Stopped by Squidco yesterday to pick up a rod I thought would be a good first all around 20-40 lb. class choice for yak fishing and I went with the Seeker Black Steel 670. This was going to be my first real tuna/wsb rod primarily for yak fishing and I was pretty excited about it! I was leaning towards the Stealth 670 but they were out of that. Didn't really want to spend the extra money on such a nice BTB rod, to tell the truth, but I also needed a rod for this Monday when I go out with a friend on his boat. While I was there, I also picked up a few irons and some live bait tackle.
But... I decided to stop by Squidco again today for some more stuff and I started looking at the Phenix Black Diamond rods, while still thinking about whether the Seeker was the rod I really wanted to go with. The 670 has such a light tip. Not something I'm entirely always fond of.
So I picked up a few of those Black Diamonds and then got the PSW 700H in my hands, and oh wow, it kind of just blew the Seeker away. The Black Steel 670 is definitely a nice rod but I thought about my experiences of fishing for freshwater toads in hydrilla down in Texas and the Phenix just kind of felt like the tool that'd let me control those tuna and wsb around the kelp so much better. It felt crisp, light and well balanced with those awesome components, and made me feel like I was going to be a little piranha on the water fearlessly attacking those bigger fish.
So I drove back home, picked up the Seeker because Joey was gracious enough to let me exchange it, (thanks again, Joey!) and left with the Phenix, and yet a little more tackle.
Thinking I'd really like to couple this rod with a Saltist BG30.
Actually, since this is my first yak rod/reel, I'm already thinking about what a good next rig would be. I really do not anticipate spending that much money on my following rigs and I'm envisioning going with a Seeker Stealth of some kind and another Daiwa of some kind, probably.
What would be a good 2nd yak rod that I possibly could also use for sharks and maybe even bring on 1-2 day tuna boat trips? Do you guys pretty much mostly stick with 7' models or do you go up to 7'6 or even 8'?
As always, appreciate all of your input. Looking forward to posting some better pictures soon, complete with some decent fish... but for now, a bit of tackle pleasure.
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