Recommendations popping rod - Panama!

[DonJose]

Living the dream in Pedasi, Panama (tuna coast) for a year now & what a learning curve. Jigging, popping & trolling are all new for me as I thought I knew something & realize I know nothing. First off my deepest respect to the fishing captains & mates who have to patiently teach others. You sir are the real MVP's!!

As always I come back to my home base at NJFishing.com for advice. Need some help on popping. Complete newbie, had some success with big jacks, hounds fish, small yellowfin & even had a wahoo on a big popper. By the way once a wahoo gets hit on a popper & goes airborne coming at you, you're pretty much done.

I was using a surf rod for my popping which I thought was great. That was until a friend passed me his popping rod. Yeah no comparison. Looking at a ton of choices but am a little lost.

Price range is $200 +/-. Let me know.

[rumster]

Was wondering the same thing myself.... After doing some research, I purchased a Shimano Saragusa 20,000, loaded with 80 lb braid. I matched that up with a Shimano Terez 7`8 extra heavy action, medium fast taper. Unfortunately, the cost was more than $200.00. I bought it specifically for popping in of all places, Pedasi aka the Tuna Coast.... Making my 1st trip there for a month from 4-16-18 through 5-16-18. I cant wait!!! Looking to do some recon towards a possible move to Pedasi in 2 years. Definitely would like to meet up if that works for you.... Feel free to pm me. Thanks

[nmc02]

I absolutely love the van staal rods. They are in your price range. Look at the vjs70-325 for fish to 150 lb. These are AWESOME and indestructible

[tunajoe]

Go see Grumpy's in Seaside. I just picked up a custom ODM rod that has a ton of ballz. Paired it with a 6000 Sargasso. Bill who built my rod uses that reel and swears by it. He fishes 100 lb tarpon with it down there. However, you will certainly be over $200. The reel alone is about 265 and ODM rod about 500. He does have cheaper rods that will get the job done - I went custom.

[DonJose]

Sweet! You'll love Pedasi! We can definitely connect while you're here. Warning - April is super hot, dry with little breeze. May the rain starts. Usually just in the afternoon. Make sure you bring good sun protection. Great fishing too! Tons of small tuna everywhere in & around the island. Big tuna come in a lot closer. Inshore fishing, specifically popping, should be in full swing.

As for the rod, I'm pairing it with a Penn Torque 5 or 7. I have both here. The 8'6" surf rod is medium action which gets the job done but you'll feel it after a long day. It doesn't cast as far & you lose a lot of popping action due to the flex.

The one thing I have learned is that less is more. The lighter your reel/set up, the better. Jigging or popping can be a marathon. It's hours of casting. Those extra few ounces can be brutal. A 20,000 series reel is pretty heavy so you may want to bring something a little lighter.

Wish you the best when you come out! Feel free to send me a PM for more info.

Originally Posted by rumster

Was wondering the same thing myself.... After doing some research, I purchased a Shimano Saragusa 20,000, loaded with 80 lb braid. I matched that up with a Shimano Terez 7`8 extra heavy action, medium fast taper. Unfortunately, the cost was more than $200.00. I bought it specifically for popping in of all places, Pedasi aka the Tuna Coast.... Making my 1st trip there for a month from 4-16-18 through 5-16-18. I cant wait!!! Looking to do some recon towards a possible move to Pedasi in 2 years. Definitely would like to meet up if that works for you.... Feel free to pm me. Thanks

[DonJose]

Originally Posted by nmc02

I absolutely love the van staal rods. They are in your price range. Look at the vjs70-325 for fish to 150 lb. These are AWESOME and indestructible

Thanks for the advice. Will check them out.

[DonJose]

Originally Posted by tunajoe

Go see Grumpy's in Seaside. I just picked up a custom ODM rod that has a ton of ballz. Paired it with a 6000 Sargasso. Bill who built my rod uses that reel and swears by it. He fishes 100 lb tarpon with it down there. However, you will certainly be over $200. The reel alone is about 265 and ODM rod about 500. He does have cheaper rods that will get the job done - I went custom.

I should have clarified I'm going to use it with a Penn Torque 5 or 7. I have both here. Unfortunately Seaside is a ride for me. About 4,000 miles or so. I won't be back to the states until June.

Thanks for the advice though.

[rumster]

Originally Posted by DonJose

Sweet! You'll love Pedasi! We can definitely connect while you're here. Warning - April is super hot, dry with little breeze. May the rain starts. Usually just in the afternoon. Make sure you bring good sun protection. Great fishing too! Tons of small tuna everywhere in & around the island. Big tuna come in a lot closer. Inshore fishing, specifically popping, should be in full swing.

As for the rod, I'm pairing it with a Penn Torque 5 or 7. I have both here. The 8'6" surf rod is medium action which gets the job done but you'll feel it after a long day. It doesn't cast as far & you lose a lot of popping action due to the flex.

The one thing I have learned is that less is more. The lighter your reel/set up, the better. Jigging or popping can be a marathon. It's hours of casting. Those extra few ounces can be brutal. A 20,000 series reel is pretty heavy so you may want to bring something a little lighter.

Wish you the best when you come out! Feel free to send me a PM for more info.

Outstanding!!! I am really looking forward to the trip. I purchased the 20,000 realizing that larger tuna were possible that time of year. I also just purchased the 10,000 with 33 lbs of drag spooled with 65 lb braid. I definitely will shoot you a PM to exchange numbers so we can connect and firm up fishing necessities prior to leaving. Tight lines and thanks!