# Best yellowfin rod??????



## Tarponless (Jan 7, 2019)

hi,
I broke a 16wt and 13wt on yellowfin tuna last yr. the 16 wt was the better choice but they both had there limitations. 

Is there a rod out there that can handle some larger yft and not snap? What type of rod material is best for the situation? I’m not worried about casting. 
Thank u


----------



## Sardina (Feb 16, 2019)

Tarponless said:


> hi,
> I broke a 16wt and 13wt on yellowfin tuna last yr. the 16 wt was the better choice but they both had there limitations.
> 
> Is there a rod out there that can handle some larger yft and not snap? What type of rod material is best for the situation? I’m not worried about casting.
> Thank u


Depends on what you mean by “larger yft” I guess, but I have had great luck on tuna in the 50-75 lb. class with a Cam Sigler 14 wt. I have the older style 8’ and the 9’ rods. They were made to fight big fish. No experience with their current rods, though.


----------



## Tarponless (Jan 7, 2019)

“Larger”-well, I can’t control what bites my fly. I’m happy to report it was yft upto 60lb. They were tough but reasonable until they snap our rods. I did see some tuna up to 120lbs come out of the boils last year and I heard they go to 200lb. I need a rod that can handle a few fish before breaking and give me the best shot at “larger” yft in Panama.


----------



## Gervais (Nov 28, 2016)

I don’t have experience with them but TFO Bluewater series have graphite in the tip section for casting and s glass in the butt section for fighting big fish. They are very affordable and have a great warranty.


----------



## ifsteve (Jul 1, 2010)

Here's the bad news. You are out of luck. No rod can handle larger tuna very well. As you know they are just too tough sum bitches. The "fix' is to just keep going until you figure out the exact pressure you can apply during the fight and when.

I fought one in the 70-80# class for half an hour this spring in the Seychelles. Had the fish essentially beat. Fly line was just back to the rod and was making steady gains and it just came unbuttoned. Rod - 12 wt SaltHD. NOT the rod I would choose but its what I had in my hand when the fish came around.

My favorite big game rod was my old Xi2 14. Also had an Xi3 16 but never got to use it on enough fish to make much of an unbiased opinion.

I would not recommend the TFO Bluewater. I had two of them on a trip off Mexico. They were my backups. Broke a two of them on small (like less than 10#) tuna within 15 minutes of each other. Ferrules just blew up. Great warranty for sure. Replaced them both quickly. Sold them immediately.


----------



## Tarponless (Jan 7, 2019)

“Out of luck”. I keep hearing “out of luck”. Do they make fly rods out of fiberglass? Is there a blank out there I can modify for a fly rod?


----------



## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

Tarponless said:


> “Out of luck”. I keep hearing “out of luck”. Do they make fly rods out of fiberglass? Is there a blank out there I can modify for a fly rod?


You could put some snake guides on one of these...


----------



## ifsteve (Jul 1, 2010)

Tarponless. The old Fisher fiberglass blanks were great But don't kid yourself. They could break too. Tougher than today's blanks for sure but they had their own drawbacks....heavier than crap. You just have to figure out your sweet spot between enough pressure and not breaking rods. Now certainly if you can find a good glass rod you can hedge your bets a bit but there isn't just some magic elixir rod.


----------



## Mike Geer (Nov 22, 2018)

I have used a 14 wt. Xi for years, and also have experience with the newer 16. Both of these rods usually break because of angler error (eg. too much rod bends, too much drag close to the boat, rod hitting the gunnel, etc.) you should not have a problem if you are using IGFA regs. I can pick up a 20lbs. Bucket with the 16#. If you simply want something that will not break on say 30lbs. Then give David Mata, Bimini Custon Rods, a call. He is in San Antonio and he has made a bunch of big fly rods on 30-40 lbs blanks. We have tested them with over 40 lbs. of drag without breaking. They cast ok, but are meant for fighting big fish. These still break if you hit the gunnel or have too much bend in your rod, but they will give you way more margin of error. I highly recommend 1-piece blanks if you can travel with them.

Mike


----------



## Sardina (Feb 16, 2019)

Tarponless said:


> “Out of luck”. I keep hearing “out of luck”. Do they make fly rods out of fiberglass? Is there a blank out there I can modify for a fly rod?


“Blank is IM 6 and has glass overwraps above and below all spigot ferrules for added strength.”

http://www.camsigler.com/rods.aspx

Simple fact is most fly rods are designed for casting, and not fighting fish. I have seen a lot of rods busted over the years in Baja—mostly by bad form and not outsized fish. And, it is true you cannot control what bites, but you do control the strength of your leader. There are limits to our sport. They do not make fly gear for 1000 lb. marlin or 250 lb. yellowfin. Having a plan to get lose to fight another day is important.


----------



## Tarponless (Jan 7, 2019)

My local shop has a cam sigler and i’ll check it out as well as Bimini custom rods.

Those examples of rods breaking all hit home. I’m just trying to put the odds in my favor. 

Thank you


----------



## ifsteve (Jul 1, 2010)

Tarponless said:


> My local shop has a cam sigler and i’ll check it out as well as Bimini custom rods.
> 
> Those examples of rods breaking all hit home. I’m just trying to put the odds in my favor.
> 
> Thank you


Nothing wrong with that. But by far the best way to put the odds in your favor are to use your equipment and learn just what pressure it will handle and when during the fight to apply it or not. The yft I talked about earlier when i was fishing the Seychelles is a good example. Not only was the rod not what you would take as a #1 tuna rod we had been fishing GTs and had a straight 100# leader! Any over pressure would have been bye bye fly rod.


----------



## Mike Geer (Nov 22, 2018)

Tarponless said:


> My local shop has a cam sigler and i’ll check it out as well as Bimini custom rods.
> 
> Those examples of rods breaking all hit home. I’m just trying to put the odds in my favor.
> 
> Thank you


If you really want to put the odds in your favor and do not care about IGFA then get a 30lbs. Stand up blank made into a fly rod and use 30lbs. Tippet and 50lbs. Backing and 3-4 foot 100lbs. Shock.

Mike


----------



## Tarponless (Jan 7, 2019)

30lb blank, would that be a fly blank or any 8ft or 8ft6in blank on the market?

I found a company called Biscayne rods that makes custom fly rods. Any feedback on them would be helpful 




Mike Geer said:


> If you really want to put the odds in your favor and do not care about IGFA then get a 30lbs. Stand up blank made into a fly rod and use 30lbs. Tippet and 50lbs. Backing and 3-4 foot 100lbs. Shock.
> 
> Mike


----------



## Mike Geer (Nov 22, 2018)

30 lb 7’-8’ boat rod, big casting rod. I have heard good things about Biscayne Rod but I have no experience with them. Not sure who make an 8 foot 30 class blank, but I am sure you can find one.
David Mata will do it.

Mike


----------



## brokeoff (Sep 2, 2016)

Tarponless said:


> “Out of luck”. I keep hearing “out of luck”. Do they make fly rods out of fiberglass? Is there a blank out there I can modify for a fly rod?


Yes they make 14 wt fiberglass blanks. A kid up in Maine just landed a 53” BFT on a 14 wt he built. Let me know if you need his contact info.


----------



## Tarponless (Jan 7, 2019)

brokeoff said:


> Yes they make 14 wt fiberglass blanks. A kid up in Maine just landed a 53” BFT on a 14 wt he built. Let me know if you need his contact info.


I need it!!!!


----------



## Tailer (Jan 10, 2017)

I've caught YFT to about 70# on fly gear and it's no picnic regardless of tackle. I owned a 1pc Cape Fear 15wt rod back when I fished offshore a good bit and it was as good a fish fighting tool as any fly rod I've ever used. Cape Fear went out of business about 15 years ago though, so those rods are not readily available.

Personally I wouldn't even consider a multi-piece rod for something like YFT unless you're traveling by air. If I still fished offshore a lot I'd get in touch with the guys at CTS and see if they'd roll me an 8' 1pc version of their Revo 16wt blank and go from there.


----------



## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

How big a fly do you sling at them and is it castable?


----------



## Tailer (Jan 10, 2017)

Smackdaddy53 said:


> How big a fly do you sling at them and is it castable?


Depends on how you’re fishing them. The way I’ve done it (off the NC coast and in the Keys) involves bringing the tuna to the boat with chum or fishing behind shrimp boats and in each case you’re either mimicking the chum / by-catch in the water or trying to stand out in the crowd. My favorite tuna fly is a big popper tied on a tube.


----------



## jsnipes (May 1, 2011)

I know some folks will just have a 30lb class spinning rod blank wrapped as a fly rod. Plenty of 8-9ft blanks out there...

That’s what we used for marlin but you really didn’t have to cast in that situation


----------



## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

jsnipes said:


> I know some folks will just have a 30lb class spinning rod blank wrapped as a fly rod. Plenty of 8-9ft blanks out there...
> 
> That’s what we used for marlin but you really didn’t have to cast in that situation


I don’t understand this method of “fly fishing”. It’s kind of like mud tires on a lamborghini.


----------



## jsnipes (May 1, 2011)

It’s very different for sure. Regardless of what you are using, it’s badass when a big marlin piles on something 25 ft behind the transom!!!


----------



## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

jsnipes said:


> It’s very different for sure. Regardless of what you are using, it’s badass when a big marlin piles on something 25 ft behind the transom!!!


I’m not judging, I agree it’s very cool. I guess it’s like those guys catching GTs on black flip flops on fly rods that mimic baby birds that fell in the water. They hand throw the “fly” and smash trevally.


----------



## jsnipes (May 1, 2011)

Yea, it’s more like “catching a fish on a fly rod” vs. “fly fishing”. Completely different sports really (and for the most part different sets of people doing it)


----------

