Rockfish. As soon as you listen the word your mind goes into battles with soft lures and rockfish! Here we are going to see exactly how HTO has managed to match the expertise of a rod for Lrf's technique with low price.
I was watching HTO from a time when it was not even called HTO. In fact, years ago when I was looking for LRF rod, Tronix Rockfish had come to my notice. It was a European design between the Japanese turmoil. Remarkable and with great reviews I was very impressed but for various reasons the romance did not succeed. Until the replacement of HTO and Rockfish 2 came into my hands.
Characteristics
Rockfish is a 7.3-foot or 2.21-meter rod. Its tip is solid. It has 9 K-type guides, low profile for better braid management. The reel seat of the HTO is all covered with foam EVA material, giving a very good grip without slipping. The distance from the reel to the end of the rod is 29 cm.
The whole rod weighs 110 grams which in the hand disappear from the very good weighing. The blank is painted black and the bottom red without any other colors and rings. Simple and beautiful! Τhe reel that's suit the most is 1000 to 2000. I set it up with a 1500 Daiwa.
Hard lures
Lrf's technique is dominated by pluralism and variety in lures, so practically the more a rod works, the better. It was a very pleasant surprise when I tried to work lures at both ends of the c.w. and behaved perfectly in both. At the bottom with a HTO Micro Abyss of 2.5g and a thin braid you have the sense of movement of the lure enough to keep the nose of the rod low to help him navigate it. The rod worked comfortably even with twitch on the upper limit of the cw like Bullet DC7 of 10g, having a stock of power in the blank so it does not bend unnecessarily.
It was not possible not to work hard on the two goodies of HTO, Glide and Micro Glide of 7.8 and 2 grams. Impeccable shots, comfortable wtd, and sure hook up.
Soft ...game.
The definition of rockfish game is soft lures. As we said Rockfish has a solid tip. This contributes to the absolute feeling of the bottom with our jig heads counting the stones and solid nose giving us the information we need for the correct timing of the hook up. Works well the jighead across the c.w. range. Even with 10 grams I tried it. Its length has greatly helped me feel the bites, as it is not long for maximum shots, but it is a manicure especially in harbors.
Metals.
Another kind of lures that works a lot in Lrf is the metal jigs. 2-5-7-10 grams will not hesitate to work them, with the ten being really close to its limits. Either with continuous reeling or jigging it will go fine with the solid nose to help hook up with the fish with a soft mouth like the horse mackerel.
Egi.
In fishing with egi jigs another surprise came. Absolute urge of the squid, sure hook up and absorption without fear not to tear the cephalopod. Light and properly weighed you do not want to stop fishing, I tried it from N.2 to N.3 size.
Impressions.
Rockfish 73 I was fortunate enough to have it for a long time and I really overused it for testing. I was very pleased with its behavior, especially for fishing on the bottom where soft lures have the first word. Many will want a longer rod, but my point is that long rods are losing sense and especially in lrf the information we receive from the tip is the most basic thing in our fishing. Among the various fish caught was a strong barracuda in really difficult conditions, and a little tunny where the rod showed what it can do.
In a small port with ropes on my left, right and below, I was working on a soft lure with a scissor tail and a jighead of 7 grams. A meter from the bottom I get a hit and I immediately let the bait sit at the bottom. At the very first jerk the fish had bite the bait and brakes were on. I necessarily put the hand on the spool and to stop the fish and putting the rod nose in the water to save any contact with boats. In the battle that followed, the rod absorbed the fish's fight perfectly and gave me the confidence of continuing contact with the fish without scare at any moment.
For the tunny what can i say.. I cast a metal jig with fast retrieve and boom the reel screamed..After a few minutes the fish came to the surface fully exhausted!
Why Rockfish 73?
First of all, to talk fishing is a genuine Lrf rod. Well designed, with proper fittings and a blank that would envy more expensive rods. It is a rod with c.w. 1-8 and is valid. It does not say 1-8 and it is a 3-15 without concrete sensation. Second is a rod for soft bait fishing. It's designed for this fishing and you really have the information you need to work it out perfectly. And thirdly economically speaking its price. You expect nothing more! Personally if they told me what you would like to change is the Fuji guides, but I do not have that requirement in this price. It's a really Rockfish rod for those who want to start the Lrf on the right bases!
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