Popper review

Here's a review of all the poppers that I got to try out thus far. My impression was that colour and shape didn't make a big difference. Proper animation, a good rhythm and, most importantly, the right spot made the difference. With those three factors in place any of these poppers caught fish. That's why I deliberately decided to not rate how well the different poppers catch fish. In the end you have to chose one that you trust and concentrate on animating it properly.

Name	Weight	Maneuverability	Durability	Comment
Bertox Popper	150	very good: stable in the water and easy to pop	unreliable: very good finish, yet terrible wiring that breaks after multiple fish	I loved it but after two consecutive wire breaks I couldn't trust it anymore
Orion T-Rex	150	good: easy to pop but not perfectly stable in the water	good: finish damages quickly, otherwise no problems whatsoever	since maneuverability is the most important factor for me, I preferred other lures
Orion Cono Cono	180	very good: easy to pop but and stable in the water	good: finish damages quickly, otherwise no problems whatsoever	this lure is so short that belly and tail hook easily get tangled, which is annoying when you need big hooks
Heru Cubera	150 and 180	very good: easy to pop but and stable in the water	reliable: stickers go off quickly, paint is ok, strong wiring, wooden body may soak water	my preferred lure: easy to animate, reliable and affordable
Heru Tuna	100	good: easy to pop but but not perfectly stable in the water	reliable: stickers go off quickly, paint is ok, strong wiring, wooden body may soak water	it doesn't make a big splash, so it might be less effective when fish are far away

I have a clear winner: the Heru Cubera! It's ugly! But it works perfectly. The Orion lures both had specific limitations. The Bertox popper is beautiful and works very well but unfortunately it's not trustworthy! Apparently, a new version of it exists now (with a different shape). Let's hope they fixed the wiring on that one. And the Heru Tuna, well, it's a little small and it's limited to calm water, otherwise good.

The most important take away for me was: all these lures work well once you have figured out their animation. Some are less stable in rough water though. But the most important thing is that the lure is reliable. For me this means: don't buy cheap quality BUT you also don't need high end lures for catching fish.

Rod review: Carpenter Coral Viper 79/40 and Carpenter Monster Hunter 80H

I just had the opportunity to test two of my fishing rods during a 6 days fishing trip in Djibouti, landing me a total of 23 GTs up to 28 kg. Here's the review.



Carpenter Coral Viper 79/40 Review

Casting: The smallest lure I cast was a 70gr stickbait. That was clearly a little too light and the rod didn't load up a lot. Nevertheless, the casting distance was quite ok. For just two afternoons of fishing for smaller species it did the job. The biggest lure I cast on this rod was a 170gr stickbait and it was no problem. It felt like the upper limit for loading the rod but it definitely wasn't too much. Nevertheless, my feeling is that the sweet spot for casting weight for that rod is between 120-150 gr.

Animating poppers: I found the sweet spot for poppers was 130-150gr. I mostly used this rod with 150gr Cubera poppers. While this was clearly a little more work than with a heavier rod, I personally also found it easier to control the movement of the popper than with a heavier rod. With the rod tip giving in a little more, I had to pull harder but I rarely pulled too hard (making the popper jump out of the water). Even though this was more taxing physically, it was more effective because the popper would spend more time fishing and less time flying around. Lighter poppers (100-130gr) were less taxing on the arm but they took me longer to adjust myself to the right pulling power, demanding more concentration. I guess for a more experienced fisherman 130 gr. poppers should be just the perfect the fit for that rod. For me 150gr. was better.

Animating Stickbaits: I found the sweet spot for stickbaits was 150-170gr. I would point the rod upwards and work the stickbait in with short pulls. That worked perfectly. With lighter stickbaits (120-140gr) it found it harder to get the right action with the rod pointing upwards. With such lures used side strikes. That worked well for their animation but I found that very taxing on the wrist. I definitely prefer shorter rods (around 7ft) for side strokes. If you don't mind side strokes with a 7,9ft rod, than I would extend the sweet spot for stickbaits to 120-170gr. It's probably a matter of technique (that I must not have gotten right yet).

Fighting: I fished that rod with 10 to 12 kg of drag. 12 kg drag seemed to be the upper limit when fish got under the boat. At that moment the rod bent in a beautiful parabolic curve but I would not have wanted it to bend further as that seemed to the limit (with no more reserves in lifting power). So, if 12kg drag is enough for you, no problem. If you want to go higher, you might want to consider a heavier rod. I personally found that 12 kg was just the perfect drag setting for me and a nice bend provides a good thrill. From that perspective: the perfect rod for good fun. Yet, with a really big GT I would probably have gotten nervous, feeling that I have no reserves if it started spooling me on 12 kg drag.



Carpenter Monster Hunter 80H Review

Casting: I threw lures between 150 and 210 gr with that rod and it loaded up very well. In fact, I could even throw a little bit further with this rod than with the Coral Viper. I have not tried lighter or heavier lures so I cannot tell the lower or upper limit. Yet, at more than 180gr throwing would just become quite taxing on the arms, not because it was too heavy for the rod but simply because it is actually heavy! So, yes, you can easily throw 210 gr lures with that rod but I wouldn't recommend using such heavy lures in general. I personally feel that at 180gr you have poppers that already do an enormous splash and that at 170gr you can already get a really huge stickbait. So why go heavier anyway? In the end it's up to you.

Animating poppers: The rod was perfect for working all poppers that I tried out on it (150gr Cubera up to 180gr Orion Cono Cono).

Animating stickbaits: I only used stickbaits between 200 and 210 grams on that rod and I found it quite taxing. The stiffness of the rod tip seemed just right for that weight but I guess heavy stickbaits on long rods are generally not my personal thing.

Fighting: This is were I fell in love with the rod. I used drag settings between 12 and 14kg on it and while it quickly starts bending parabollically it never feels like its running out of lifting power. I admit that my biggest GT on that rod was (only) 28kg but I felt like I was in charge having fun with the fish (instead of the fish having fun with me). I would personally advice a drag setting of 13kg on that rod. You can go higher and the rod will make it but at 14 kg you really have to have a good balance if you don't want the fish the drag you into the water.



Comparison of both rods:

With the Monster Hunter I had a little bit more confidence when fighting fish and I threw lures a little further. That's why I preferred it over the Coral Viper in most cases. Yet, it's a heavy rod and it's neither much fun on fish under 15kg, nor is it good for throwing smaller lures. So, it depends: when you're in big fish territory and you don't mind throwing big lures then I would advise for the Monster Hunter, whereas in other cases I'd recommend the Coral Viper. Plus: if you prefer using stickbaits the Monster Hunter might be too stiff for most of your stickbaits (unless you really want to go big). In fact, the two rods are no actual alternatives but they are complementary. But if you just want to buy one rod, then I would say: make your decision based on your location and whether you expect a lot of big fish or not. I really liked both rods and you won't go wrong with either.