Telescopic Rods

Any of you guys have any experience with the telescopic Musky Rods? I just ordered a 9'3" Okuma telescopic to use as a big blade throwin setup. I've heard some good things about them but I was wondering if you guys had tried them.


Jay

I almost bought them but decided to have a couple St. Croix blanks built out to 10ft.

When I was researching this topic, I found some great info out there on various message boards regarding a multitude of rods. Maybe try a search on MH site for some info........

I read through a lot of that stuff a while back. Like anything else, there always seems to be some people that like a product along with others that don't. LOL I have an Okuma 8'0 that I like a lot. Just not sure how that telescopic rod might be. I just really needed a setup specifically for big blades as I rarely throw them because of the beating they put on me. LOL I figure a Revo Toro Winch with the 9'3" Okuma should help out quite a bit.

You should be happy with that set up. I purchesed one of those rods and the 9' musky armor (Hulbert) rod at the same time last year and I like the Hulbert rod better but the okuma is nice especially if you need to fit it in the truck!!

Cool, thats what I like to hear. And thats great that you mentioned the other rod too. My brother is lookin for an additional setup and was wondering about those rods. I believe he plans to hit up the Columbus Musky show to see what he can find out about the multitude of rod options.

Since I spend a lot of time throwin flies, I still tried to stay on the lower side in terms of pricing. My hope is to find fish with the conventional gear and hit em with flies as throwback baits. I started trying that a lot last Fall. Problem was that the fish decided to eat my bait more than follow. How about that for a "problem"?!?!?! LMAO

I have 3 okuma rods and I have never had any trouble with them that I could not foresee having with another rod. Two of the three are telescopic and I have never had trouble with that part of the deal either. I have broken one of them twice, one time while getting a fish out of the net (I kneeled on it), and the second time after whacking the tip pretty hard on a corner (and then casting an 8 oz bait) and had it replaced both times by Okuma, ZERO questions asked ($14.95 for shipping). It's a rather simple process as well. As for the specs, the rod is exactly what I want, long (for deep fig 8's) stiff (for throwing heavy stuff) and plenty feel (to feel that 'tick' when the fish eats it). As for the price, with a guarantee like that, I have found no need to look at any other rods.

The 9'3" XH okuma is a heavy rod. It is tip heavy. I could not get a balancer to fit over the but, so I used shrink tube over some weights to balance it out. It works great for big stuff like pounders, double 10s, but is a heavy rod to throw all day. If you are not going to throw a lot of big stuff I would stay away from it. The 8'6" XH okuma weighs half as much as the 9'3" and is better at throwing everything including double 10s and the occasional pounder. The 8'6" is the one I would lean towards. I plan on trying out some rods this show season to get a light weight 9'+ rod to throw small stuff with. Intrigued by the Hulbert rod.

Depending on the style of rod you want, you may want to check on the handle/butt length before buying anything. For me, I really do not want to go back to throwing anything that does not have at least 88 inches forward of the reel seat.....aka the 8'6" Big Dawg rod. It has a 14-inch handle. I really love having 94 inches forward of the seat with the Big Nasty which has the same handle length as the BDawg. With these new 10 footers, I will have 106 inches or so forward of the seat with a 14-16 inch handle so I assume I will like this length even more for the deeper/wider fig-8's. I really think the extra foot of rod added to these are going to make me even happier.

The moral of the story is this: Just because the rod is longer than the one you have does not mean you will have more "rod" to work with during fig-8's.....the extra length you have purchased may only mean you bought a longer handle. I called/emailed all potential retailers about their rod selections and specifically asked them how long their handles were. After some simple math, I just decided to start from scratch and have them built.

Just my .02 pesos.

I was wondering about the weight of them. So far I've been very happy with all the Okuma products I've fished, going back to Flyfishing for trout. I figure I can go with a rod thats a little heavier since I switch between Flies and conventional tackle, not only through the course of a season, but even during the course of a day. I'm hopin that just changing those techniques will keep the shoulders, arms and back relatively fresh.

All my flyrods are 9' and sometimes when I jump back to the baitcaster, I have to remember to lean over a little more on the 8 with that shorter rod. Thats why I decided to go with the 9'3". I figure that since I spent my first 2 seasons using a 6'10" pool cue, my back is gonna thank me for it. LOL At least thats what I'm hopin.

Thanks for all the comments guys!!

Thats a great point Red. I do not know the answer to that question for this particular rod. Its on its way to my house this week, so I'll find out then. LOL Plus, if I recall, the new MH Mag had some techniques to increase that length if I'm not mistaken. Might have to take the hacksaw to it. LOL

The Okuma telescoping rod has a 16 inch handle. That will give you 95 inches forward of the reel seat.

Cool, that sounds good to me. I think this setup is gonna be perfect for what I plan to use it for. Now I just need Spring to get here damn it!! LOL

I will have the New Tackle Industries telescopic rods with the Camo wraps at the Buler show!

Brian

Got the new rod and reel today. I couldn't stop laughin about the length of the shipping container it came it. It looks like a small telephone pole!! LMAO Anyhow, its definitely not as heavy as I expected. Cannot wait to try it out!

I also got a chance to try out the Revo Toro Winch on the 9'3 Okuma using double 10's today. I can't believe the difference in terms of pulling those things through the water. Now, I only thew them for about an hour today, but thats about 5X longer than I've thrown them in the past. LOL I just can't wait to use those things on a search and destroy mission this year!!

That rod launches the hell out of those baits and is VERY accurate. Plus, I swear I don't even have to lean over at all for the 8's!!

Obviously the big test for the whole rig is gonna be when I get a fish on. So, we'll see how things go when that happens!! LOL