf fishing, plenty of big beasties just off the sand and yet we are the only country in the world that seems to rely on relatively lightweight spin gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickmarlin62 Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 ive used tsm4s on fsus for years I even use tlds on jew sometimes..so your not alone..ps I hate alveys..haha ..rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savit Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 Did you check NZ market? Shimano etc supply more LBG/OH stuff there than to AU. Should be easier to order and deliver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonD Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 Just now, JonD said: It might be due to the fact we don't need to cast 300m to catch fish here, most fish large and small can be caught almost at your feet when you find the right gutter. For fishing especially chassing prized catches like Jews having a simple spin reel that rarely gives you any trouble is far easier. I've had overuns using braid on multi's at night that have completely put that reel out of action for the night. There are a bunch of tournament casters who compete in distance casting here in Aus, if it's that sort of thing you are after start looking into Aus casting comps and maybe talk to a few of those guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonD Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 Just to add, if you are using a 14-16 ft long distance casting rod I very much doubt you would be able to cast a whole mullet or tailor out as bait to those big beasties you mention. The longer the rod the harder it is to put pressure on big fish, simply try dead lifting a 3lt litre filled drink bottle using any rod over 12ft ( that equates to roughly just 6lb of drag pressure). I used to chase sharks and Jews using the long distance gear I brought out here from the UK, now I use 9-10ft rods simply because I can put more pressure through these and less strain on my back. I also don't see the point of using heavy line, that was an expensive lesson I learnt when using 50lb braids. The reason being the thicker line didn't allow as much on the spool, then once half or more of that was cast out I didn't have so much left on the reel to get big fish under control. The 50lb didn't let me put any more pressure than using 20 or even 15lb braid but by using lighter line It did allow me to hold more than double the amount which gave me far more time to apply side pressure to big fish by moving along the beach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Short Posted November 21, 2017 Author Share Posted November 21, 2017 Point taken re. fishing being close in, I have gotten my few jewys within 20m of the shorebreak. There are some situations though when distance is needed such as casting out beyond rocky ground to sand or needing to get past the outer bank on low tide. Can always cast short with a long rod if needed. And no I'm not looking to cast big whole baits, live or dead, that's what the slide set up is for. Wing out a 350gm grapnel sinker and slide them out instead. Not too bad throwing a whole yakka plus sinker though. I'm not necessarily saying which approach is right or wrong, better or worse, everything has it's place and virtues. It just really surprises me that OH surf casting gear is so popular elsewhere in the world and is largely unheard of and not possible to buy domestically in Aus Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savit Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 I presume that's because Alvey filled the local "niche" of beach and rock fishing for a long time until spin reels became stronger and more durable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingfishbig Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 (edited) I like overheads in the Surf and your right there aren't many choices of rods. I have 2 Daiwa Sensor surf rods which are a bit over 11' . One is the old model which has been replaced by a slightly heavier version. The heavier one will throw around 3 -4 oz of lead and a whole pilchard quite well. There is a Crucius Synergy overhead rod which is more economically priced. Unless you are after sharks I don't think you really need a heavier rod than these. For reels I have an ABU 6500C Chrome Rocket, a Daiwa 7HT turbo mag and an ABU 7200C. Edited November 22, 2017 by kingfishbig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonD Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 I just checked and I've still got an old 13ft 4-8oz penn inxs that I used to use with multi's for sharks and jews. I've been trying to remember what I was going to do with it ( think I had a plan of turning it into a GoPro pole!!!) I used it with an Abu 7500. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Short Posted November 21, 2017 Author Share Posted November 21, 2017 Looks like there are a few other OH fans out there. @kingfishbig im looking at getting one of those reels you've got, an akios shuttle 666 or penn squall 15 with 20lb braid. Ive got a 4-8oz breakaway HDXt rod on the way from the states. The weight isnt just for fighting sharks, i find sometimes it is handy to plunk out a big sinker so you don't get washed down the beach when a bit of swell is running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingfishbig Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 13 hours ago, Short said: Looks like there are a few other OH fans out there. @kingfishbig im looking at getting one of those reels you've got, an akios shuttle 666 or penn squall 15 with 20lb braid. Ive got a 4-8oz breakaway HDXt rod on the way from the states. The weight isnt just for fighting sharks, i find sometimes it is handy to plunk out a big sinker so you don't get washed down the beach when a bit of swell is running. Grapnel sinker are good at anchoring your rig - the wire prongs dig into the sand and release easily when you retrieve. I don't usually use more than 3 oz and don't encounter any problems with drift or getting good casting distance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antonywardle Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 Do you get the birds nest when you are cast O/H reels and is it a bit of a learning curve like you have with baitcasters? If thats the case then it would be a smaller target market I guess. Spin reels like the LT100 would be excellent if you wanted to try them. That said, I've just bought a new O/H reel, but its more for a boat rod I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonD Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 (edited) 7 hours ago, antonywardle said: Do you get the birds nest when you are cast O/H reels and is it a bit of a learning curve like you have with baitcasters? If thats the case then it would be a smaller target market I guess. Spin reels like the LT100 would be excellent if you wanted to try them. That said, I've just bought a new O/H reel, but its more for a boat rod I think. I fished with them for years from the shore in the UK, spin reels were rarely used back then ( talking 47years ago). Yes they certainly do take some getting used to, even more so than baitcasters due to the excessive forces you use in long distance casting. Just learning a pendulum action takes some getting used, then there's the tuning of the reel. As soon as you put your tuned reel on a different rod you may be finding the reel needs to be re- tuned. I could belt a bait quite a distance more using a multi but when trying to do distance casts in the dark with changing wind conditions things can very quickly go pear shaped ( unlike lobbing a bait with a spin outfit). Braking to stop overuns can be done by using special little plastic bushes that fit on pins inside the reel, also magnets and special oils like rocket fuel used in the bearings etc there's also the spool tension screw which is a basic break. Of course theres your thumb too which can easely suffer burns when doing big casts. I used to always take two outfits at night because sooner or later one will end in an all mighty mess which is multiplied when using braid. Ive knocked over jews to 24kg, landed sharks to big to weigh ( released from the shore) and even pulled rays about 2m wide onto the sand using spin gear on short powerful light rods and spin reels. Reels that have failed in breakages from the shore for me have been. daiwa slosh 20 daiwa slosh 30 penn 525 mag abu 7500 abu 5000 Edited November 22, 2017 by JonD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Short Posted November 22, 2017 Author Share Posted November 22, 2017 Geez starting to rethink my attraction to OH reels based on Jon D's post! Have burnt straight through a cut proof glove and my thumb slowing down the squall 60 with 350gm sinker sailing away. RE. the recommendation for the LT100 - I had one of these and it failed at the screw next to the roller bearing - fell apart after a 45 min tug of war with what must have been a big ray... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antonywardle Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 Sorry to hear your LT100 experience wasn't so good. I really like mine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Short Posted November 23, 2017 Author Share Posted November 23, 2017 Aside from that failure I really liked the lethal 100. Good smooth drag, construction seems solid. Looks like that screw near the roller bearing may not have been fitted/tightened properly in the factory. Only had the thing a few months when it happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonD Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 6 hours ago, Short said: Aside from that failure I really liked the lethal 100. Good smooth drag, construction seems solid. Looks like that screw near the roller bearing may not have been fitted/tightened properly in the factory. Only had the thing a few months when it happened. My local store stopped selling them due to the failure rate, you weren't alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antonywardle Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 Alan Hawk, the reel reviewer, quite liked them Alan Hawke Review Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xerotao Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 3 minutes ago, antonywardle said: Alan Hawk, the reel reviewer, quite liked them Alan Hawke Review Thats a whole different reel........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antonywardle Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 It looks exactly like my Fin Nor Lethal LT100 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Short Posted November 23, 2017 Author Share Posted November 23, 2017 Yep that reel in the review is the same as my lethal 100. To be honest, that review went a long way to convincing me to buy it. Wasnt an issue with the internals, drag or mount/seat that killed mine, was just that one screw. Guess you get what you pay for sometimes. Mind you I did put a stupid amount of pressure on it. 80lb braid main line and 80 lb leader, near enough to full drag with the rod pointed straight down the line with no bend in it for 45 mins. I was sat in the sand with my feet dug in. Must have been a huge smooth ray i think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xerotao Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 24 minutes ago, antonywardle said: It looks exactly like my Fin Nor Lethal LT100 My bad, this topic is about overhead/surf cast reels and just assumed we were talking about the lethal overheads Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antonywardle Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 All good. I did slightly hijack the thread as a suggestion for an alternative for a surf reel. I found an Oz site that has OH casting reels and sent a PM. I hope you get a zebra. Spot is an excellent name! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MainframeJames Posted November 24, 2017 Share Posted November 24, 2017 7 hours ago, antonywardle said: All good. I did slightly hijack the thread as a suggestion for an alternative for a surf reel. I found an Oz site that has OH casting reels and sent a PM. I hope you get a zebra. Spot is an excellent name! Wouldn't mind a copy of that link as well. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzza66 Posted September 23, 2021 Share Posted September 23, 2021 On 11/20/2017 at 10:23 PM, rickmarlin62 said: ive used tsm4s on fsus for years I even use tlds on jew sometimes..so your not alone..ps I hate alveys..haha ..rick Hate alveys too when i was casting on a breakwall one night nealy lost it casting sold it too heavy. use abu 9000cl and abu chrome rocket 6500ct and tsm iv once you master the overhead you wont go back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now