Black fish rod opinions

[Adrenalinerush]

I would like any constructive opinions. I have been fishing a 6'-6" diawa rod with fast action tip for blackfish for about three years now. I just bought a st croix 8' tide master model tic80hf heavy fast action rod. I want to know if anyone has fished this Rod or has opinions about how it will be for blackfish. Thanks in advance

[ALS Mako]

i've been using an 8' rod the last few years (diawa). love it. one thing i do notice with the longer rod is to be mindful when swinging fish aboard to make sure there is enough line out from the rod tip to the fish otherwise the fish will be swinging at head level. i for one don't like fast action rods for blackfishing. just like a little slower bending of the rod...just my two cents. but try it out and fish with what you like and what you are comfortable with.

[Blackfish Doug]

Originally Posted by Adrenalinerush

I would like any constructive opinions. I have been fishing a 6'-6" diawa rod with fast action tip for blackfish for about three years now. I just bought a st croix 8' tide master model tic80hf heavy fast action rod. I want to know if anyone has fished this Rod or has opinions about how it will be for blackfish. Thanks in advance

For over 50 years of experience there is only 1 way to explain it. Go by what you like it's like anybody who is sport figure there are no 2 alike. Your going to get thousands of opinions of what works best but & only you will know what works best for you. I will not use a factory made rod that's the first opinion that will put you in the right direction. Find a good rod builder we have many here who are sponsors here & they all know how to build a rod to your liking. Of all the factory rods that I did own they all were re customized to my specs so they are indeed all custom rods. The only reason why I don't like the fast rods are because in my case I will try to set the hook on the bite & not the bump. Using a fast rod you feel everything so I feel in my case I will short hook fish if the action is too fast thus meaning a lot of lip hooked fish or snagged fish. It sounds to me that you like all graphite fast action rods. I like composites softer rods how soft is where it gets tough. Try to use a softer rod now that you got the fast bite down it sounds to me like your looking to go to the next level of rod. If you know somebody who owns a medium/ fast composite rod try it & use only that rod for the day by days end you will have a good idea why most blackfisherman I know use softer rods.

[dfish28]

anything from a pocket fisherman to a pool stick..

[hammer4reel]

I have had about 15 blackfish rods built. And still am not 100% happy with any of them.
Each is a little better for certain conditions or bite.
Depending on how each person fishes will dictate what works for them.

Try as many different rods as you can to see what feels best for your own style of fishing.

[Adrenalinerush]

Thanks guys for the responses. I am going to fish the St Croix tomorrow, I will post back how I like it.

[MVP]

check out my post under top shot used for blackfishing as i tried to answer your question in that post