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Beautiful day for testing some new gear..

Got an opportunity to get out and test some new gear, weather was perfect so decided to head out wide with the Maven Coast 10', 18-24 Kg, 2 pc and the new Maven Firth 5'6", Carbon/S-Glass hybrid.

You know your off to a good start when Auckland looks like this on the way out...

The Maven Coast 10' rod is intended to be a land based rod capable of swimming stick baits, I don't normally fish such a long rod from the boat however, I wanted to get more cast time in with it and try some new lures to see how it felt.

I started light and clipped on the Daiwa Saltiga Dorado... actually has accounted for more fish than I ever expected. At 65 grams (with hooks) it is at the light end of the rods suggested cast weight.
A 10' rod rod gives you a lot of tip speed so the cast distance was decent enough
however, I could feel that the rod would offer more with increased cast weight. The rod swims this lure really well as the lure has a cupped face and sits almost horizontal in the water, the rod performed extremely well and very comfortable to use at 410 grams in weight.
It didn't take too long and we were into fish, small Gulf Kings a lot of fun especially when close to the reef... Load the rod up and it just asks for more, I had 10 kg dialed in to the Saltiga 5000 (at full spool) so this gave me a good look at the rod under pressure.
     

I tried a variety of lures throughout the day, the next was a favorite of mine for the Gulf a Moutoukenmaru 16F, at 70 gm it is a nice weight to cast all day. The rod has just a little too much tip for the Moutou so you have to take some care not to over power the lure during the sweep, otherwise all good. The Genei is 105 gm with hooks and in my opinion this is where the rod feels at home, casts that lure a mile and the lure has the right weight for the tip. At the heavier end of the lures I had, was the 155 gm GT Ice cream. A heavy tail weighted lure that pushed the rod hard but still put in a nice cast. The lure is easily worked due to its shape and the rod did well considering the weight. I think the sweet spot for this rod is probably around the 110 gm range but it it showed its versatility throughout the day with a variety of lures.

The top water activity started to slow, so we moved out to a couple of deeper spots to do some jigging. I had the new Maven Firth which is a Carbon/S-Glass hybrid rod designed for jigging and light game. The rod is designed with a Carbon butt section and then transfers to S-Glass. This rod has similarities to the GX Carbon rod and shares the Torezite stripper and custom reel seat. They both have a similar feel and bend but the lock up point is lower on the Firth. I thought the S-Glass would feel doughy compared to the Carbon Gx but I was pleasantly surprised how the rod recovers...

I had the Daiwa Sea line 50ii on the rod which felt good, this is not a Gulf setup obviously but a heavy set for out wide, Kings, Ranfurly etc. We were in 70 m so I dropped a 360 gm Sanme to see how the rod felt at that weight. Response was great and the blank recovered quickly. I would happily fish the rod with 350 - 750 gm lures. 

On the second drop I felt something hit the jig right on the bottom, it didn't pull any string as I was running fairly heavy drag but there was some weight in it. Up came a nice Snapper, obviously liked the pink Sanme.

I tried a variety of lures on the combo throughout the day, nothing big but a few smaller Kings. The rod did everything I expected, I love the rod, it will definitely go with me to all the big places this coming year. Would be a perfect option for Tuna, doggies, live baiting etc.

Both Ken and George continued to pick up fish on top, there were some decent sized packs on the follow and a lot of surface activity right to the end of the day.

Awesome people and perfect conditions made for a great day.

As always, Roy put us on the fish... If you're keen to get out there and fish the Gulf he is the man..

If you would like any information about Maven rods just let me know, happy to help.

 

Clem

 

 



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