New Rod or Rods

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New Rod or Rods

Postby Dave F » Fri Jul 12, 2019 8:01 pm

I'm in the market to upgrade my beach rods over the next few months and have been doing a good bit of reading. Ideally I'd like to cover everything from flatties and small stuff and light summer work up to winter cod with 6 or 7oz leads and big baits, so I might need to look at two different rods rather than a pair. So I'm looking for people's thoughts and advice on a few different rods that keep coming up for me as good ideas, and which all seem pretty well able to cover the whole spectrum of what I'm looking to do. I'm also probably going to be looking at second hand, and ideally in Ireland but that's not absolutely essential so I'm keeping an eye on ebay and the like too.

The rods I've been considering are:

Century TT Supermatch. Seems to do it all. Tippy, but still rated up to 7oz. How well does it handle those leads?
Century T800. A 5 and 6oz rated rod but seems very nice indeed.
Zziplex M4 Hi Flex. Rated for 6oz but seems pokey, and the glass tip certainly seems nice. Is this the best possible all rounder?
Zziplex Primo Synchro or Hi Flex. Good reputation but how does the stiffer tip do for bite detection?

Any other suggestions are very welcome. I have a decent budget to play with but am looking at second hand for best value. I'll be using both multi and fixed spool on whatever I pick most likely, and braid on the fixed spool. For comparison, I currently use an IMAX FR Match Plus and an AFAW Mk 1 Match. I'd be open to swapping one of those out if anyone were interested too. I mostly cast OTG and have been able to hit about 100 yards with baited rigs with the above rods and 150gr leads so I wouldn't be the best caster around but maybe with the right rod I'd get a bit more out of it too. All advice gratefully received!
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Re: New Rod or Rods

Postby Dave F » Tue Jul 23, 2019 5:18 pm

Has anyone any experience with the M4GT either? Seems to be very versatile, albeit geared towards the 6oz plus good cod bait end of the spectrum.
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Re: New Rod or Rods

Postby tempah » Tue Jul 23, 2019 8:17 pm

M4 hi flex match is a great rod. Definitely not a poker of a rod, 4 and 5 oz is perfect. It’s a nice slim blank 13’4” long. Covers everything from flatties to rays. The zipplex bullet is another great rod for heavier leads and distance casting, you need to be otg or pendulum casting to get the best out of this rod
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Re: New Rod or Rods

Postby Dave F » Tue Jul 23, 2019 9:11 pm

tempah wrote:M4 hi flex match is a great rod. Definitely not a poker of a rod, 4 and 5 oz is perfect. It’s a nice slim blank 13’4” long. Covers everything from flatties to rays. The zipplex bullet is another great rod for heavier leads and distance casting, you need to be otg or pendulum casting to get the best out of this rod


The bit of versatility with the M4 Hi Flex is what has it top of my list currently. Most reports seem to suggest it's perfectly good with 6oz and a good bait in rougher conditions too, so if I were thinking of it for winter fishing mostly mixed ground for codling, would it be good? I also see a lot of Primo Synchros which seem ideal for this, but I like the bit of a lighter tip for braid too. Many using a Synchro with braid? How does it handle a bit of tide without bouncing leads out?
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Re: New Rod or Rods

Postby tempah » Tue Jul 23, 2019 9:30 pm

It will handle 6oz no bother and the tip will bend right over and hold as good as any rod if not better in the tide. Its good for mixed ground fishing, the synchro would be better, I had one but moved it on, I just prefer the bullet for that kind of fishing
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Re: New Rod or Rods

Postby Dave F » Tue Jul 23, 2019 10:09 pm

I think the bullet is too much for what I'm looking to do really. What's the Synchro like to cast? Does it wind up fairly easily with an OTG? I'm coming off the IMAX plus, which isn't a light rod but no monster either.
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Re: New Rod or Rods

Postby tempah » Wed Jul 24, 2019 9:06 pm

The synchro is a very good rod for otg casting. A real all rounder

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Re: New Rod or Rods

Postby Dave F » Sat Jul 27, 2019 4:34 pm

Looks like I've found a second hand Synchro. I'm out of the country until September but looking forward to trying it out for a winter cod rod now! Plan will be to try it with both multi and mono and fixed spool with braid. What are people's thoughts on its ability to work well with either?
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Re: New Rod or Rods

Postby Dave F » Mon Jul 29, 2019 8:48 am

And as soon as I've said it, the deal falls through! Still on the look out so and will consider whatever I can find really.
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