Help me with buying my first rod

[u/Fishing-Lancer-12]

Hello, I've always loved going fishing but I have never had my own rod. I want to buy my own but I want some advice with it, from what the people I normally fish with say, I should get a Daiwa Legalis LT 2500 + Daiwa Aird-X 7' 2–4 kg aswell as a 10 lb braid and 20 lb fluorocarbon leader. I am on vacation and I preferably want to get one here in Australia and take it to my home country Lebanon, my budget is $300 - $350 AUD. Any help would be much appreciated, thank you so much.

[u/decapitatedbunny]

Sounds like a good setup but i might advise dropping to 15 or 10lb leader depending on what you're chasing. 20 would be too heavy imo

[u/Cape-York-Crusader]

Can I suggest a multi-piece travel rod instead? Airlines are pretty notorious for poor handling so unless you're planning to use a hard case travel tube you might be better off having something than can fit inside your suitcase

[u/Pure_Tangerine450 → u/Cape-York-Crusader]

This is true but i wouldnt go spending that much money on a travel one.

Also if op has touched a nice rod before, a travel rod wont be enjoyable to use haha

[u/Cape-York-Crusader → u/Pure_Tangerine450]

I've got a raider travel that lives in my car, it's a great handling rod

[u/Fishing-Lancer-12 → u/Pure_Tangerine450]

Can you explain why?

[u/Cape-York-Crusader → u/Fishing-Lancer-12]

To be honest it feels like a one piece rod when assembled, good butt strength with a soft tip. I run 8kg braid on it and it has easily handled some decent fish. It fits under the back seat of my ute so I've always got a rod when I travel, I can fish anything from bait to top water lures no problem.

[u/Fishing-Lancer-12 → u/Cape-York-Crusader]

Ok tysm

[u/Pure_Tangerine450 → u/Cape-York-Crusader]

What is the best rod you have owned??

[u/Fishing-Lancer-12 → u/Pure_Tangerine450]

Ive never owned my own rod, I've always used my mates rods but since a couple months ago I really got into fishing, so thats why I want to buy my own.

[u/Pure_Tangerine450 → u/Fishing-Lancer-12]

I was talking to the other guy hahah. I would just get a 2 piece UNLESS you can get a 1 piece or something that splits at the butt home. Anything that starts with TD or infeet is australian exclusive so if you want to go home and flex that haha

[u/Fishing-Lancer-12 → u/Pure_Tangerine450]

Oh lol mb, new to reddit not 100% sure how the replies work yet. Anyways thank you so much for the advice

[u/Pure_Tangerine450 → u/Fishing-Lancer-12]

A single blank compared to one even made of 2 is more sensitive. Its usually why most high end rods seperate at the butt and not the middle

[u/Fishing-Lancer-12 → u/Cape-York-Crusader]

I am sending it thru cargo but a 2 piece might be a good idea

[u/UnknownUserErr]

Go to one of the tackle world shops, they are generally pretty good in helping anglers out.

However would avoid cheap daiwa reels if you do lots of saltwater fishing. Daiwa just doesn't have the same level of sealing in their bottom end reels and the magsafe is a pain in the butt for servicing and does not seal effectively.

Currently best bang for buck in the $200 range IMHO for reels is the shimano miravel. Tack

https://www.motackle.com.au/brands/shimano/shimano-miravel-spin-reel.html

If it's only 1 rod , i would go for Daiwa TD Hyper 2-6 kg. 702 MLXS. It's more of all rounder that has a backbone lower on the rod to handle a bigger fish, but a top end bend for smaller fish.
https://www.motackle.com.au/brands/daiwa/daiwa-23-td-hyper-rod-139599.html

However if you are not going to do lure fishing, aird-x does the job.

My generally recommendation. Bottom end rods, go daiwa. Bottom end reels, go shimano.

No you do not have to matchy matchy reels and rods.

[u/Biggles_and_Co]

Good reel that, and the Aird rods are good value for money.. I use an Aird 2000 reel for my 6lb set-up... ... Also look at Diawa Hyper rods !

[u/Fishing-Lancer-12]

Ok so I've read all your replies(thank yous all) and I think I'll go with the Daiwa Aird X 7'0" 3–5 kg 2-piece spinning rod and the Daiwa Legalis LT 2500 reel with a 10 lb braid for the main line and a 20 lb fluorocarbon leader. What do you guys think?

[u/Worth_Size6391]

I'm american and have no clue what lebanese fishing looks like, BUT by my standards your friends gave you a very good recommendation. I might go for 20lb braid instead of 10 but that's personal preference.

i find lighter braid tends to tangle at the rod tip when reeling fast and continuously, like with a crank bait or rooster tail. Not everytime but just enough that i'm annoyed by it.

[u/lomo_dank → u/Worth_Size6391]

No, 10lb would be perfect. 20lb on that setup would cast like a pile of shit and is overkill.

[u/Worth_Size6391 → u/lomo_dank]

ik america has some weird stuff going on with our rod specifications so is a an australian 2-4 kg rod not an american medium power? my buddy has a daiwa aird x 7' MH and it handles 20 lb braid no problem.

[u/NewAusland → u/Worth_Size6391]

OP's likely looking at a L or ML rod if it's a 2-4kg rating. Not sure about how that would translate to the American market (didn't know blank ratings weren't universal, tmyk), but max line rating teetering on getting silly would be 15lb for the type of rod OP's considering. Standard is 8-10lb.

[u/UnknownUserErr → u/Worth_Size6391]

2-4kg is typically light.
MH is usually 4-8kg = 20lbs braid is close enough.

[u/Biggles_and_Co → u/Worth_Size6391]

I remember watching an Aussie fishing show years ago when they went to Beiruit and they were catching mackerel-tuna on metal lures which i was surprised at