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Okuma Cerros Travel Spin Rods
By Jacob Iedema
With borders opening and anglers again beginning to travel to their favourite destinations or in search of new water and new target species, Jacob Iedema shares with us his experience with the Okuma Cerros Travel Spin rod range and outlines why many of us that have been disappointed with cheap and poor quality travel rods that lack action and feel, should check out these quality, affordable and feature packed travel rods.
The Okuma Cerros Travel Spin range of rods boasts the same slick and stylish design as its one-piece counterpart. The elegant, Fuji carbon fibre reel seat and high modulus 30T Toray graphite blank make this rod super light and responsive without compromising on strength. These rods are then finished with quality Seaguide guides, adding to the overall look and performance of the range.
Now, I know a three-piece rod that feels like a one-piece rod sounds like a far-fetched fantasy however the Cerros travel rod range brings this novel idea to reality. Many would not realise that this is a multi-piece travel rod unless it was pointed out to them. Travel rods become a necessity for many and a convenience for others when embarking on any road trip or adventure. This is especially true in my circumstances, where camping gear and family-shared car space leaves little room for fishing gear.
Such a versatile rod isn’t just restricted to grand adventures however, with travel rods a great way to sneak in a session before or after work. No matter how the Cerros travel rods come in handy for you, storing a rod in a suitcase, caravan, camper trailer, boat, ute or car has never been easier. Too good to be just a stowed backup rod, they do also make an excellent option that can be packed in as a backup. The quality, heavy duty travel tube that accompanies the rod gives the angler piece of mind, when squeezing it into luggage or stowing in a vehicle for a rough adventure in the 4WD.
The Cerros Travel Spin rod comes in three popular weights for chasing Australia’s vast array of species, using a wide variety of techniques. The lightest model is a 7’ 3-piece 2-4kg spin rod that is perfect for the bread and butter side of estuary fishing, with that extra grunt in the backbone of the rod that is handy in the event of any surprises. Stepping it up a notch is the 7’ 3-piece 3-6kg spin rod that boasts enough power to spin for small mackerel, snapper and even barramundi.
The 7’ 3-piece 5-12kg spin model may be the most impressive and it is a true best, with plenty of stopping power to tackle mangrove jack, barramundi, snapper, Murray cod, tuna, threadfin salmon and so much more. Many travel rods feature heavily exaggerated flat spots on the joins, lack feel and in the light models are way too soft, while a model of this rating would be way too stiff and lack feel. The Cerros rod range has overcome these common travel rod issues, offering anglers smooth actions, stopping power and most importantly the feel that they need for fishing many modern techniques.
My experiences with the Cerros Travel Spin rods have been nothing short of exceptional. I have fished them across a myriad of species and locations, from stopping a 25kg kingfish on the 5-12kg model to sessions on the humble flathead, fishing with the 2-4kg model. When road tripping with the family to North Queensland, the heavier 5-12kg model was great as a quick access rod that I could effectively include on day trips. I caught everything from barramundi, tarpon and mangrove jack to diamond trevally and GTs on this rod. While on a recent trip to Moreton Bay I managed multiple snapper, mackerel and a 25kg, 1.25m kingfish on the 5-12kg beast.
This range of travel rods performs like one-piece rods and that’s a personal acknowledgement. I am stoked to have them as part of my kit and in fact, they're a vital part of my kit for any form of adventure. In terms of price, at the time of writing this the Cerros Travel Spin rods start from $159.90, offering anglers incredible value for money for this quality product, the list of features included and the overall performance, power and feel of this rod series. This price includes the hard travel rod case that enables the rod to be stored almost anywhere safely, providing anglers with piece of mind when adventuring away from home.
This quality travel rod gets the tick of approval from me and will accompany me on many more adventures in the future. Check out the Okuma Cerros Travel Spin rod range at your local Okuma stockist or online at www.okuma.com.au. Fish on!
Cheers, Jacob