Testing Century T700 for the first time
Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2017 5:09 pm
Must say that I was more than a little excited to try out my new Century T700 given some of the reviews that I have seen on the rod and the way the new material being used in its construction has been able to effect the way the rod performs like.
Initial testing was the usual casting test with both the Overhead reel casting the 125 and 150 gram leads as well as a session with a fixed spool( Threadline ) and braided mainline and braid shock leader. It was very interesting seeing how far the rod was able to put a 125 gram lead with this last combination. As such I was really looking forward to how she would perfume on a few fish also using the braid.
To this end John and I headed out to target some pinkies fishing the low tide change and using , Pippies, Squid and pilchards for bait. As we weren't expecting any big snapper the rid was a wishbone rig incorporating a impact shield and SRT spring setup with 2 size 1/0 circles finishing it off.
Century T700 with Daiwa Basia 25QD loaded with Ultima braid.
What was pleasing was with the restricted area that we were fishing a simple overhead thump cast was getting the baits out to the drop off where we expected the fish to be holding as the tide started to push in. We didn't have to wait long and the glass tip of the T700 registered the bites extremely well allowing the first fish of the session to be picked up. I must say that it wasn't what we were expecting and was in fact a smaller puffer fish, what was good was that we were able to see the bite from even this little pest. Thankfully the pinkies didn't disappoint us and the first one was soon joining us for a quick photo before release.
To get the fish you have to reach well towards the marker
The first of many little pinkies
I should point out that at this stage the rod was performing extremely well but I had a few issues with having the reel set properly , due to the lack of stretch from the braid and the angle that I had the rod set in the tripod , the fish weren't actually pulling line from the reel on the hit but bounced the rod quite violently in the stand . This prove a problem on a few of the bigger smash and trap artist and actually saw the rod bounce of my tripod ( this is a first for me ) .
So we got a couple of keepers that will end up grilled on the BBQ for dinner but I also wanted to test out the rod on the more open beach and put her though her paces matched with the overhead so another session was scheduled for the following afternoon down on one of our west coast beaches. Baits were squid and cuttlefish and target was for some gummies.
The rod was in its element here and was putting the 5 oz clip down rig well into the whole behind the first set of breakers.
The Century T700 is a long rod at 15' but the light weight makes it a dream to use even for a small bloke like me :D
As luck would have it we fished into the night and whilst we didn't get any gummies the pinky snapper were once more holding close to the rocks that are located along this stretch of the coast.
Waiting for some bigger fish with the T700
No Gummies this time but still got a few Pinkies despite using 6/0 circle hooks and bigger baits :roll:
I should point out that as the evening light faded the wind picked up considerably and I was more than pleasantly surprised to see how the rod sat in the tripod and the tip did not bounce around as much as my Excalibur "J" curve that was being used by John .
So quick summary the rod is performing very well and I am looking forward to doing some more test both on the field with a few of my comp reels and throwing the lighter 100 and 125 gram leads as well as on the beach again targeting some of the bigger species that we can get here.
Will report back as things progress :water:
Initial testing was the usual casting test with both the Overhead reel casting the 125 and 150 gram leads as well as a session with a fixed spool( Threadline ) and braided mainline and braid shock leader. It was very interesting seeing how far the rod was able to put a 125 gram lead with this last combination. As such I was really looking forward to how she would perfume on a few fish also using the braid.
To this end John and I headed out to target some pinkies fishing the low tide change and using , Pippies, Squid and pilchards for bait. As we weren't expecting any big snapper the rid was a wishbone rig incorporating a impact shield and SRT spring setup with 2 size 1/0 circles finishing it off.
Century T700 with Daiwa Basia 25QD loaded with Ultima braid.
What was pleasing was with the restricted area that we were fishing a simple overhead thump cast was getting the baits out to the drop off where we expected the fish to be holding as the tide started to push in. We didn't have to wait long and the glass tip of the T700 registered the bites extremely well allowing the first fish of the session to be picked up. I must say that it wasn't what we were expecting and was in fact a smaller puffer fish, what was good was that we were able to see the bite from even this little pest. Thankfully the pinkies didn't disappoint us and the first one was soon joining us for a quick photo before release.
To get the fish you have to reach well towards the marker
The first of many little pinkies
I should point out that at this stage the rod was performing extremely well but I had a few issues with having the reel set properly , due to the lack of stretch from the braid and the angle that I had the rod set in the tripod , the fish weren't actually pulling line from the reel on the hit but bounced the rod quite violently in the stand . This prove a problem on a few of the bigger smash and trap artist and actually saw the rod bounce of my tripod ( this is a first for me ) .
So we got a couple of keepers that will end up grilled on the BBQ for dinner but I also wanted to test out the rod on the more open beach and put her though her paces matched with the overhead so another session was scheduled for the following afternoon down on one of our west coast beaches. Baits were squid and cuttlefish and target was for some gummies.
The rod was in its element here and was putting the 5 oz clip down rig well into the whole behind the first set of breakers.
The Century T700 is a long rod at 15' but the light weight makes it a dream to use even for a small bloke like me :D
As luck would have it we fished into the night and whilst we didn't get any gummies the pinky snapper were once more holding close to the rocks that are located along this stretch of the coast.
Waiting for some bigger fish with the T700
No Gummies this time but still got a few Pinkies despite using 6/0 circle hooks and bigger baits :roll:
I should point out that as the evening light faded the wind picked up considerably and I was more than pleasantly surprised to see how the rod sat in the tripod and the tip did not bounce around as much as my Excalibur "J" curve that was being used by John .
So quick summary the rod is performing very well and I am looking forward to doing some more test both on the field with a few of my comp reels and throwing the lighter 100 and 125 gram leads as well as on the beach again targeting some of the bigger species that we can get here.
Will report back as things progress :water: