Paddy's Guide to Affordable Big Bait Heavers

[TheCraftsman]

So I was doing some research on big surf sticks for my upcoming purchase. I figured i would share all my findings with you guys and maybe help some others out along the way. All my research is for mid-price range casting rods. If you can afford a Saltiga Ballistic, well i kinda wanna punch you in the nuts out of pure jealousy😝, so do your own research! This is a pretty much comprehensive list of the 11'-12' heavers under $200 easily available today. I would like to state that i dont have experience with any of these rods, and these reviews are purely based off all and reviews i could find via professionals and shclubs posting on the many fishing forums out there. Im sure i missed a couple obscure brands, but oh well. Would love to hear any feedback yall have on these rods, especially if you have first hand experience. There is not, that I can find, a list like this anywhere on the interweb, so hopefully this draws a few new folks to the forum and helps some people in the process. Enjoy:)

^^Daiwa Emcast^^
     -12' xxh, 30-60lb, 6-12 lure, $150
     -11'3" xh, 25-50lb 4-10 lure, $130
     -11' h, 20-40lb, 4-7 lure, $100
* the only negative reports seem to be that it is a bit of a "broomstick" as well as a few reports of guide failure. Known to be a heaver that can handle some heavy weights and big fish. This is a well built quality rod.

^^Daiwa Emblem^^
      -12' xh, 25-50lb, 5-8 lure, $130
      -11' h, 20-40lb, 4-10 lure, $120
*fuji reel seat
*more sensitive than the emcast. A few reports that it is over rated and probably should be 3-6,4-8 rods. But still another quality offering from Daiwa.

^^Penn Battalion^^
     -12' xh, 25-50lb, 6-12 lure, $140
     -12' h, 20-40lb, 6-10 lure, $130
     -11' mh, 15-30lb, 2-6 lure, $120
*fuji guides and seat
* There are not a ton of user reviews on this rod because it only hit the markets a little over a year ago. All the reports so far are very good. No reports of snapping or any other problems yet. Impossible to know how durable it is yet. Upgraded components and a slightly stiffer blank than the prevail. Seems like it is priced right and a quality rod.

^^Penn Prevail^^
     -12' h, 20-40lb, 4-10 lure, $100
     -11' mh, 15-30lb, 2-6 lure, $90
*there are a few reports of this rod snapping when casting as well as a few reports of losing inserts on the guides. Cheaper components, but for a budget, beginner or backup this is a hard rod to beat for under $100.

^^Okuma Solaris^^
     -12' mh, 20-40lb, 3-8 lure, $110
     -11' h, 20-40lb, 3-8 lure, $95
*fuji seat and guide "inserts"
* i think i was the most surprised by the reviews of this rod as any other. There seems to be a consensus out there on the forums, "stay away from the okuma", but nobody really knows why. I have found the opposite to be true. Most of the people who bought this rod really like it. There are reports of breaking and guide failure but not a lot
Of them. It may also be overrated on the lure weight. I think this rod may rival the prevail for the best budget/backup rod.

^^Tica UGSA (Dolphin)^^
     -12' xh, 25-50lb, 6-12 lure, $180
     -12' h, 15-40lb, 4-10 lure, $190
     -11' xh, 25-50lb, 6-12 lure, $185
     -11' mh, 15-40lb, 3-8 lure, $160
**fuji guides and seat
*a LOT of people love this rod. There are a couple reports of the rod breaking on the cast, but not many. Reviews are mostly good. At the higher end of the $200 or under range, i think you can get more bang for your buck. But this is a quality rod by most reports and you could do a lot worse.

^^Tica UEHA^^
     -12' xh, 15-40lb, 4-10 lure, $160
     -11' h, 15-40lb, 3-8 lure, $140
**MANY reports of guide failure
*many people love this rod and say its the "best bang for the buck", but there are a lot of reports of snapping them on the cast. Between the guide failures and reports of them breaking, this rod is far from a "sure thing".

^^Tsunami Airwave^^
    -11'xh, 25-50lb, 4-10 lure, $130
**Pac Bay guides, Fuji seat
*while there are some reports of this rod snapping the top 10"-12" off, most people are pretty satisfied with this stick. For the price, i think your getting a good quality rod that can take a good amount of abuse.

^^Tsunami Trophy^^
     -12 xh, 20-40lb, 6-10 lure, $130
     -11' xh 20-40lb, 4-10 lure, $120
*A slightly beefier and stiffer version of the Airwave. Doesn't have the same quality components, but may be suited better to chunking big weight and bait.

^^Star Stellar Surf^^
     -12' h, 20-40lb, 4-12 lure, $190
     -11' h, 20-40lb, 3-8 lure, $150
*fuji seat and Pac Bay guides
*I literally cannot find a single negative report of any type on this rod. The only rod in the bunch (to my knowledge) thats boasts a limited lifetime warranty. Everyone who owns one seems to love it. If you can afford the extra cheddar, this might be the best surf heaver under $200.

^^Offshore Angler OM Surf^^
     -12' xh, 20-50lb, 6-12 lure, $170
     -12' h, 17-40lb, 3-6 lure, $180
*fuji guides and seat
*This rod gets great reviews. The only negative things i could find are that they are physically heavy rods and the xh is a bit of a "broomstick". Also a few reports on bad reel seat placement and needing to hack off a few inches. By nearly all reports, a very quality rod.

^^Lamiglas Insane Surf^^
     -11', 17-40lb, 3-8 lure, $150

*honestly cant find much in the way of reviews of this rod. A few reports of it being a bit of a "noodle". Not much in the way of positive or negative feeling towards it that I can find.

[sasquatch]

Thanks for that.

[WheresMyBeer]

Great stuff!!

[LONGCAST JOE]

Thanks for sharing, this should save a few people some hours who are thinking on adding a new rod to their arsenal. I picked up an Okuma Longitude CX 12' 20-40 3oz-8oz for $85 off Amazon a couple weeks ago. Used it a few times and its a bit better than what I expected for the price, quality and performance wise...durability? we'll see...Action a bit slow & broomsticky for my taste but IMO most surf rods are designed and rated towards the east coast,plug casting, striped bass style of fishing, which doesn't require keeping a bait chunk on your hook thru your cast or needing to feel a nibble on the bait once its soaking, like us SoCal surfcasters require. So if I could offer one piece of advice when choosing a rod that is nationally marketed,it would be to tend towards the models rated on the faster end of the action scale as opposed to the slow, XH end of it. Ive found it seems as the ounce ratings of the rods are more for a bait-less fast and quick powercast, like you would throw when practice casting just a piece of lead at the baseball field, rather than the type of cast needed to actually keep a bait on your hook thru cast. ie: I find a 4-8oz rated rod will not load up when casting a baited 4oz rig, so I take that into consideration when looking at that rating of a rod as well. But that's just me and the personal adjustments I've come to use over the years when I look at a rods weight and action rating. Im sure yall got your own as well. Good luck on finding a stick that works well for you.
JOE

[Latimeria]

Excellent stuff Paddy!  This is great information as I also usually do a lot of research before a purchase and this cuts down on a lot of it.

Thanks for posting this.   

[raychavez91]

Very detailed and informative stuff man! You sure put in your research!
So what you decide on lol.

[TheCraftsman]

Hey guys, I would love your input on these rods in this post. Like i said i dont have any first hand experience so the more knowledge/reviews the better.

Longcast Joe- if i were you i would keep that rod to casting 6oz or less, reports have a lot of "broke throwing 8oz, should be a 6oz rod" . Thanks for the input! Let us know how the rod works out after you've fished it for a good while.

Ray- Well I would love to end up with the Star Stellar, that lifetime warranty is a pretty hard to argue with. But it is pricey. If i dont end up with that im leaning towards the Battallion 20-40/4-10.             2 reasons: 1- I'm partial to Penn, no good reason for it, i just like Penn. 2- i want a 12' stick, but i dont want a "broomstick" for my only longrod. Would love to have a big 6-12 OM or Emcast for sharking, but not if its going to be my only rod. That will probably be a rod to be added later. As for now i want something a little more versatile. Plus the calstar 30-60 im using for longrodding now is pretty well suited to haul in any big shark, just wish it was a little longer for casting.
That being said, im hoping for one of the rods i really like to go on a bitchen sale or clearance, maybe a Black Friday or something, I'm not in a rush since my calstar is pretty good.

[Pinoyfisher]

Great List! Out of all the ones you've listed, my favorite is the OM 12XH. I find it felt quite sensitive for being a "big" rod. Not too much of a broom stick, but solid enough to chuck a 6oz sputnik and a big 'ol mack or bonito head with relative ease and no concern for breaking during the cast.

I presonally used owned and fished the Penn Prevail and hated it. Broke halfway through my session. I fished well within it's rating. Components felt cheap also. I know it's a lower end rod, but it felt cheaper than that. You get what you pay for.

[sasquatch]

Keep an eye out for deals. I scored the old version Shimano Tiralejo just before the new ones came out. $349 MSRP for $190.

Saw the sale on a forum and jumped on it.

[vdisney]

Went through a few long rods until I settled with a Emblem 12' xh, 25-50lb, 5-8 lure.  My rod's sweet spot is 5 oz and I absolutly love it.  It's paired with a Sealine 30 w/carbon drags and Boca ceramic bearings.  I might add I'm not a 8&bait kind of guy which might be why the rod works so well for me.  Verne

[raychavez91]

    Everyone will have different preferences, me personally it's all about the daiwa emcast xxheavy 12', and 11'3 xxheavy.
    Paired with 40lb and minimum 8oz and bait these rods really handle business.
    Only thing is I cut off the reel handles and place my reels with clamps, roughly 12"-16" from the butt. They perform flawlessly. I'm really happy with the way they handle tossing large baits.
I also have a prevail casting rod, 12' 20-40#, that I live forbtoaaing 5oz and bait. I especially like it for Leo's, small bats and lighter long rodding.
     These days I favor the emcast 12xx for my usual trips.

[1morecast]

Keep an eye out for deals. I scored the old version Shimano Tiralejo just before the new ones came out. $349 MSRP for $190.

Saw the sale on a forum and jumped on it.

Nice score!

[Chris]

I have a star stellar 12ft, 20-40. perfect for 30lb and throwing 150 gram and big bait. I use a sealine 50 on it.

also check out some of the breakaway rods. the LDX, HDX, and GDX are great rods and would do well in the socal surf. the GDX is a perfect leo rod.

[TheCraftsman]

Thanks for all the great input guys. Keep it coming:)

I considered putting the breakaways on the list Chris. But theyre about $250 not including tax/shipping so they dont quite fit the "affordable" bracket, tried to keep it in the $100-$200 range including tax/shipping.  What the hell is gram!? This is 'murica!!!😜😝😜😝😜

[raychavez91]

Decide on a purchase yet Mr.paddy?