Rod for 7000cl

[tobias]

I have a big game 7000cl without a rod and was wondering which rod you guys would recommend to match with this reel? I plan on using this rod at the canal throwing 3-5oz jigs and possibly tossing some eels. I was thinking the All-Star 1209 but wonder if this setup wouldn't be good for tossing eels. Saltheart, do you toss eels with your loomis and 7000cl? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Tobias

[Slipknot]

I think that rod is good for the canal, and so is the reel. I want to get the same reel but put it on a lami 1205. John says it is a very versitile blank. With the all star it can be a little stiff for eels but if you get big fish on it in the ditch you will need a stout rod. good luck

[Saltheart]

If you want to toss eels , you would be better off with the Breakaway 1208. The 1209 is too stiff in my opinion for casting eels. However . to get a 1208 in a conventional rod , you'll have to get one made up since the factory Breakaway made on the AllStar 1208 is a spinner. Mike T at www.capecodtackle.com can make you the 1208 in a conventional and he's very reasonable on the price and does a great job. A good option if you want a factory Breakaway would be the LDFC106/2. Its a two piece rod that will throw an eel and will handle the big jigs too.

I don't throw eels on my Loomis 108-30. Too much of a club. Its a heavy jigging rod. However I did throw eels with my Sabre 1089 but some people can't with that one either complaining its too stiff. Depends on the eels I guess.

Anyway , I would think your best bet would be the AllStar 1208 blank made up as a conventional.

[tobias]

Thanks for the responses guys. I have an All-Star 1208 from Mike at M&D matched with a 6500csmag. My 7000cl feels lonely so I figured I'd get a rod done up to match the reel to throw the real heavy jigs. Would the 1209 be too stiff to use to liveline herring? I'll have to do some research on that Breakaway LDFC106/2. Thanks again guys. Anymore input would be greatly appreciated.

Tobias

[Saltheart]

If you have a 1208 already , spool the 7000CL with 50 LB spectron for using on the 1208 at the Ditch. You can put 35 LB Spectron on the 6500CS mag and use it on the 1208 for eeling and look for a a rod to cast light stuff down to 3/4OZ . I think an Allstar 1265/2 with the 6500CS mag spooled with 35 LB spectron and the 1208 with the 7000CL spooled with the 50 LB would be a great pair of rods that would compliment eachother and would enable you to fish anywhere with just about any plug or jig.

[JohnR]

Tobias, welcome back...

I do like the XRA1205 very much and while it is probably not as good a Canal jig stick as the 1208/1209 (I haven't built one yet but based on what others say) but it is good for tossing eels. I like my 1089 Saber ALOT for eels and am building 2 more 9 footers this spring for eels, an AllStar 1088 and an original plum Saber 1088. Maybe stick with the 1208 for jigs and do a different stick for eels??

[tobias]

Hey John - I've just been lurking behind the scenes lately. I'm here just about every day reading all the posts. Can't wait till the season kicks in gear.

Can the 1208 handle a 5oz jig? It was able to handle the 3oz with ease.

Hey Saltheart and John, thanks for the input and recommendations. I never really thought of putting my 7000cl on my 1208 and look for a rod to match my 6500csmag. Do you guys have a recommedation on a 1-piece rod to match with the 6500. I prefer 1-piece rods. I'll have to take a look at the XRA1205. Thanks again.

Tobias

[JohnR]

No problem Tobias,

Ever consider a 9 foot eeling stick? One more foot will really not translate well into distance when slinging super-non-aerodynamic eels, difference measured in a foot or two if you're lucky. Might be worth considering a 9 footer as it will be a little lighter, slightly less wind resistant, and a few bucks cheaper to boot. I prefer a 1089 over the 1088 Saber but I'm itching to try out that AllStar...

[Saltheart]

Mike T has 9 foot Loomis 108-20 which is nice and a 91/2 foot loomis 11416 which is also nice. The 108-20 is a pretty nice stick.

[Mike P]

I have the Loomis 108-20 for an eel stick. It's great for the beaches, but it wouldn't be my first choice for the Canal. My Fisher is ideal but they don't make it any more Of the rods you mentioned, I think the best might be the All Star 1208 for eels. I think the 5 oz jigs are the limits of what you can handle on it, however. The 1209 isn't an eel rod, unless you're going to be tossing strictly anacondas.

The 1266/2 would be good, but it might be a tad too long

[tobias]

Thanks for the input guys. I guess I've come to the conclusion of putting my 7000cl on my 1208. Now I want a rod to match my 6500csmag that can throw 1-3oz plugs and cast a crippled herring a country mile if I need to. The rod must also have enough backbone to handle say a 30+lb striper in heavy current and not feel overmatched. I want to be able to turn her if I have to. Thanks again for the inputs.

Tobias

[JohnR]

Tobias, as mentioned above, I really like my 9 foot Saber 1089, plenty of backbone, still relatively light and reasonably priced. A ver sweet rod for eels IMO. A couple years ago I had a 1209 cut down a few inches from the tip and butt sections to 9 and a half feet which was also pretty nice. I think Mike T has the 1209 as well...

[MikeF]

I'm about to put together an outfit for outer beach eeling. I don't usually like spinning but it will be a spinning outfit. MikeT keeps telling me to use a Shakespeare Ugly Stick blank. Cut a 10'er down to 9'. Mike swears by this blank for eeling! He said that even Plymouth big fish legend, Johnny Scags, uses one. Go figure????

[Saltheart]

Welcome to striped-bass.com Mike F. Why a spinner ?

[MikeF]

Hi Saltheart,
I'm going to use a spinner because it makes a difference when you have an onshore wind and can find nothing in the bait shops but smaller eels.

I guess the old phrase: 'When in Rome you gotta do what the Romans do', enters into the equation also. Many nights during the summer there were lots of comms out eeling the beaches. I can't recall seeing one of them using a conventional outfit. Since its pretty much universal there... why not?

I thought about using a 6500 sized conventional, but decided to just use the spinner. I'll bring along a few conventional outfits for plugging (if I'm driving not walking that is).

[Saltheart]

I've heard about one of the big names using a spinner for eeling but he uses it where he has a combination of wind in his face AND a need to cast a long way to reach a rip at certain places. I believe they use a braid like powerpro on the spinner too. Think of the two biggest names in striper surffishing and it ain't striperman!

[Mike P]

I can see why most of the commercials would use a spinner--less chance of Murphy's law biting them on the rear and costing them $$$. You cast an eel off trying to drive it into the wind, you close the bail and reel up the slack, and re-hook. With a conventional, you either spend 15 minutes picking out the mother of all backlashes, or get out the clippers. Drop a reel like a Penn 704 or 5500 in the sand, you can give it a quick dunk and keep fishing, but with a conventional, you're out of business. When I fished the nudflats in the Canal, the same guys you'd see laughing at the tourists using spinning rods to throw plugs at breaking fish would have their Mitchell 302s on the rod out there. When fish on the beach equals a buck, you use what maximizes your fishing time, and minimizes screw-ups.

Mike, a rod builder on Long Island has been making a sweet little eel rod for the wetsuit gang out at Montauk. He takes a 10' Lamiglas GSB 120 1L graphiter blank, cuts the tip back to a size 12, and then trims the butt to where the cuustomer wants it, either 9 or 9-1/2'. It's a better 9' rod for eels than any of the stock 9' Lami blanks--very, very close in action to the old Fishers, which were extremely popular on LI.

Funny, I also abide by the "when in Rome" mindset. Here on LI, I really only use conventional for jigging and throwing eels in the inlets. For beach plugging, I go with the local flow and use spinning. Whatever works best for the individual purpose.

[Saltheart]

The only spinner I use anymore is the Suveran on my steelhead rod for schoolies. I'm currently making a very light conventional to replace that but we use 1/2 jigs and thats tough with a conventional but #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& does it no problem.

The trouble down the Cape is the miniscule eels they sell down there. Some are so small you could fish them like a red gil teaser. Get good big eels that average 2 to 3 OZ and you can cast them into the wind. Anyway , I fished a Penn 850 for a long time and always felt I was losing fish because of the line going over the roller.

[Mike P]

What I had a problem with, on the 850 and 750, was the line tangling around the line roller and bail pedestal. That's one reason I got in the habit of closing it by hand. The two 70 pounders ever landed from the shore were both taken on spinning reels, I don't think a well-functioning line roller is a problem. Steve Petri's 69, and the two biggest taken from the LI surf, a pair of 64s by Mark Malenovsky and Tom Rinaldi, were also taken on spinning reels.

[Slipknot]

Mike F, so Skags is a big fish legend now? I thought he new every hole on the Plymouth coast but I didn't know he was known as a legend, that's great for him. Better to be known for that than for sidewalling. Someday, maybe along time from now but someday I'll catch up to those guys, and sites like this are alot of help to learn along the way. I can't wait till spring.

[MikeF]

Slipknot,
I guess maybe Johnny Scags is only a legend among those other nuts that ply the shoreline from Marshfield to the Canal. I've never met Scags but hear a lot about him. There aren't too many years that pass when he hasn't landed the biggest shore caught bass in that area.
He doesn't do it with mirrors...he is out there just about every night.
I guess he doesn't say too much though. A guy told of meeting him fishing one night. He asked Scags if much was doing. He replied, 'No not much'. As the guy walked by Scags vehicle and looked in back, he almost dropped. There laying in the back was a striper larger than any he had landed. And this guy is a pretty good fisherman. :-))
Hi Mike's,
There are a zillion different rod possibilities out there. If you talk to 20 different people you'll get 20 different opinions.

A soft rod to minimize cast offs and a light rod to maximize your endurance seem to be two necessary attributes the rod must have. But what the hell do I know? I was talking to a comm from Truro the other day and he uses a rod built on an Arra 1204 or 1205! He says its great for eeling! That was right after I put my foot in my mouth and had said,'Great rod for casting but for eeling it really s--ks'. Oh well...

[MikeF]

Almost forgot about the braid vs. mono issue for eeling with spinners.
The guys that I know and/or have watched all seem to pretty much use mono. A few use braid during the dark of the moon but switch to mono if there is much in the way of moon light.
I'd say it will take a while for braid to catch on among this group. They don't seem to prone to change.