# Tarpon rod



## sidelock (Jan 31, 2011)

What's your favorite 4 piece 12 weight tarpon rod ?


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## Finn Maccumhail (Apr 9, 2010)

Hardy ProAxis


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

The one I happen to have in my hand at the right moment!


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## coconutgroves (Sep 23, 2013)

Ask @Bonecracker , he just got a sweet rig he loves...


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## Bonecracker (Mar 29, 2007)

CG is correct! I picked up a very lightly used RL Winston BIIMX 12wt/4pc a couple of weeks ago on Ebay for under $250.00 and had a chance to test it this past Fri and Sat around Apalach. No Megalops to show for my efforts but I could easily cast the rod 80ft with little effort. Looks heavy but was very light in hand not to mention I thought I would dislike the longer cork grip but I forgot it was there. Psssst...here another one!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RL-Winston-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649


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## sidelock (Jan 31, 2011)

Thanks for the input Bonecracker. 
Anyone familiar with the Echo 3 or their new EPR rods ? Their break testing video on some of their rods is very impressive and their price range is reasonable.


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## Guest (Jun 28, 2017)

sidelock said:


> What's your favorite 4 piece 12 weight tarpon rod ?


The only 4pc #12 is an Orvis Trident TL Mid Flex as there's also an Orvis 4pc #11 TLS Power Matrix Tip Flex......


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## coconutgroves (Sep 23, 2013)

Double wells rods do look bulkier and heavier, like the B2mx 12, but cork weighs nothing. That extra lifting power makes a difference. I've got big poons to the boat in under 30 minutes.


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## Finn Maccumhail (Apr 9, 2010)

coconutgroves said:


> Double wells rods do look bulkier and heavier, like the B2mx 12, but cork weighs nothing. That extra lifting power makes a difference. *I've got big poons to the boat in under 30 minutes.*


This is something that I just don't understand when it comes to fly vs. conventional for tarpon. I'm still a relative novice when it comes to tarpon fishing but I've been able to grab 3 tarpon that were in the 120-130# class. And in each case I had the leader in less than 15 minutes and able to grab the face in less than 30. All on 20# class tippet too.

But I cannot tell you how many times I hear from conventional guys who catch tarpon of similar size and it takes them an hour or two to land a tarpon.

Nobody seems to have a good answer for why it's that way.


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## coconutgroves (Sep 23, 2013)

Each fish is different, I've had tarpon never jump and just hug the bottom. And I've ones run for Cuba. It's all in the fight, there is no reason why conventional guys couldn't get the fish to hand as quick as fly guys do. No high sticking, keep the pressure on them, don't let them roll, and pull them downward and to the side "down and dirty" style. I don't see many conventional guys fighting fish that way.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

Finn Maccumhail said:


> Hardy ProAxis


I happen to "hold" one of those in my hand today and at that moment, it was my favorite rod, while trying to entice a bite.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

Finn Maccumhail said:


> This is something that I just don't understand when it comes to fly vs. conventional for tarpon. I'm still a relative novice when it comes to tarpon fishing but I've been able to grab 3 tarpon that were in the 120-130# class. And in each case I had the leader in less than 15 minutes and able to grab the face in less than 30. All on 20# class tippet too.
> 
> But I cannot tell you how many times I hear from conventional guys who catch tarpon of similar size and it takes them an hour or two to land a tarpon.
> 
> Nobody seems to have a good answer for why it's that way.



There was an older thread that was on the subject about tarpon handling. It resurfaced today in response to a post I made on it. So I did several lenghtly replies on the 2nd page of the thread. Deep down in one of those replies I made, I talk about that very subject of why people take so long to land a tarpon.

https://www.microskiff.com/threads/tarpon-handling.36998/page-2

Ted Haas


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## Blue Zone (Oct 22, 2011)

Bonecracker said:


> CG is correct! I picked up a very lightly used RL Winston BIIMX 12wt/4pc a couple of weeks ago on Ebay for under $250.00 and had a chance to test it this past Fri and Sat around Apalach. No Megalops to show for my efforts but I could easily cast the rod 80ft with little effort. Looks heavy but was very light in hand not to mention I thought I would dislike the longer cork grip but I forgot it was there. Psssst...here another one!
> 
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/RL-Winston-BIIX-9-4-piece-12-wt-Light-weight-Great-for-flats-and-Saltwater/282546344900?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649


I have the 12 BIIX, though it's only seen bluewater. I think you will be happy with the double wells; the rod does actually flex a bit where the cork is. I've seen people with conventional grips grab the bare blank for better leverage in the same area of the rod which is not a good idea. The extended cork provides more even pressure on the blank.

The downside is that it almost looks like a two-hander...


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## coconutgroves (Sep 23, 2013)

Backwater said:


> I happen to "hold" one of those in my hand today and at that moment, it was my favorite rod, while trying to entice a bite.


I fished a lower weight version of the ProAxis and loved it.


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## Finn Maccumhail (Apr 9, 2010)

coconutgroves said:


> I fished a lower weight version of the ProAxis and loved it.


I have an 8wt ProAxis too and it's a great stick.


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## Pudldux (Mar 3, 2016)

Edge!!! Soooo sweeeet!!


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

I don't have any 4 piece rods as of yet. May get a 12 wt. Someday. My 2 piece Sage II is a 13 wt. And it cast well and I think I could catch just about anything that swims with it


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## Guest (Jul 2, 2017)

permitchaser said:


> I don't have any 4 piece rods as of yet. May get a 12 wt. Someday. My 2 piece Sage II is a 13 wt. And it cast well and I think I could catch just about anything that swims with it


A few 4 pc. rods & have a Penn International #12/13 - 2 piece fly rod that cast well & could catch just about anything big since it doesn't have that cork foregrip to put added strain on the rod from not butt section levering, but it's mostly for #13 weight 750 grain gulf dredging......


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

I've thrown a lot of nice 4 piece 12wts over the years. My current favorite is the Hardy Zephyrus.


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## sidelock (Jan 31, 2011)

I'm looking to replace my outdated Sage RPLX that I built when they first came out decades ago but I only get to use a 12 weight once or twice a year so I can't really justify spending a grand on a rod that will get so little use. I contemplated building another CTS to match the rest of herd but again the effort to use ratio is questionable.
I was looking at the Orvis Recon but unfortunately its only available up to a ten weight for whatever reason and their Clearwater price point is very appealing at $225 but I don't know how much improvement that would be over the RPLX. I fished my RPLX for two weeks and although its a brute of a fighting stick, its certainly not the most pleasant rod to cast and my first thought after a couple of days into the trip was to replace the rod with something lighter and more pleasurable. I know that 12 weights generally speaking are not ideal rods to blind cast for hours on end but we did a fare share of blind casting early in the mornings and the RPLX was just torture on my tendonitis.
I guess my original post should have read what is you favorite "mid priced" 4 piece 12 weight Tarpon rod.


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## sidelock (Jan 31, 2011)

I'm looking to replace my outdated Sage RPLX that I built when they first came out decades ago but I only get to use a 12 weight once or twice a year so I can't really justify spending a grand on a rod that will get so little use. I contemplated building another CTS to match the rest of my herd but again the effort to use ratio is questionable.
I was looking at the Orvis Recon but unfortunately its only available up to a ten weight for whatever reason and their Clearwater price point is very appealing at $225 but I don't know how much improvement that would be over the RPLX. I fished my RPLX for two weeks and although its a brute of a fighting stick, its certainly not the most pleasant rod to cast and my first thought after a couple of days into the trip was to replace the rod with something lighter and more pleasurable. I know that 12 weights generally speaking are not ideal rods to blind cast for hours on end but we did a fare share of blind casting early in the mornings and the RPLX was just torture on my tendonitis.
I guess my original post should have read what is you favorite mid priced 4 piece 12 weight Tarpon rod.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

sidelock said:


> I'm looking to replace my outdated Sage RPLX that I built when they first came out decades ago but I only get to use a 12 weight once or twice a year so I can't really justify spending a grand on a rod that will get so little use. I contemplated building another CTS to match the rest of herd but again the effort to use ratio is questionable.
> I was looking at the Orvis Recon but unfortunately its only available up to a ten weight for whatever reason and their Clearwater price point is very appealing at $225 but I don't know how much improvement that would be over the RPLX. I fished my RPLX for two weeks and although its a brute of a fighting stick, its certainly not the most pleasant rod to cast and my first thought after a couple of days into the trip was to replace the rod with something lighter and more pleasurable. I know that 12 weights generally speaking are not ideal rods to blind cast for hours on end but we did a fare share of blind casting early in the mornings and the RPLX was just torture on my tendonitis.
> I guess my original post should have read what is you favorite "mid priced" 4 piece 12 weight Tarpon rod.


I'm very familiar with the RPLX rods. They were good rods back in their day. That being said, in todays standards, that rod would be considered a med slow rod. Very equal rod speed to the Loomis GL3.

You might get lost with an ultra fast rod in a 12wt. At that point, you may feel it to be more in-line with a broomstick.

I'm going to say No to the Clearwater. Good value rod, light fast and crisp. I think Orvis attempt on a TFO BVK. I feel it will not feel right to you.

On the high price side, I would try to find one of those deals on a Sage One. The rod has the same parabolic flow to it, like way faster. Probably looking at $450-$500 new. If you are fishing the Keys, I'd consider a 11wt instead and it will feel even better.

Other rods to consider are a good clean used Sage Xi3. Slower than the One and not as much punch, but does well in the 11-12wts.

I'm going to 2nd coconutgroves and bronecrackers recommendation on the Winston rods. They will have the flow that you are use to.

Trailblazer.... No, not the Penn. Broomstick meets buggy whip. They were OK back then... but.... I like your Orvis recommendation tho better. But instead of those, go newer to the Mid-Flex T3 or an older Hydros (not the H2).

I like the Hardy Proaxis, but it'd be too fast and stiff and wouldn't flow right for you.

Older Scott S3S or S4S.

TFO Professional Series II or Mangrove. (also on the inexpensive side).

Loomis Cross Current GLX.

Or a good used T&T in the Solar or Excellot - Used


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## sidelock (Jan 31, 2011)

I don't know how many versions of the RPLX sage produced but perhaps I should have been more specific and stated that the rod in subject is an RPLX Graphite lll and I actually have 6 of them. #7,8,10,12 in 3 piece and #10,12 in two piece, all are custom build except for the #7-3 piece which is a factory rod. They have all been replaced with 4 piece CTS builds and T&T Horizon rods so they are mostly collecting dust in a dark closet.
I haven't handeled any of the rods you mentioned above in a 12 weight so i don't know how it would compare to any of them but my impresision of the RPLX Graphite lll #12 in both 2 piece and 3, is that of a broom stick in itself
Ted can you elaborate on the comment about the older Helios and not the newer Helios 2, why not the 2 ?


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## Finn Maccumhail (Apr 9, 2010)

Lots of places have the Sage Salt on closeout at a deep discount as they're reportedly introducing an updated model. From what I've seen you can get an $850 rod for about $500.

I know $500 isn't cheap but you'll be getting a top-notch rod with the warranty behind it.

Personally, I'm a big fan of buying rods on clearance. I got both my Hardy ProAxis 12wt and ProAxis-X 8wt on closeout for about $400 apiece when they were originally $800 or so. The 12wt ProAxis was on clearance when Hardy brought out the ProAxis-X and all I can tell that they changed was the reel seat. Then I got the ProAxis-X 8wt when they discontinued that line in favor of the Zephyrus line. It may take some hunting but there are quite possible NiB ProAxis rods floating around on Ebay or the like for pretty steep discounts.

Happy hunting.


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

The Echo rods are popular with some of the guys chasing poon here in the Tampa area.

I have yet to cast one myself, but I have yet to hear a poor review of one. And their price point may be more attractive if you aren't going to use it extensively.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

sidelock said:


> I don't know how many versions of the RPLX sage produced but perhaps I should have been more specific and stated that the rod in subject is an RPLX Graphite lll and I actually have 6 of them. #7,8,10,12 in 3 piece and #10,12 in two piece, all are custom build except for the #7-3 piece which is a factory rod. They have all been replaced with 4 piece CTS builds and T&T Horizon rods so they are mostly collecting dust in a dark closet.
> I haven't handled any of the rods you mentioned above, in a 12 weight so i don't know how it would compare to any of them but my impresision of the RPLX Graphite lll #12 in both 2 piece and 3, is that of a broom stick in itself
> Ted can you elaborate on the comment about the older Helios and not the newer Helios 2, why not the 2 ?


To me, the 3 piece RPLX were better at vibration harmonic dampening than the 2 piece RPLX. The 3 piece 7wt RPLX was one of the sweetest casting rods back in it's day. I would love to throw one today just to see if I still liked it or not compares to some of the other more fast but progressive rods out there.

The T&T Horizon was also a sweet casting 12wt for it's day, but not very fast (which back then, I leaned towards faster rods). Whoever, it's easy to cast and I'm sure, fits along with what you are use to. It's a softer, more parabolic action but still has a lot of power in the butt section for fighting fish. When others wear out throwing their ultra fast/ stiff 12wts, the Horizon will allow you to continue casting far beyond that point. I like how the rod continues you feel what the line is doing throughout the entire casting stroke without looking at what the line is doing. And in that spot where the pressure is on, that can come in handy. Also a lot of poon casting can be 20 to 50ft from the boat and that rod shines at those distances, but still can bomb a line if your casting stroke slows down to meet the flow of the rod. I'd say to enhance that rod's performance, you can use a newer high tech line like a Cortland Liquid Crystal or a Wulff Bermuda Triangle Taper, in the same line weight as the rod (and not over line it).

My recommendation would be to compare the 3 piece 12wt RPLX and the T&T Horizon, side by side, with the same reed and line and then keep the one that feels best to you and then sell the other 2 - 12wts. At least you can use it as a backup, if anything else and/or have a different line spun up on it ready, like a clear sink tip line or a clear full intermediate line. For 12wt fishing, you really need both.

Finn... If he was use to the RPLXi, then I would say the next step would be the Salt. But the rods he's use to are different and not sure if he'd get use to them. Also the Proaxis is a very good rod, but less forgiving than those rods he has and the flex of them would flow the same. What I'm recommending for him is to find a rod that flow with the same parobolic action of what he has, only faster. I think a Sage One would be more suited and he would have reserve power in that rod. The Xi3 would be an in-betweener rod.

Again, the Winston recommendation above is another good one.

Chris Boggs, I haven't tried any recent Echo rods, so I can't comment.

The guy that mentioned the Edge... for others that chimed in, that's Gary Loomis pet project with some partnership with Rick Pope of TFO (but not a TFO company), to my understanding. I saw him about 2 yrs ago with Rick at a trade show and saw the prototype of that rod. Nice fast rod, didn't throw it, but at the time, they were talking close to the $1k mark, which lost my enthusiasm about the rod, back then. I mean... come on guys, really!!!

Sidelock, the 1st Hydros is slightly more progressive throughout the blank (still fast tho, just not extra fast like the 2nd gen), compares to the H2, which is faster throughout. I think you would like the gen 1 over the gen 2. Plus there are deals out there for old closeout stock and good clean used ones.

Ted Haas


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## sidelock (Jan 31, 2011)

I'm not used to one particular type of rod action or taper but rather adjust my stroke and timing to suite the rod in hand. Casting has never been an issue for me and throughout nearly half a century of practice, I am quite proficient at it. However having said that, I do admit that my experience is very limited when it comes to 12 weights.
I can't justify spending $1000 on any fly rod let alone one that will only get used once or twice a year on the same token, I'm just trying to avoid throwing away money on something not siutableh. Unfortunately I don't have the luxury or convenience to test cast a number of rods to decide.


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## Finn Maccumhail (Apr 9, 2010)

sidelock said:


> I'm not used to one particular type of rod action or taper but rather adjust my stroke and timing to suite the rod in hand. Casting has never been an issue for me and throughout nearly half a century of practice, I am quite proficient at it. However having said that, I do admit that my experience is very limited when it comes to 12 weights.
> *I can't justify spending $1000 on any fly rod let alone one that will only get used once or twice a year* on the same token, I'm just trying to avoid throwing away money on something not siutableh. Unfortunately I don't have the luxury or convenience to test cast a number of rods to decide.


Buy once, cry once my man.

Again, not advocating spending $1000 on a rod but there are options out there. Look at what @Backwater posted above. Personally, I want a tarpon stick with a good warranty because the odds of breaking one are pretty good.


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## sidelock (Jan 31, 2011)

crboggs said:


> The Echo rods are popular with some of the guys chasing poon here in the Tampa area.
> 
> I have yet to cast one myself, but I have yet to hear a poor review of one. And their price point may be more attractive if you aren't going to use it extensively.



The Echo3 and the newer EPR are also on my radar but I don't have the opportunity to cast them or personally know anyone that fishes them. I did come across a couple of reviews for the new EPR and although they were favorable reviews, one can't be certain what influences are involved in writing.


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