|
Stand-up rods. Some people love them; some people hate them. As their name implies, stand-up rods are made for fighting big fish while the angler remains standing. They range from as short as four-and-a-half feet to as long as six foot in length, and they've become very popular rods for playing big fish.
Long fore grip allows anglers to reach high on the rod for additional leverage.
I recently fished with Bass Pro's Offshore Angler Power Stick stand-up rod. This rod comes in two sizes: 5'6" and 6'. I choose the six-foot model because I planned to use it bottom fishing and wanted the extra length to use as leverage on the hook set.
I paired this rod with an Offshore Angler Ocean Master OML25 reel spooled with 240 yards of 50 pound World Wide Sportsman camouflaged line. It made a perfect combination for offshore bottom fishing.
Stand-up rods became popular with yellowfin tuna anglers on the U.S. west coast. Tuna tend to fight straight down under the boat, and these "short" rods with their powerful butt section provide leverage needed to pump and wind a tuna to the surface. Tuna anglers must pull up hard, and then reel down quickly to gain line on a deep circling tuna. Longer rods have so much flexibility that they cause slack line on the reel down, meaning the angler looses line instead of gaining it.
Includes one roller guide at the reel, five guides with titanium oxide rings and a roller tip top.
The 6' model I've been using is made for IGFA 30 to 50 pound class fishing. I've used it bottom fishing in about 120 feet of water, forty miles offshore from Florida's coast. The rod performed remarkably well. It's just long enough to give me a good hook set, yet short enough to allow me greater control over the fish during the fight.
The rod comes with a roller guide at the reel, five heavy duty guides with titanium oxide rings and a roller tip top. The guides at the reel and tip-top on any rod take most of the line pressure when fighting a fish, and the rollers keep the line from reaching the rod's side on a heavy pull.
The fore grip on the rod is longer than standard bottom rods. It allows the angler to reach high on the rod -- almost three feet -- for additional leverage. This is a feature on all stand-up rods and the Powerstick is no exception.
Hollow fiberglass "E-glass" blank is extremely strong, yet lightweight.
The fore grip is made from textured hypolon and is triangular in shape. It decreases in thickness as it moves up away from the reel seat. This is a very comfortable shape. It gives you better control over the rod, preventing the entire outfit from rotating left and right in your hand as you reel.
The butt has a gimbal seat that fits all standard fighting belts. This is another feature that helps prevent rod twist during the fight. But, the rod also has a nice, large butt cap cover for those that prefer to use the rod without a fighting belt. You only need to fight a fish one time on a gimbaled rod with no fighting belt to appreciate the large butt cap!
The rod is built with a hollow fiberglass "E-glass" blank. This is an extremely strong, yet lightweight rod. The reel seat is heavy duty and is made from anodized aluminum. It is strong and will hold a fifty pound class reel securely in place on any fish, even a yellowfin tuna.
I was impressed with the Offshore Angler Power Stick Stand-Up Rod. It's light enough that it won't wear you out on an all-day bottom-fishing trip. It's short enough to allow you to navigate around the boat easily. Yet, it's long enough to provide me enough leverage to pull a big fish up off the bottom.
When the man with the tackle cart comes around again, I'll take two! And, while I choose to bottom fish with the outfit, the six foot model will do just fine in a trolling scenario -- strong, yet just enough length to be flexible. Okay, better make that three!
|
Previous Page
Print This Page
