DAIWA PRODUCT FOCUS: MIXED OPTIONS WITH THE ONE ROD BY MARK BARGENQUAST

I must admit, I’m becoming a one rod angler. True my tackle rack has some pretty cool Daiwa outfits lined up, and yes they do see quite a bit of action throughout the year especially with the huge variety of options we have up here in the far north. Lately with the wet season upon us and trips becoming an early morning session before the storms hit it’s just so easy to grab the first outfit in the rack and head out in the little boat for a few hours.

Wet season up here see’s some amazing inshore lure fishing along the fresh current lines that are littered with debris and logs, plastic bags and water bottles that drift into the gulf from Indonesia also congregate along these currents and can be kilometers long! It just so happens that this cover attracts thousands of tiny baitfish and crustaceans that brings the predators, that in turn brings the bird life and also the anglers.

This cover needs to be fished from a reasonable distance from the boat as a close approach can spook fish , species like longtail tuna, queenfish, golden trevally, tripletails and GTs often patrol under this debris line so a reasonable lure needs to be cast accurately and quickly, my rod of choice here is the DAIWA SALTIST COASTAL 70H (or the slightly lighter version the MH which stands for medium heavy)

These 7 foot rods ( 2.13 meters in metric sizes) are absolutely great for this style of fishing, I can cast a light lure over the horizon and it has plenty of power for a big fish. Matched with a DAIWA BG 4000 reel it’s a superbly balanced combo that won’t break the bank , don’t be fooled by the lower price tag believe me the quality is top shelf and it performs well!

Always keep a watchful eye on the sounder when working along these drift lines as often a school of fingermark or a reefy bottom will be seen on the side imager, the versatility of these outfits is once again spot on as they can be used to sink soft vibes or even micro jigs down and successfully catch fish. The 7 foot length is ideal for vibes as you can consistently keep in touch with the lure which defiantly helps feeling faint bites. Follow the lure back down after the lift, keep just enough contact as not to slow the lures natural fall and remember the bites nearly always come on the drop.

Just yesterday I had a quick solo mission in the little 4.2 tinny, the weather was perfect with a storm rumbling miles away to the east and in 3 casts I managed a nice triple tail that came off a long cast at a floating log, next was a 12 kg Spaniard and next drop the lure fell too far down and got nailed by a 4 kg estuary cod……….now that’s versality!