ROD CARE

True carbon and nanocarbon fishing rods are a significant step up in performance from traditional fibreglass rods.

 

They provide better casting, both control and distance, enable more lifelike action in jigs and lures, have faster flex recovery greatly aiding the angler whilst fighting fish.

 

They are also significantly lighter ensuring less fatigue during all day fishing especially for those using poppers or jigs, the only thing they do not excel at, is being treated like a fibreglass rod.

 

Ultra high modulus nano carbon blanks like those found in our flagship XOS GTnDoggie series rods are designed to achieve maximum performance at typical fishing angles used by experienced anglers.

 

We see very few broken Hamachi rods, (less than half a percent of rods sold) mainly due to our rigorous manufacturing and testing standards of every Hamachi rod before they depart our factories.

 

The few we do see are typically anglers that have not followed the few simple rules for carbon rods taken or customers that have predominantly used fibreglass or glass composite rods. The rods are broken in the top third of the rod from point loading or high sticking. The remainder are generally damaged during storage causing the rod to break next time its loaded up.

 

Our premium range of rods that include the Zenku Super Nano and Nano Xylimum Xtreme series are lower modulus blanks that as a trade-off of not achieving the ultra-high performance and weight saving of our flagship series they will tolerate the occasional accidental point loading and knock or bump.

 

With a little care and know how any of our Hamachi nano carbon rods will outlast you, many of the team here at Hamachi travel extensively, pushing our rods particularly the XOS GTnDoggies series to the absolute limits and have never broken a Hamachi rod (even when we have tried to in some videos).

 

 

Achieve max performance & avoid breaking your rod

 

Hamachi rods are designed and built to consistently fish at their maximum performance rating, to do this always ensure your gear is very well maintained. Always use a reel with smooth and regularly serviced drag, set the reel drag at or below the rods maximum drag rating (listed on all product pages on our website), if your ever unsure set it at 1/3 of the rods PE line rating.

 

The maximum performance (greatest power) for carbon and nanocarbon rods is from 0 to 45 degrees line angle, at 45 to 60 the rods power is greatly reduced and the angler is now using more energy, to use in the 45 to 60 degrees range the reel drag setting must be reduced to the rods lower rating.

Above 60 degrees line angler rods are at a very high risk of point loading / high sticking and breaking in the top third of the rod.

 

Occasionally point loading will only cause internal structural damage in the top third of the rod without breaking and then break at that point with very light pressure at a later date.

 

Light tackle rods under high-pressure point loading will often break first in the top third and the with the sudden load and line angle increase cause another break lower down in the rod  Point loading is considered user abuse and NOT covered under warranty. Please refer to the charts below for a visual understanding.

 

Hamachi rods are designed for the pump and wind technique, the most effective way to get a fish boat side. Between the runs of the fish (ie fish no longer taking line), lower the rod tip to zero degrees winding the slackening line in as you do, as you feel the rod loading up again stop winding and pull the rod up to 45 degrees their by pumping the fish closer to you, quickly lower the tip and wind the slackening line in as you do.

 

Should you hook a particularly aggressive fish with hard surging runs, always lower the rod tip toward the fish (referred to as bowing the rod) this will help negate any stickiness in your reels drag or braided line pulling under itself on the reel and binding.

 

Avoid setting the hooks using a high strike action, lower the rod to tip to point at the fish, take the slack line up with the reel and strike in the zero to 45 degrees range, this will ensure you are using the power section of the rod and the hooks will set far better than using the tip.

 

Always use a landing net or gaff to land a fish, never use the rod, always back the reels drag off to allow the fish to run if it takes off during gaffing or netting.

 

Avoid using the rod to free snagged lines, put the reel in free spool and the rod in holder and handline to free the snagged line. If the rod must be used, point it directly at the snag and put the pressure on the reel (only suitable for lightly snagged lines).

 

Avoid spooling reels using carbon rods if you have no other alternative only use the first guide closet the reel on the rod so as not to point load the tip.

 

When transporting always use rod protectors and avoid storing and transporting anywhere that items can strike the rod.

 

After every day on the water.

 

Thoroughly wash your hamachi rods down using freshwater paying particular attention to each guide and the reel seat to remove all traces of salt.

 

Finish with a liberal coating of a CRC or WD-40 spray after each wash, (it won't affect the rods epoxy) avoid spraying or putting any lubricant on the rod joints as they are precision fit.

 

Ideally always remove your reels from the rods, if you do need to leave them assembled for any length of time smear a thin coat of a petroleum jelly on the reel feet and real seat thread.  

 

Following the above tip will not only help you catch more fish but will also help your rod well on its way to outlasting you.

 

 

Bare butt sections

 

Hamachi popper and jig rods are all built with traditional bare butt sections, by not including the  EVA section in the build like found on a typical game fishing rod, allows the angler to tuck the rod up under the armpit and jig, popper or fight the fish without the resistance or chaffing of a grip.

 

Fishing from this position also enables the rod to comfortably swing a full arc from well below parallel to the water up to 60 degrees, it also naturally keeps the rod in its maximum performance range of 0 to 45 degrees. Versus when the butt is fish from the thigh its natural position is around 30 degrees line angle when vertical jigging either greatly reducing the rod stroke arc to only 15 degrees or forcing the angler to reduce the drag setting to the 60 degrees rating to allow for a larger arc.

 

When using bare butt rods in "raw" rod holders ( those built without proper flaring and impact inserts) it's recommended that blank protectors are used, there're a number of commercially made blank protectors that quickly come on and off the rod, in the event you are onboard without one simply wrapping a cloth around the exposed section of blank to protect the rod and prevent the swaying back and forth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wear Joints

 

All heavy duty Hamachi rods are manufactured with wear joints so that over time the joint has the ability to maintain a snug fit. Gone are the days of requiring a rebuild after a few years of heavy use.

Whilst we have always built our rods in this manner it is now commonplace for high-end manufacturers to do this.

When assembling rods always ensure the joints are clean and free fine dust, do not use any lubrication on them, try to avoid twisting the blank as you insert and never grip the rod guide (rings) only use the blank, the joint will sit proud with a gap up to 12mm depending on the model of the rod.

Unless you have the rod on the water day in day out, over the first year they will typically sit another 1 or 2mm in and stay at that point for years.

Should the sections ever get stuck together just use a pair of rubber gloves to grip the blank and foregrip, again never grip/hold the guides (rings).