# Tica Surf Spinning Rods



## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

I've heard good things about these and am looking to pick one up myself. I will probably try to get a good shape used one from here, but I need to figure out which one I want. I don't do any fancy power casts, but I will give it a good throw trying to get it on out there if that's where the fish are.

I usually use 2-4 oz. pyramid sinkers and if it's really windy or rough surf I'll go up to 5 and 6. Nothing I have right now can really cast that much though.

I'm looking at the 9' 2 piece 2-6 oz. mainly for the price. $79.99 vs the $114.99 for a 10' 2-8 oz. If I can find a good used 10' then I'll go with that. 

Would the 9' 2-6 oz. rod work for me? I fish for blues, trout, whiting, flounder, ect. Nothing huge, and it will usually be stuck in a sand spike fishing on the bottom from the surf or off a pier.

Thanks for any help.


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## RuddeDogg (Mar 20, 2004)

Either one will do, but if you're gonna use it for the surf I would go with the 10 footer.


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## HellRhaY (Jul 6, 2007)

the 2-6 9ft is in my opinion would max at 4ounces.
you can't consistently throw 6 with it. Go to ebay and you can score a 10ft at a huge discount. i'd go with a 10ft'er in your case. i'll tell you this, the tica i had gave me an honorable service, until it got stolen by ruddedogg. i hope he put it to good use.


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## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

Thanks. I found a few on ebay and will be keeping an eye on them for the next few days. Would the 10' 6" do as good as the 10'er?


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## RuddeDogg (Mar 20, 2004)

*Tica*



HellRhaY said:


> the 2-6 9ft is in my opinion would max at 4ounces.
> you can't consistently throw 6 with it. Go to ebay and you can score a 10ft at a huge discount. i'd go with a 10ft'er in your case. i'll tell you this, the tica i had gave me an honorable service, until it got stolen by ruddedogg. i hope he put it to good use.


SSSssshhhhhh,,,,,,,ya wasn't supposed to tell. Still works great. 

The 10'6 would work great too. Like HellRhay said, 4oz is the sweet spot.


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## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

What would be the biggest size fish you would comfortably go after with these, assuming the right reel and line and whatnot?


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## RuddeDogg (Mar 20, 2004)

I target striper and blues all the time. These rods will handle anything with in reason. Biggest striper I caught with the rod from HellRhay was 25 1/2 lbs. good fight and had no problem.


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## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

Alright that'll work. Thanks again. I think this will be a great first real surf rod at a good price.


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## billr87 (Jan 13, 2008)

you've already answered your question. the reel. if you have a good quality reel with a quality drag system, you could catch 50-60#ers. it'll just take time to bring it in. also line. a big fish will give a good fight. i'd use 20#test, because of capacity. the higher the test, the less line you have. let the drag do its job. you get it too tight, the line may break.


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## Rocks&Reds (Mar 15, 2007)

*Tica 10' 6"*

I have the 10" and the 10' 6" I like them both but I perfer the 10' 6" has a little better tip action IMO, can detect the suttle bites alot better.

Chris


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## TRIGGERFISH (May 21, 2001)

Check out www.digitaldagger.com, they have your Tica rods for $81.00 and $84.00(10'6")(10') the stock numbers are:UKGA106MH2S and UEHA632002S. I have the 11' for surf and the 8' for lures only,can't beat them, hopes this helps.


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## Finger_Mullet (Aug 19, 2005)

*10' 6"*

I recommend it highly. I love mine. Excellent bite detection. I have it paired up with a Daiwa Emcast Plus. Great setup. Will flat out launch 4 oz. 

Rod is over rated. Will not handle 8oz. More like 4 with bait. Someone probably said that already but I just skimmed the replies. It may lob 8 oz. but that is about it.

I bought mine from the Jamestackle.com. He made a combo with the Daiwa and spooled with with Sufix.

Darin


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## fishinmama (Oct 14, 2006)

i love my ticas!! Greg also has tica rods in the baitshack forum -- give it a look


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## chinookhead (Dec 13, 2004)

The 10 footer has a stiffer tip as people have said and will handle more weight. It casts a 6oz sinker just fine and will cast 5n bait really well, whereas the 10'6" has a sweet spot at 4oz and does not cast 6oz well.


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## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

Alright thanks y'all. Will check out the places you mentioned and shop around. Might go ahead and order from Greg if the price is right and get some BWFBs too.


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## kenyee (Nov 27, 2007)

chinookhead: did you test the low end of the 10'? Curious if it works 1.5-2oz bombers ok. The 10'6" sounds like a 1-4 real rating from what I've read...


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## chinookhead (Dec 13, 2004)

Kenyee...if u want to cast lures like bombers and bait then go with the 10"6....the 10 is definitely not ideal for light lures, but it will cast heavy metal well (3oz and higher).


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## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

I've heard of some problems with the guides on the TC2 rods. Should I spend the extra money to get the Dolphin rod with the good Fuji guides? Money is an issue and if the problem has been fixed or isn't a big deal, I would like to save a little if possible. Thanks.


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## kenyee (Nov 27, 2007)

SmoothLures: from what I've read, the TC2 rods are fine as long as you replace the top guide (some baitshops that sell Ticas were replacing them before selling them).
I'm probably going to go w/ the Dolphin myself since it's maybe $10-20 difference. Just having a hard time deciding on 10' vs. 10'6". My typical nighttime load will probably be 4oz jighead on 9" sluggo with the occasional 5oz jighead for a total of roughly 6.5oz max and the daytime bomber/poppers around 1.5-2oz.
It sounds like the 10' will work better for you since you're mostly bait launching.
One other thing you should be aware of is that these rods are not evenly split in the 2-piece version. E.g., the 10'6" has one piece that's 5'10" and the other is 4'8". Just mentioning it in case in you car storage space is too small..


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## The Crew (Jul 8, 2007)

Kenyee if you are planning to throw that much weight with the Dolphins I don't think it's gonna work. The are "FAST ACTION" tips so they don't throw what's advertised. They are fantastic with lighter weights.


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## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

Thanks, I think I'll go ahead and get the Dolphin rod. If I'm gonna buy one I might as well get the better of the two that doesn't have any question marks beside it. I'm looking at the 10' 6" for the sensitive tip for detecting light bites from the smaller fish I may target (whiting, trout, ect).


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## kenyee (Nov 27, 2007)

Thanks, TheCrew. I figured as much since rods seem to be only good for light stuff or heavy stuff. I'll probably end up w/ the 10'6" since everyone seems to love that a lot more than the 10'.

SmoothLures: another alternative is a DBlue 10' rod (fleabay)...it's rated 2-5oz and is built using the latest TC4 Shimano blank. It's only in a spinning version currently (conventional version is supposed to be released in early May in an 11'4" version for around $150 unfortunately for me). The TC4 blank is more abusable than the TC3 and folks on SOL who have it seem to like it. Cost is only $104 shipped which is less than the Tica Dolphin in the same size.


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## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

I'll check it out too then, thanks.


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## The Crew (Jul 8, 2007)

2nd that! Shimano IS my rod company!


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## scavengerj (Sep 10, 2007)

*Great read....*

I am kind of on the fence like SmoothLures. Thanks for starting the thread. (I am typically throwing 4-5oz with whole mullet or bunker chunks) using a spinning reel
So from what I have gathered:

1.)Tica 10'6" is good to about 4nbait, but it has a guide problem.

2.)Dolphin 10'6" is comparable

3.)DBlue 10' rated 2-5oz has a better blank.
With cost not being that big of a deal, between all of these which is going to be the best bet? All seem to be pretty good from what the posts say.

Hey Chris (R&R). How are you?? Hoping to get down that way in the next few weeks.


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## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

That's pretty much what I've gathered, except the 10 footer will cast a little more lead which you may want. For me, I'll probably get the 10' 6" for the lighter bite detection since I'm after smaller stuff. I will check out the DBlue, too.


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## HellRhaY (Jul 6, 2007)

kenyee said:


> SmoothLures: another alternative is a DBlue 10' rod (fleabay)...it's rated 2-5oz and is built using the latest TC4 Shimano blank.
> 
> The TC4 blank is more abusable than the TC3 and folks on SOL who have it seem to like it.


I'd like to clarify this 2 underlined phrases:
first, the TC4 blank used by Dblue rods isn't a Shimano blank. When I was inquiring if I could buy the blank only, Lilly wouldn't sell me the blank and she said the blank isn't a Shimano blank, she wouldn't say what company makes their blanks but she emphasized to me that the blank isn't a Shimano blank. 

next, TC4 isn't more abusable than TC3, TC4 just have a higher modulus blank. High modulus blanks are not "brittle" but they do require less material in order to achieve the same stiffness as the TC3 or lesser modulus blanks so there is less material involved and therefore a bit less durable or "abusable".

the higher the modulus of a blank the higher is it's performance but the durability lessens.


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## scavengerj (Sep 10, 2007)

*I do....*

like the better bite detection afforded the 10'6". I was just looking at a Tsunami Trophy in a 10' model. Rated for 3-6oz which is a little lighter then I'd want. I may go with the UGSA106MH2S model. Seems to have the better guides and blank. And for .$105.00 it doesn't seem too bad.


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## scavengerj (Sep 10, 2007)

*Now....*

I just have to find a good reel to match with it. I was thinking of a 4500 baitrunner with braid. Any thoughts on a good match for this particular rod??


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## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

I will be looking soon, too, but won't be using braid. Let me know what you find.


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## saltandsand (Nov 29, 2007)

I have the Tica, UEHA836502C, MH, 12'0" which handles 4-10 oz	with 15-40 lb line. It's a fantastic rod!!


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## kenyee (Nov 27, 2007)

HellRhaY said:


> TC4 blank used by Dblue rods isn't a Shimano blank
> ...
> next, TC4 isn't more abusable than TC3


Thanks for the clarification, HellRhay. Awesome John on SOL told me the TC4 is more durable than TC3 (since TC4 rods are being used on Shimino's butterfly jigging rods) and is more sensitive than TC3 rods.
I also didn't realize they're not using a Shimano TC4 blank. Any idea if Tica is using a Shimano TC3 blank?


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## scavengerj (Sep 10, 2007)

Will do Smooth. 
Thanks for the input s&s. Hoping to decide and have one in my hands within the next two weeks.


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## cobia35 (Apr 22, 2007)

I have owned the 9ft,10'6 and currently have a 12'6 I have fished them in the surf and the tailraces of hydroelectric dam for large catfish 30-40lbs and nice striper up to 30lbs. I am old fashioned though I use a garcia michell 488 spooled with 12lb test and a 20lb shock lead. I will flat out haul.


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## cobia35 (Apr 22, 2007)

There is a local store by the john h. Kerr dam otherwise known as Buggs Island Lake that sell one piece graphite rods with 3 big eyes on them. I own the 11'6 also paired with the garcia mitchell 488 and it will through 6-8 ounces with ease although I usually throw 3-4oz diamond jigs with it. They run about $280 per rod custom made. Folks at naghead love mine when they see it have not taken it to va beach yet cause my tica fishes and travel so well being a 2 piece.


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## rattler (Jul 3, 2004)

I like my dolphin...rated 2-6 and throws 1-4 max...it may do 6?...I did 5 and it "groaned"...great for bottom fish and will throw metal...


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## fishingirlpa (Sep 16, 2007)

*I think.......*



scavengerj said:


> Will do Smooth.
> Thanks for the input s&s. Hoping to decide and have one in my hands within the next two weeks.


I think scavengerj means MY hands............


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## scavengerj (Sep 10, 2007)

*Okay...*

busted. Guess it won't be in my hands long


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