Light telescopic fishing rods

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Light telescopic fishing rods

Post by Carter » 09 Jul 2017, 5:04 pm

Hi guys,

I'm after a telescopic fishing rod to fit with light tackle.

Haven't been into it for ages and forgotten whatever little I did know about gear and brands.

What's decent these days?
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Re: Light telescopic fishing rods

Post by Gwion » 09 Jul 2017, 6:46 pm

Having quite some experience in the tackle industry, I'd steer you away from a telescopic rod an more toward a 3-4 piece pack rod. Telescopics just don't behave well and have very little finesse.

Shimano do a decent range of pack rods in various weights and qualities with corresponding price points.
Last edited by Gwion on 18 Jul 2017, 10:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Light telescopic fishing rods

Post by Prettybird » 18 Jul 2017, 10:01 am

Gwion wrote:Having quite some experience in the tackle industry, I'd steer you away from a telescopic rod an more toward a 3-4 piece pack rod. Telescopics just don't behave well and have very little finesse.


Too flimsy also I reckon. Get stuck opening and closing.

A 3 piece pack rod is pretty easy to store really.
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Re: Light telescopic fishing rods

Post by Dunxy » 02 Aug 2017, 1:01 am

As already pointed out,avoid teles. If space is really an issue but money isnt, NITRO 007 is your friend.I have a 6 piece that packs down so small it literately can slip into your back pocket! RRP is 400 odd which considering for what i consider an average blank with run of the mill hardware is pretty steep when much better but not as small 3-4 piece pack rods sell for 1/2.I don't even remember why i purchased mine, i rarely use it, sometimes i throw it in a suitcase for short trips visiting friends family up north and i don't feel like taking a tube on the plane. If i was spending my coin , it would be on a Daiwa or Majorcraft. Daiwa for cheapest worthwhile option,Majorcraft best bang for buck.May be new to shooting, but not to fishing, I stopped counting rods when i got to 70!
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Re: Light telescopic fishing rods

Post by wrenchman » 02 Aug 2017, 2:47 am

i have tryed them and agree and you loose a lot of the fealing for detecting stryks .
i have a freind that fishs for trout he pulls the real off puts it in his back pack with takle and lures and puts the breaks the rods douwn and puts it into a pvc pipe.
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Re: Light telescopic fishing rods

Post by Gwion » 02 Aug 2017, 9:55 am

70 rods! Holy crap; and my wife thinks I have a lot of gear!
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Re: Light telescopic fishing rods

Post by ebr love » 02 Aug 2017, 11:55 am

I was looking at the same, ended up adding a $10 hand reel from BCF instead.

Even smaller ;)
TIKKA T3 TAC .300 WIN MAG
HOW SPORTER 270 WIN
HOWA YOUTH .204 RUGER
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Re: Light telescopic fishing rods

Post by Gwion » 02 Aug 2017, 12:57 pm

Here are a few to look at for an idea:

Cheap Arse Entry Level:
https://www.fishingtackleshop.com.au/pr ... model.html
Actual Entry Level:
https://www.fishingtackleshop.com.au/pr ... -rods.html
Where You Should Actually Start If You Really Like Fishing:
https://www.fishingtackleshop.com.au/pr ... -rods.html
https://www.fishingtackleshop.com.au/pr ... -rods.html
Mid Range (as good as you will ever really need):
https://www.fishingtackleshop.com.au/pr ... -spin.html
For Those After Big Fish & With a Little Extra Cash To Splash About:
https://www.fishingtackleshop.com.au/pr ... odels.html

There are other brands but this selection is indicative of what is available for each price point.

The cheaper you go (generally) the less finesse you will get from the rod, the arch will be interrupted by lower quality spigoting which will effect precision casting, "contact" with whatever is on the end of the line, as well as "feel" while playing a fish.
My general theory with spin outfits is that you spend more on your reel than on your rod. If a rod snaps, you can still get that fish of a lifetime in but if your reel craps out or the drag is dodgy... bye bye fishy..... With a fly outfit, it's kinda the other way around; the reel is sort'a just there to hold the line.

When i walk into fish, i take a 3piece 1-3kg Shimano rod that cost me about $180 around 10 years ago (don't make this exact model anymore), a Daiwa Certate 3500 with a 6kg drap as smooth as silk (two spools with different capacity and line weights) that go for about $600ish and a small pocket box full of jigheads and a finite selection of plastics. This is for "prospecting", either covering water fast to check out new ground or for when conditions are such that sight fishing just isn't a viable option, however, at a pinch i would target almost any esturine or fresh water species with this outfit: if all else fails i can always point the rod at the fish and crank 6kg of hurt onto it which will move quite a decent fish.
I also take a 4piece Sage VPS #5 (cost about $650 14 years ago but they don't make it anymore: also a lifetime warranty so if i bust it, they replace it with new equivalent, very comforting when you are pushing the limits on a fish in tight spots!), the reel is a Pfleuger Trion that cost about $250 same time i bought the rod. The line is a weight forward #6 floating. The over weight line helps soften an otherwise stiff rod and making it more forgiving for a dodgy caster like me, also helps when you are casting into steady winds as i often do in highland lakes area. I use this for sight fishing.

Point is, you can get affordable performance but you can't get affordable (i mean cheap) performance from gear that includes specialised tech. Spacing and reinforcing spigots without creating flatspots, weaknesses and sloppy action takes a lot of R&D, expensive components and specialised gear. None of this comes cheap. The major problem with telescoping rods is that in order to have them maintain any sort of structural integrity the sections are generally kept equal length with a guide on each section. Proper fishing rods do not load like that and guides are spaced according to the parabola for optimum performance in both strength and finesse. I have seen one telescopic rod that was very well built, loaded nicely and you could feel the tip through your hand but it was priced horrendously expensive.

There's no free lunch. If you want to work to a low budget then expect severe limitations on what the rig will do and be prepared for it to fail on you at any given moment.
Don't get me wrong. I had a telescopic rod many many moons ago and caught fish on it... BUT... would i buy another one or suggest anyone else do so when a half decent pack rod is affordable and FAR superior to just about any telescopic rod? NO, i wouldn't.
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Re: Light telescopic fishing rods

Post by Sakoh » 15 Aug 2017, 1:41 pm

The only telescopic rod I had telescopes itself after when I gave it a sharp flick to extend it :lol:
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