The Essence of Fishing

Deep sea fishing or, as many times refered as deep water fishing is one of the most popular fishing style especially in north America and Australia. What makes it so popular is the chance to really fight all kinds of big fish such as Amberjacks, Groupers, Tunas, Sailfish, Swordfish and even Sharks.

Deep sea fishing tackle is usually divided into three main categories; Trolling, Baits and Jigging. While these categories have different fishing charactericties thus different fishing tackle requirements, they have one thing in common when it comes to rod. It should be designed for long and tough big fish fighting. 

Most of deep sea rods are casting rods designed for multipliers reels which, in many opinions, are stronger and tougher compare to Spinning reels. However, Multipliers are not ideal reels for every deep sea category. When it comes to jigging for example, when high gear ratio and easy handling is needed, spinning reels and of course spinning rods are better choice.

Choosing your deep sea spinning rod should be quite an easy task. Consider the following parameters when buying you next deep sea spinning rod:

1. Rod Length - the length should be about 5′9″ (1.8m) but no longer then 6′9″ (2.1m).
2. Rod Guides - the guides should be wide and massive, especially the first two which hold most of the pressure. Go for Fuji if possible.
3. Rod Material - fiberglass. If the rod weight is a factor then go for carbon however, they breaks more often then fiberglass.
4. Line Weight - line weight should be at least 20lb.
5. Gimble - don’t buy without.

As for reels, the market is over-flooded with models. Go for Shimano Stella or Daiwa Saltiga if money is not an option. Average quality Okuma, Quantum or Tica will do the job quite fine.

Many articles about surf casting techniques are usually focused on how to efficiently swing the rod in order to gain maximum casting distance with as less effort as possible. However, knowing and practicing the swing operation is only one part of the casting technique. The second part, and as equally important, is how to hold the line with your finer against the rod and, much more critical for your casting distance, when to release it. Many experienced surf anglers can tell you, and even show you, how many times they have their finger almost cut-off, literally.

The problem is quite simple. Lets say you are using 4.5 meter surf rod and you are trying to cast 100g weight. I am not going to describe any math calculations however,  it is easy to understand that the stress power on your holding finger while casting is so enormous that you have no choice but to release the line early otherwise your finger will be cut-off. Premature line releasing will cause the weight to fly high but with short distance.

So, how to do it right? Quite simple actually. First, close the reel clutch tightly. This will prevent the line from sliding under your finger when holding it and while casting. Second, use finger glove. this is special glove for the line holding finger made of leather and you may find it on many fishing tackle stores. This will give you the sensitivity required and the protection needed.

Should you have any comments or questions please feel free to comment.

Introduction 
Not long ago I have posted two parts article about surf casting techniques in which described the Pendulum surf casting technique. So, it felt like a good karma when a friend brought me one of the new Hookset Global surf rods series called Pendulum Surf for a brief testing.

The one I got to test was a telescopic rod, 4.5 meters length with 4 sub-parts with quite impressive casting weight, 100g - 250g. There are 6 high quality guides which two of them float on the last part and one, rather uniquely, on the third part. This rod, I have to admit, is beautiful, with very thin body and you can notice the quality carbon patterns all over.

Real world test 
I paired the rod with my Tica Spinfocus 4500 reel. Although functions to my satisfaction, it felt a bit small and under qualify for this rod. A perfect match would be a long casting reels such as Okuma Axeon or Shimano Ultegra. These kind of reels would definitely help you reach 200 meters casting distance. The rig included 120g weight with a single size 4 hook attached under it. The bait was strips of fresh calamari which leveled up my expectation for serious fish fights.

Casting
Casting with the this rod is easy and rather enjoyable. Actually, as far as my experience go, this is the best rod to practice surf casting techniques and especially the Pendulum surf casting. Although far from being expert, I was able to reach 100 meters casting distance quite easy. The length of the rod together with its low weight help significantly doing the job both for distance casting and accurate targeting. Expert surf anglers can, without much effort, cast beyond 200 meters distance.
One thing though, should you consider to hook the rod with heavy long distance reel and along with 150g weight, expect to have your arms and shoulders to work quite a bit. So practice your Pendulum surf casting technique to reduce unnecessary stress.

Sensitivity
This rod was not designed for small fish. During the 2 hours test the wind was strong with aggressive currents so I reeled my rig back often to check whether the bait is still on. However, while doing so, I have managed to land 3 nice size Sea-Bream and it felt like I am pooling back nothing but the weight with only slight vibration on the rod tip. The fish were released back to gain some weight until the next time, hopefully to put better fight to this rod.

Summary
Many people believe top surf rods should have 2 or 3 pieces however, the Pendulum Tele-Surf proves this theory wrong. This rod offers both the advantages of telescopic rods (easy transportation, low weight and sensitivity) and ”pieces” rods (powerful and high casting weights). Hookset Global has aimed quite high with this rod and I believe this series will deliver its promise.
So, if you are a surf fishing freak and fighting big fish is what makes your adrenaline rush, this rod is for you. You can find Hookset Global tackle products at www.thebesttackle.com .

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