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My Light Spin Combos - Bobby Sproule
By Bobby Sproule
Being based in East Gippsland, Victoria, I have some excellent bream and flathead fishing right in my backyard, which I target using a wide range of techniques. In recent times I have found myself consistently reaching for a couple of key combos in my kit and after over a year of fishing them and plenty of fish landed, I thought I would share these combos with you and break down the techniques and lures that I focus on with each combo.
The combos are built around the TT Rods Black Mamba spin rods, in a couple of models, paired with the Okuma ITX Carbon spin reel in the 2500 size.
The Okuma ITX-2500 spin reel comes in at a very light and super-durable 235g, packing 18lb of drag, a 5.0:1 gear ratio and 27.2inch/69cm of line retrieve per handle. This light estuary spin reel is packed with features that you would expect to find on a very high-end reel.
I pair this reel with Black Mamba Spin Rods one-piece, 7’ rods in 1-3kg and 2-4kg, which have a slick black finish and fast responsive action, making this rod and reel combination a perfect all-rounder for light estuary work. Toray Carbon 36/40T blanks come fitted with Fuji Tangle Free K Guides with Alconite rings, Fuji reel seat and split Eva grips, creating a super sensitive rod that can punch out a decent cast with the lightest of lures. I have fished plastics, jerk baits, crankbaits, vibes even surface lures with this rod and reel combination. It’s a true all-rounder.
I have been fortunate enough to fish this combination down here in east Gippsland, Victoria, where deceiving our large black bream can be a challenge and high-quality fishing gear is a must. The Black Mamba 7’ 1-3kg and Okuma ITX 2500, loaded with 6lb Platypus Pulse X8 Braid and 4lb Platypus Stealth FC Fluorocarbon Leader is my choice for a day out on the water targeting bream. I have had success with this combination grubbing edges, using TT Switchblades deep and jerk baiting edges, watching bream dart over pause just behind the lure and then crunch. I have multiple rods on my boat and in recent times I’m always reaching for this combination as it’s super sensitive and crisp casting but has the power when needed. I have found I can fish virtually any lure in your box, so for me it’s the perfect all-rounder.
The Australian Made Platypus Pulse X8 has also been a great addition to the kit. It’s a high performance 8 carrier braid, in high-vis Aussie Green colour, with a smooth round finish and excellent knot strength. It has zero stretch and a high abrasion resistance coating, making it a smooth and slick braid that seriously surprised me. It casts a mile, I have not had a wind knot to date, and it’s never failed me, so I have so much confidence in this line and highly recommend it.
So, let’s look at the two combos separately and where they fit into my kit for a day on the water fishing in this region.
TT Black Mamba BMS701ML, 7’, 2-4kg, 3-15g / ITX-2500
The Tackle Tactics team have really delivered a premium rod with this model, which makes up my light-medium setup for fishing heavy structure locally, such as jetties, pontoons, rock walls, boats, barnacle covered snags, bridges, lay down timbers and logs. Basically, anything where a little back bone is needed to extract fish. Light spinning for salmon in the surf is also a popular style of fishing here and this combination will be great sport and spinning a 10-15g slug you should get away with.
This model is also my go-to plastics and jerk bait rod for one of my all-time favourite targets, large dusky flathead. This combination is sensitive enough through the tip to get a good twitch and flick happening with your hard body jerk baits and soft baits alike, with a fast action for punching long accurate casts and it has that little extra backbone when you hook into that big model and find you need it.
TT Black Mamba BMS701L, 7’, 1-3kg, 1-8g / Okuma ITX-2500
The light finesse model in the range is a personal favourite of mine and I have put it to the test on some cranky, big blue nose bream locally. Sneaking down edges with my electric motor, this rod casts lengthy and accurately with the smallest and lightest of lures, from ZMan 2.5” GrubZ on a 1/16oz jighead to flicking a 50mm hardbody jerk bait.
Overall, this is high quality fishing tackle, and you are getting real bang for your buck when you check out the features of each of these rods, reels, line, and leader. I have really enjoyed fishing combos, caught plenty of them and would highly recommend them to anyone doing the types of fishing that I have outlined in this article. Alright, I’m off to put a bend in one of them now.
Cheers, Bobby