Specialist squid rod for kayak

[Hatetangles]

Hey guys,

I have a mini dilemma with my squid rod for my kayak...
I am currently using my land based rod which is a yamashita egi doh (8'6) rod , which is what i would use on the piers before i got my kayak. beautiful rod for land based fishing however im finding the length is problematic for the kayak on a couple of fronts, mainly when trying to net a squid its really awkward and difficult to get the squid close enough to my net to the point i'm getting anxiety on losing squid each time lol. The other issue is the line occasionally wraps around the tip and makes it awkward to untangle the line due to the length.
I really love my combo but ive come to realise it's not for the kayak and i'm probably not going to be land based fishing for squid anymore, So...I'm thinking /hoping to get honest opinions on whether or not it would be worth investing a chunk of cash on a specialist ? 6ft-7ft EGI rod? I was looking at the yamaga calista TZ nano 7ft which is around $450....the other option i was considering , was shortening my existing set up from 8'6 down to just under 7'ft but im worried doing that would ruin the action somewhat....any recommendations, feedback would be appreciated, thanks !

[Andrews]

Hey mate!

I can relate as someone who had a like-minded thought process about getting a dedicated shorter EGI rod for the kayak. 

My experience:
I run a shorter 7'9 Daiwa Emeraldas, and one major thing that I personally didn't think to consider was how the length of the butt relates to the overall practical rod length. An example was that when I compared my 7'9 to Daiwa's MX EGI 7ft rod, the actual 9" difference was from the 
butt end to the tip, the realistic difference from the reel seat to the tip was 3", and it wasn't worth my while.

I think you're spot on with your criticisms, as with a longer rod, it's just bloody awkward. 


One thing that I have found is that fishing across your body with the rod gives you a little extra wiggle room and maneuverability when landing the squid. Food for thought!

I would say that if you're set on having the exact same action and feel of the EGI rod just in the shorter length, it may be worth while. 
I know I personally find my EGI rod to be the most enjoyable rod for squid, but I also love King George Whiting on plastics for its sensitive touch and parabolic action.


If you feel you'd rather have a rod that's better adapted for everything else, 2-4kg will catch you just as much calamari!

[Tim399]

I’ve never owned an EGI rod, tbh I’ve been waiting for my 2-4kg savage gear black combos to fail. I’m not a fan of them, they’re not the nicest setups but they don’t give up, and have landed 100’s of calamari. I can’t comment on whether investing in another EGI is worthwhile or not, however a tip I have found that makes netting calamari easier in the kayak is to peddle/paddle just enough to keep the kayak moving forward, so the squid is dragged almost directly behind you. Then you can guide the squid from the back of the kayak to the front, netting it from behind as it passes forward. This keeps you out of the ink firing line, and you don’t need to reach out to the side, risking going for a swim. I hope that helps in the meantime.

[Sebb]

I like my 8ft Sephia egi rod. Good for landbased and still ok on kayak. I use long handle net though, one of those berkley rubber net. So scooping into the net isn't too hard.
The length can be handy too, to steer from one side of the kayak to another. As i can straighten my arm plus the length of the rod to go over the front or rear of the kayak easily. Harder with e.g. 6ft rod.
Otherwise, yeah, get like 7ft6 egi rod. There's a few out there.

[Hatetangles]

Thanks for the feedback guys ! definitely some more food for thought...I'm thinking of leaning towards getting a net with a longer handle and seeing how that goes...It should make a good difference...I went out last Thursday afternoon at Blairgowrie which was my 2nd`time there. I launched at about 2.30 and fished to Sunset ,and managed to get 8 squid which is a PB for me though they are quite smallish (couple not so bad).The Squid grounds there is perfect so no wonder there seems to be so many in that area just a shame no monsters. I'm glad i got a decent bag of squid because now i plan to do my long overdue maiden bream fishing mission on the Kayak as soon as the conditions look good.

[Hatetangles]

I like my 8ft Sephia egi rod. Good for landbased and still ok on kayak. I use long handle net though, one of those berkley rubber net. So scooping into the net isn't too hard.
The length can be handy too, to steer from one side of the kayak to another. As i can straighten my arm plus the length of the rod to go over the front or rear of the kayak easily. Harder with e.g. 6ft rod.
Otherwise, yeah, get like 7ft6 egi rod. There's a few out there.

Thanks Sebb !, you just reminded me that i also have a BB Sephia rod sitting in storage which i totally forgot about!!!!8'9 i believe , actually it's a bit shorter because the tip accidently broke and i repaired it but didn't like the action after that which is when i decided to upgrade to the Yamashita rod...I'm gonna dig it out and shorten it down to about 7ft and try that , cheers

[Hatetangles]

I’ve never owned an EGI rod, tbh I’ve been waiting for my 2-4kg savage gear black combos to fail. I’m not a fan of them, they’re not the nicest setups but they don’t give up, and have landed 100’s of calamari. I can’t comment on whether investing in another EGI is worthwhile or not, however a tip I have found that makes netting calamari easier in the kayak is to peddle/paddle just enough to keep the kayak moving forward, so the squid is dragged almost directly behind you. Then you can guide the squid from the back of the kayak to the front, netting it from behind as it passes forward. This keeps you out of the ink firing line, and you don’t need to reach out to the side, risking going for a swim. I hope that helps in the meantime.

Thanks for the tips Tim, i had a few rods i was using for squid before i decided to try a proper parabolic squid rod and the difference is enormous IMHO...
May i add i bought 2 all purpose combos for the kayak (Silstar power tip 6ft 1 x piece 3-6kg rods with Miravel 2500 reels) which I use as sleepers when squid fishing and i have caught a fair few with them and big ones too, they do the job but they definitely lack the strength and backbone of my Egi rod, but i am still very happy with them!

[Hatetangles]

Hey mate!

I can relate as someone who had a like-minded thought process about getting a dedicated shorter EGI rod for the kayak. 

My experience:
I run a shorter 7'9 Daiwa Emeraldas, and one major thing that I personally didn't think to consider was how the length of the butt relates to the overall practical rod length. An example was that when I compared my 7'9 to Daiwa's MX EGI 7ft rod, the actual 9" difference was from the 
butt end to the tip, the realistic difference from the reel seat to the tip was 3", and it wasn't worth my while.

I think you're spot on with your criticisms, as with a longer rod, it's just bloody awkward. 


One thing that I have found is that fishing across your body with the rod gives you a little extra wiggle room and maneuverability when landing the squid. Food for thought!

I would say that if you're set on having the exact same action and feel of the EGI rod just in the shorter length, it may be worth while. 
I know I personally find my EGI rod to be the most enjoyable rod for squid, but I also love King George Whiting on plastics for its sensitive touch and parabolic action.


If you feel you'd rather have a rod that's better adapted for everything else, 2-4kg will catch you just as much calamari!

Hey Andrews yes i didn't even think about the butt length of the rod, the Egi Doh does have a long butt length to it now that i think about it which is ok as it sits in the moulded rod holder...I find squid fishing in the kayak compared to land based is a bit chalk and cheese...on land i think you get better use of the rod attributes of a good EGI rod then what you do in the kayak if i'm completely honest hence why now ive decided to shorten one of my old egi rods which i forgot about, and get a net with a longer handle , that should sort me out

[purple5ive]

Don't shorten the rod. 8"6 is way too long on a yak.
Look for the 7"6 like Andrews suggested, it will be the best option. Will double up as a salmon slug rod too from the yak.

[mazman]

Going against the grain here a bit but I fish an 8'6 egi rod off my kayak and have no issues with it. I net them in a similar manner to what Tim said except I just give a couple of kick pumps of the pedals when the squid is roughly a rod length away and hold my rod forwards which makes the squid swing in next to me to net or grab them