Advice on Lightest 12’ Rod for Pompano?

[tvl3rd]

2 hours ago, richs said:

One thing I never understood about pompano fishing- if they are feeding on sand crabs, wouldn't it be best to target them right in the wash? Works for stripers.  

I usually fish both sides of the bar. All of my larger fish have been farther out. Plenty of 4” fish in the wash in my experience

[camilos_garage]

4 hours ago, richs said:

One thing I never understood about pompano fishing- if they are feeding on sand crabs, wouldn't it be best to target them right in the wash? Works for stripers.  

There many variables, including the beach depth. In shallow beaches a long cast is often necessary. In deeper beaches, they come closer more frequently. They feed mostly on coquina clams (can be found close or far)  but they do love sand fleas, which is the bait of choice. In my beach, this year the coquinas and sandfleas were wiped off by coastal “renourishment” (sterile sand dumped) so they have not come close this season, most catches this season have been on long casts (100 yd). In my experience, right after the bar where the wave breaks and leaves foam is their favorite spot to forage, and of course it can be a bar that is close or a bar that is far out.

Edited April 13, 2022 by camilos_garage

[tvl3rd]

I’m also going to try jigging them this year like I see a lot of the fl guys do. I don’t see many people use goofy jigs in VA/NC but I picked some up to give it a whirl. I caught a citation sized pomp last year on a gotcha plug while fishing for Spanish on Jennette’s pier but that was pretty much by accident 

[Derick Jahnke]

On 4/11/2022 at 9:03 PM, saltygator said:

What’s your guide layout like and size of slammer? I may be looking at a similar setup but with 11’ 2-5 rod for surf fishing!

KR Concept starting at a 20 I think. Going down to size 6 runners. 3500 Slammer with 30 pound braid. I should gone with an Alps MVT seat and CFX rear grip and butt, saved more weight. But opted for a cheaper option. The pics are of my Suzuki Special 10 ft with the MVT setup, much lighter and really feels better in the hand than the NPS on the CCP.

[camilos_garage]

10 hours ago, Derick Jahnke said:

KR Concept starting at a 20 I think. Going down to size 6 runners. 3500 Slammer with 30 pound braid. I should gone with an Alps MVT seat and CFX rear grip and butt, saved more weight. But opted for a cheaper option. The pics are of my Suzuki Special 10 ft with the MVT setup, much lighter and really feels better in the hand than the NPS on the CCP.

That is a beauty. If you go down to 20 lb you will gain distance. US-spec braid is overrated by about 30%, so you will be effectively be fishing with a 26lb braid while gaining 10-15 yd in your casts. We catch some fierce Permits with 20 lb braid.

Edited April 14, 2022 by camilos_garage

[camilos_garage]

Here is an update. As I mentioned earlier I purchased a Cast Pro 12' 3-7 oz blank. I also got all Fuji components, including KW guides. Member ZAFisher helped me with the guide layout to match my Shimano Long Cast and the blank. I found the spine of the rod, tested the reel seat position, taped the guides and did a static load test. I then went to test the rod casting a naked 3 oz sinker at the beach. I am skeptical by nature so for me it is hard to believe something until proven. First cast, I took it easy, got 100 yards. Second cast, added a bit more power, my jaw dropped 130 yards. I then put more power and better technique and got 150 yards consistently over the next 10 casts. I measured the casts with my reel handle revolutions (which is not a bad estimate for these fat spool reels). All these casts were with a basic over the head technique and some wind against me. Accuracy was also excellent, better than any rod I have casted (factory Cast Pros, Tiralejo, Speedmaster, etc.)  probably because I aligned the guides with the spine of the rod. The rod is going to weight about 14 oz once I finish the build. I will post pics when I finish the rod, I cannot wait to catch some fish with it. Overall, I think I will accomplish my goal, which was to downsize from a heavy 13-ft rod to a light 12-ft without sacrifying distance or sensitivity.

 

[PAKings]

Wow, that is some serious distance with 3 oz sinkers.  Will this blank be able to handle 5 or 5.5 oz comfortably?  I fish for pompano in Texas and I can maybe manage 135-140 yards on the 12ft Speedmaster using 8lbs fireline braid.

[camilos_garage]

3 hours ago, PAKings said:

Wow, that is some serious distance with 3 oz sinkers.  Will this blank be able to handle 5 or 5.5 oz comfortably?  I fish for pompano in Texas and I can maybe manage 135-140 yards on the 12ft Speedmaster using 8lbs fireline braid.

That would be a question for @Tommy The blank most likely can handle up to its rated sinker load as the CPS rods are accurately rated. However, and with my limited testing, I think the sweet spot for this rod is around 4 oz. Oh and the line I used for this test was Power Pro 20 lb with a 50 lb Power Pro shock leader (25 ft).

Edited April 30, 2022 by camilos_garage

[Surf bomber]

That’s awesome distance for 3 oz … was that a hatteras cast , off the ground cast or a pendulum cast …

[camilos_garage]

11 mins ago, Surf bomber said:

That’s awesome distance for 3 oz … was that a hatteras cast , off the ground cast or a pendulum cast …

Just a well executed over the head with some body rotation, sinker was a sputnik without wires (so very aerodynamic). No rig or bait as it was a test and the ocean was full of sargassum. 

[Surf bomber]

Obviously you got the juice to get it out there .. nice toss … align the spleen of the rod .. some folks will say that it’s not necessary with the new methods of rod construction … better custom rod builders seems to align the spleen … …

[camilos_garage]

My new custom Surf stick! Built by yours truly. Named her "Pescadora". Cast Pro 12' 3-7 oz blank, Fuji reel seat with lock ring, Fuji KW guides with Fazlite rings and corrosion control treatment, custom foregrip and bottom grip. Top section weights 3.4 oz for a very sensitive tip. Total weight is 15.9 oz (451.7 grams). As a comparison, most high end off the shelf rods are between 15 and 17 oz. The next iteration should be lighter, as I was learning to use rod epoxy and will have more clean wraps, etc. Can't wait to catch some fish with this rocket launcher!  Thanks to all the SOL members that helped figure this one out!!

Edited May 14, 2022 by camilos_garage

[ZAFisher]

Awesome stuff.

Glad the whiole process was a positive one.