OpenHand

Thanks for the input everyone. I just got some feedback from a stockist that many of the nice telescopic rods are too slow for jigging soft plastics - not stiff enough to give any action. What's your experience on that? I was out this weekend with my terrible rods and they definitely aren't great at that, but I figured the higher end models would be better.

Yeah I replaced my reel with just a $50 one after the handles flew off one of mine mid-cast. They've held up well since then. ISO is really interesting to me, but probably won't start there - too long for general use I reckon.

Check out Tenkara rods - same concept with some interesting uses. There are very cheap ones as above, but you can find really schmancy expensive ones too. Different types made for fishing light streams or big fish. I am tempted to try out a light one as I am a miserable fly fisher. Looks like a nice light kit. They range from 9 - 30 feet even. Crazy stuff.

Hey all, I am after a light surf rod for casting decent lures. I would really like a light kit that I could cast all day. There's obviously plenty of options out there from all the big players but I am keen for some feedback on the specs. I am thinking a 9'6 rod for a bit of casting distance but not too unwieldy - maybe useful for spinning off jetties too. Most lures would sit between 5 - 40g, likely in the middle of that. Would an ML rod be okay? I am mostly after salmon and whatever else I might hook up while fishing for that. Not expecting any monsters though, something that could handle 1 or 2kg of fish. Thanks for any advice - driving myself a bit crazy trying to settle on a weight rating.

Hey Crew, I am in the market for a couple of new rods as my old ones are on the way out and are pretty limited. 6' Jarvis Walker telescopics from a shop... surprisingly decent for $25! I know tele's are generally looked down upon, any forum search will reveal hundreds of people saying just get a 2 or 3 piece. And I get that. However I really love the form factor. Having a backpack with a bit of tackle and two light rods already rigged up and ready to go on the side is a really nice way to fish, even if you only have 15 minutes to have a go. The selection in Australia is pretty limited but I've looked overseas and it seems in Europe and Japan there are loads of tele options. Lots more travel by train over there so it makes sense. I've found a lot of options online, mostly JDM. Some examples: Daiwa CrossBeat (seems to be the entry level) Daiwa Mobile Pack (their fancier one) Daiwa Lazy / Liberty Club (not sure where these fit to be honest) Alpha Tackle TrGr (short for Travel Gear - they have quite a few options under this title from ultra-compacts, to mid and high range) Major Craft Solpara Out of production models like the Daiwa BBB, Palms Molla and others which seem to be well regarded There's also a fair amount of cheaper teles coming out of China now, KastKing make the blackhawk, Plusinno have one, Piscifun etc which have plenty of coverage online but lots of reviews are clearly faked or paid for so it's hard to tell the real quality. Not after a debate on the merits of tele vs multi-piece, but I am keen to hear if anyone has experience of some of the rods above and what they think. a shop Japan has a lot of reviews ranging from great to bad on most models, but obviously plenty of people use these rods every week and they are better than they were ten or twenty years ago. Cheers!