Slaying the Dragon — Big Game Travel Rods

At 50, I’m standing at a precipice. While my earliest fishing experiences were in the salt, chasing bluefish in the Chesapeake Bay, far more than 90 percent of my fishing since then has been in freshwater.

That percentage, my friends, is fixin’ to change.

With trips in recent years for inshore species in Venice and offshore species in Guatemala, I’ve realized that there are a lot of hard-fighting salty types that I want to add to my species list. That’s why I dream of someday chasing Giant Trevally in the South Pacific and why I’m so incredibly stoked for our tuna popping trip to Panama in April.

Fortunately, there is a lot of good saltwater action close to my Virginia home, not just in the bay, but also in places like Hatteras, New Jersey and Massachusetts. I want to experience all of that, but I also want to get on a plane and crush some fish in exotic places. I have a feeling that once I get into the swing of heavy-duty popping and jigging I may become an addict.

That presents something of a problem. If you’re going to the Andamans or Christmas Island or the Galapagos, there’s not a Tackle Warehouse next to your your lodging, and some outfitters require you to bring your own gear. You’ll need more than one rod, too, not just because you might be using varying techniques, but also because otherwise if you break your rod early in the trip you may be out of luck.

I’m not at the rod-buying point of purchase yet, but I envision myself being there in a couple of years. With that in mind, I’ve started to explore some travel options. When you get into this segment of the industry a lot of rods have removable handles or butt sections. Does that qualify them as “travel” rods? In some cases I suppose so. In other cases, where airlines or float planes are more restrictive, you’ll need to look at options with three or more pieces. I’ll limit myself to the latter segment for purposes of this list.

Hamachi Tackle

Japan’s Hamachi offers a total of six rods in their original GT n Doggie Expedition series, all of them three pieces. The three 8’2” rods pack down to 94cm, and the three 10-footers break down to 107cm (about 3’ and 3’6”, respectively). Per the company’s website, they’re made for chasing “Volkswagen size GTs” and other brutes and they come with a lifetime warranty – as they should since prices for a new one seem to start at around $900. They subsequently added a couple of 7’6” models.

Ripple Fisher

Ripple Fisher is another highly-regarded Japanese company, and their GTXpedition is a three-piece, 8’1” rod. They claim to have “focused our attention on the development of its smooth bending transition during the cast [and] control and fighting of the fish. Hawaii’s GT Fight Club sells them for $860.

Smith Fishing

We’ve previously highlighted the orange camo grips on some of the Smith Fishing KOZ Expedition series of rods, but they also make rods aimed at larger-than-life saltwater species. This four-piece BFT travel rod is not a popping rod, but it’s made for “large halibut fishing, [and is] ideal for heavy fishing on large wreck with jig or soft lures.” That appeals to me, whether it’s halibut off Alaska or goliath grouper in Florida.

Temple Reef

Temple Reef Rods offers four travel rods in the Ronin Expedition/Stealth STK Expedition series aimed at the hard core saltwater angler. They claim that despite others’ efforts to make a “proper” three-piece GT rod, this will be the first one refined and stout enough “to gain mainstream confidence.” They are sold by a number of US retailers.

Tenryu

I first learned of Japan’s Tenryu through Fishing and Travel Magazine (the English version of “Voyages de Pêche) and through a web search found that they made three 8’0 three-piece models aimed at GT, amberjack and other hard-pulling saltwater species. They may not be easy to find through US retailers, but they are available through JDM specialists who ship to the US.

Zenaq

Zenaq has a number of rods in their Expedition series (both Offshore Jigging and Offshore Casting), and they make the explicit claim that they can “win the toughest fights against the largest and hardest fighting big game species” including GTs, tuna, and billfish. Expect to pay over $600. The US distributor is Tomo’s Tackle in Massachusetts.

As noted in this space before, there are plenty of online retailers ready to help you make your decision. Also, there seems to be a robust resale market, so you might find them on Ebay or message boards – and if you buy them for a true “once in a lifetime” trip you should be able to recoup some of your investment after the fact (if your prey doesn’t break them into splinters). Be sure to check if warranties are transferrable.