Inexpensive, lightweight Kayak Rods?

Been using a 6' Ugly Stick...  great utility rod for cheap, but it's kinda heavy and I wouldn't mind having an extra 6"-1' in length to help clear the bow when fish for it.

I love the dblue rods on ebay for surf fishing, (have two 9 footers), for under $50 with fuji guides and lightweight graphite blanks they really can't be beat.  They don't make a 7 footer boat rod, only surf rods.  Was thinking of maybe buying their 8 footer and cutting down the butt, but it'd still be too long for yak use, I think.

Can anyone recommend a good inexpensive 6.5-7" graphite kayak rod?

Shimano Trevala 6'6" Conventional Fishing Rod - TVC66M

This auction is for a brand new 1-Piece Shimano Trevala 6'6" Conventional Fishing Rod. Model # TVC66M.

This rod is billed as a Jigging Rod, but is an excellent all-purpose boat rod. This rod can handle anything from Fluke to Striped Bass and you will find it eliminates the need for several different rods. Rod is super-lite and features a limited lifetime warranty. Designed to be fished with braided line.

Features:
•Shimano TC4 Construction
•New Concept Fuji Alconite and Fuji Hardloy guides - 8 + tip
•Fuji reel seat
•Custom shaped EVA foregrip and reargrip for comfort and balance while jigging
•Gudebrod thread wrapped guides for added strength
•Convenient hook keeper
•Gimbal with removable butt cap on selected models
•With trigger
•Limited Lifetime Warranty
•Power: Medium
•Action: Medium-Fast
•Braided Line Rating: 30-80 lb
•Jig Weight: 70-200 grams

They carry these at Mel Cottons and Fishermans Warehouse in San Jose = get hold of one and see how they feel...you'll be surprised to see how light it really is  A favorite among many NCKA'ers.....and for a Hundred bucks, it's a steal 

Mooch handed me one of his trevalas & I gotta admit it is pretty light. That may be my next rod.
I'm currently using a penn/sabre rod I picked up for $40. It's 7'5" and is much lighter than the tiger rod I was using previously. I've been using 30lb spectra with it & am very happy with its performance with lures from 2-8oz. The only downside is that is about 2" too long to stash easily in my truck bed.

How can a rod be designed for braid?  I'm usually using either 15lb or 20lb mono...  Any ideas how that rod will pair with a Squidder? 

I guess I need to go try one.

 Designed for braid probably means the ceramic line guides, they don't groove over time like the metal ones.
 I second the Trevala recommendation, although I wish they made a heavier 7 foot model. The new Okuma  Baidarka are coming out and are designed to float, same price as the Shimano's. Have not heard the reviews yet.
 

eric, why not use a longer rod on the yak? I like being able to reach and cast.

maybe I don't get it, but what worked for me was an 8'6" rod with the butt section cut down a bit so I could use it sitting down with the butt against my belt buckle and not have to reach for the reel.

last winter erik K built me a custom rod (this was 8' extended to 8'3") which has been great for me this year. Have not caught anything huge this year, but caught a lot of fish a number of different ways, drifting, casting, jigging, trolling.

So I'd say just take one of those long rods you like, cut the butt section down a bit, counter weight it and call it done.

John

Designed for braid probably means the ceramic line guides, they don't groove over time like the metal ones.
 I second the Trevala recommendation, although I wish they made a heavier 7 foot model. The new Okuma  Baidarka are coming out and are designed to float, same price as the Shimano's. Have not heard the reviews yet.
 

Ditto.  I love my Trevala, but I'm eyeing the new Okuma kayak rod.  It has a lot of features that would have built into a kayak specific rod -- floatation, lightweight, lots of guides, nice action, even a ring for a rod leash.  I saw the prototype that PAL brought to Elk.

I love my Trevala. I have only used it for rock fish from my yak and from small near shore boats, but it is light with enough backbone to bring in anything I have caught to date. I think you can get them through Cabela's for about $80.

Bill

How can a rod be designed for braid?  I'm usually using either 15lb or 20lb mono...  Any ideas how that rod will pair with a Squidder? 

I guess I need to go try one.

The main consideration for designing a rod for braid is the action of the rod.  Any of today's ceramic guides will hold up just fine to the spectra line.

The Trevala rods have a nice moderate parabolic action in order to act as a shock absorber.  Spectra line has virtually no stretch, so you need a rod that will replace some of the shock absorption that you normally get out of monofilament line. 

If you're using 20# mono, you should consider downsizing your reel as well.  There are lots of smaller and lighter reels that will do just fine for fishing around here.

As a rod builder I'm quite the self-proclaimed rod snob but I recognize a good value when I see it.   I give thumbs up to the Trevala rods for being an excellent value.  Couple with a smaller reel and 30# spectra with a short 30# or 40# mono or fluoro topshot, you have a very versatile Nor-Cal fishing combo.

Once you try spectra for rockfishing you won't want to go back.  The thin diameter allows you to fish lighter jigs at deeper depths and the sensitivity you get from the no-stretch line is unmatched.  That's my opinion anyway.

EK

Hi Eric. On my recent tuna trip,  one of the guys was using a Trevala rod to haul in 30 - 40 pound yellowtail. It was the ONLY rod he used during the trip. I use it for rockcodding, matched with an SX 2 speed reel.

Thanks guys.  I've got some testing and thinking to do.

Once you try spectra for rockfishing you won't want to go back.  The thin diameter allows you to fish lighter jigs at deeper depths and the sensitivity you get from the no-stretch line is unmatched.  That's my opinion anyway.

That may be true, but 99% of the time I'm only fishing 20-50feet down.  And I'm not so sure I want to deal with smaller diameter lines and learning new knots...  My sausage fingers have a hard enough time tying mono, especially out on a kayak.

I may just cut down one of my cheap surf rods just to check it out, but the Trevela for $80 sounds like a deal.

Just checked the Cabela's website.  I did not see any Trevela rods there for $80.  They have a series called Talavera for $70 to $80.  Still, Shimano but not the Trevela.

Going rate for a Trevela is $100 to $150 and the "F" series is $200.

Ken kickfish

And now for a very different opinion:

Trevalas are "mushy". Too progressive for my tastes. I've fallen for the lure of the inexpensive 7' Musky rod. They are meat sticks with fast tips and big backbone in the heavy power range.  Paired with a Penn 525GS, one easily subdued a 50 lb Ling. Rated to cast up to 3 oz, it is real comfortable with vertically jigging in the 4-12 oz range. I can also cast/lob up to 6 oz as well. I found a deal on a Berkley rod/ABU6500 reel combo for $99, so if one goes overboard, I won't cry for a week. Cabelas has their 7'6" Fish Eagle II at $80 - model GMU764. These rods definitely take a lot of the sport out of rockfishing, so I use a spinning rod and cast the kelp edges when I want to get sporty.

Regards,
Scott

For a similar opinion to the very different opinion.

I haven't bought a trevala and probably won't. Since you asked about rods in the "inexpensive " range concur with Scott on the berkely rods.  I've got one bass rod that has lived its life as a saltwater potluck rig thats gone over a decade and still kills. I found a couple others(MH flippin stick and a UL moochin rod) at boater's world on sale for about 40 bucks.  None of these would match up to a squidder but fit the abu's comfortably....which you'd be able to afford with the savings from a new trevala. 

A new boat rod probably isn't going to be a whole lot lighter than your ugly stick but if you're looking to upgrade it to something that isn't a brute meat rod I'd look into the ML versions of the seeker american series or even a lamiglass rod. If it were me I'd most likely make due with the Ugly Stick and buy a lighter rig, chances are you'll be alot more effective and have more fun with the smaller rig at those depths.  Thats my 2 cents.   

Thanks for all the opinions and suggestions.

Just ordered the 6'6" MH version of the Dblue boat rod, (they just recently started selling these, apparently, not on thei ebay store yet).

http://www.dbluefishing.com/catalog.html

For $77 shipped it should be a nice matchup with the Penn 180 I'm bidding on, if the quality is similar to their surf rods.  They should make for a reasonably light, strong, and reliable kayaking rig!