Gear & Tackle
SWARMS of small pelagics usually turn up every summer in Sydney Harbour. This past season was no exception. Everywhere you looked there were plagues of surface busting bonito, salmon, kingfish, tailor, and mack tuna. Most weren’t overly big fish, but they were great fun on light tackle. The best outfits to use tend to be on the light side – it’s more fun that way. Most of these surface fish are in open water and they’re feeding on a range of bait, from invisible “eyes” to large anchovies. This calls for a versatile rod capable of throwing light plastics to heavier metal lures. A rod with some lowdown grunt really helps subdue stubborn fish too. I found the Azusa AES6101L after catching up with the company’s owner, Yoshi Motoi, during last year’s AFTA tackle show on the Gold Coast. New to the rod market, Azusa specialises in building a range of unique heavy offshore jig and lure casting sticks. Fisho’s Sami Omari has been using one of the heavier jig models and will report on that in an upcoming issue. The heavier models also feature a unique custom grip concept which allows the rod’s length to be fitted to each individual angler at point of sale. At the other end of the scale Azusa also has a number of lighter outfits, which don’t feature the custom grip, but still have the same smick finish and quality components. This rod falls into that category – its length is 6’10” and is rated at 4-6 kilos. I matched this rod to a 2500 Daiwa Certate; the combo was nice and light and easy to cast and catch fish all day.
As I mentioned, the tip on this rod is exceptionally light and easily throws small lures. However, although this is an advantage for schooling fish while using plastics and metals, throwing poppers around makers requires a slightly stiffer tip.
The guides are the new Fuji SiC “K” series, which are designed to stop the tangles sometimes associated with using braid. The overall finish of the rod was superb, the bindings nicely finished and the grey blank gave it that serious quality Japanese tackle appearance.
Visit the Azusa website at www.azusa.com.au for more information.
By Scott Thomas
