Review: Shimano Horizon surfgame series rods

[DarkSkies]

Sent in by Rip-plugger, thanks!



Nitez out with Horizon Surfgame

http://fish.shimano.com.sg/publish/c...h_horizon.html



To give the ultimate test for a surf rod design specifically for game fish, we decided to put the new HORIZON SURFGAME through its paces to target monster sharks from shore in Australia. The destination of choice is a small town in Australia called Exmouth.






In Exmouth we fished on and near a small short jetty that barely extends 10m out to sea. This is the Bundegi Jetty, a place where land based surf game dreams are made of. In season, all manner of fish from Mackerals, Queenfish to GTs swim past this jetty, but what is more interesting about this jetty is that throughout the year, it consistently produces large sharks and at times, the elusive Giant Grouper. At night, all manner of sharks from Reef Sharks to Nurse and Tiger Sharks frequent the waters around this jetty. During the day, these predators patrol the waters far off in the deeper waters, but as dusk approaches, they come close to the jetty to prey on baitfishes that seek refuge around the jetty.

Usually all that was needed were casts around 50-80m to consistently get big hookups. With the HORIZON SURFGAME, this distance is easily reached as the rod has loads of casting power. From there begins a waiting game as we sat and waited for the sun to set. Usually like clockwork, when this happens, the strikes begin to come. But in the meantime, basic chores such as the reeling up of slack line, checking of the baitrunner and fighting drag tension etc needs to be carried out first.

Waiting under the serenity of the beautiful starlit night, the shrill wail of the baitrunner drag on the Thunnus reel often jolts us out of our slumber. Usually we wait impatiently for a agonizing mental count of approximately 10 seconds before we engage the Thunnus into fighting drag mode to set the hooks. Most sharks fight differently, varying from species to species; be it the slow hard slug with the Nurse and Tiger Sharks or the adrenalin inducing speed of the Whitetip and Blacktip Reef sharks. On the nights that we were fishing, we were averaging 20 minutes between bites and landed several species of sharks, all of them giving very aggressive fights all the way to the shore. The biggest of the trip was a 2m plus Nurse Shark that was conservatively estimated at 70-80kg. On our trip, the sharks were in such plague proportions that we could not hookup with the much slower feeding Giant Grouper, but with fishing this good, we definitely were not going to complain!

Needless to say, with this much fun comes responsibility. All the sharks on this trip were released unharmed and hooks were of the high carbon type to allow the fish to throw the hooks should they bite us off.

Tackle & Techniques
Our tackle setup comprises of the new HORIZON SURFGAME rod coupled with Thunnus 16000 reels. The HORIZON SURFGAME is ideal for such fishing situations due to its ability to lob big baits out. Fuji Alconite guides on the rod are positioned using Shimano’s propriety Aeroguide concept so casting distance and fish fighting power is maximized. The rod also has a Slide & Grip reelseat that adjusts to every angler’s physique. This is but one of the advantages we can have with this rod as we were able to adjust the most effective reel position to give ourselves maximum casting and fish fighting leverage. On our trip these rods were so deadly that most sharks were landed in under 10 minutes! Best of all these rods come in both spinning and bait models in 4.05m and 4.25m lengths to suit different anglers’ preferences. Finally the retroflective tip is especially useful for detecting hits at night and also critical for tracking and controlling the fish when it comes close to the jetty.

For our reels, nothing beats the Thunnus 16000 or the Big Baitrunner LC for our surf game style of fishing. The Baitrunner function is a necessity here to prevent the fish from pulling the outfit into the sea. It also allows the fish to run and swallow the bait properly before you set the hooks. It is pure excitement when the fish takes off with your bait. At times, we can only hang on to the rod with trembling hands as the wail of the reel pierces the silence of the night; such is the adrenaline rush you get from this truly magical sound that I trust all surfcasters can relate to!

For terminal tackle what we had was pretty simple. Reels were loaded with 80lb braided line and finished off to a heavy duty game swivel. From there we attached a 5ft 200lb wire cable and two heavy duty 10/0 hooks. To prevent our bait from drifting, we use a small pyramid sinker tied to a thin breakaway release line and attached this to the swivel when the currents got strong. Bait consists of either foot long mullet or large slabs of Tuna.



If anyone else wants to put up pics or reviews of this rod, feel free.

[porgy75]

Looks like they would hold up to some monsters, sweet!