A lot of people ask me what rod do I use for my big saltwater topwater fishing. I don’t really have a simple answer for that, as that is the wrong question to ask. Or perhaps the incorrect way to think about it. Firstly I take into consideration the size of the fish I am chasing which determines things like the PE rating of the rod. Am I running PE 5-6 set-ups or am I using my Grappler PE 8-10 combos? I predominantly run the Grappler Cast range of rods for my saltwater topwater fishing, whether that be on the flats or out on the hard line. So, the question I ask people when they ask me what rod, is what lure? Rods are built to PE ratings and more importantly to lure specifications. Obviously you can’t throw a 180-gram popper on a PE 5 set-up that is rated to a lure of 100 grams. More importantly, it's extremely difficult to get the right action from a big popper on the wrong rod.

Here are my go-to Grappler spin rod combos to have most bases covered.

PE 10 rod big poppers, some heavier stick baits and any other heavy lures that don’t require a softer action.

PE 8 rod medium to large stick baits, and some mid-sized small cup poppers

PE 6 rod small to medium stick baits and small poppers

For my PE 10 set-up, I am using the Grappler type C S 8'2" X-HEAVY (PE10) spin and almost exclusively running an Stella 18000SW-C . The beefy rod makes light work of big poppers, the stiffer action of the PE 10 means it requires minimal movement to get the popper to pop and with a big action from the rod will get that massive chug from the popper. It also gives you plenty of purchase when a big fish is holding tight onto that bigger lure to get a good hookset.

With the stick baits I run the Grappler type C S 8'2" HEAVY (PE8) spin and often paired with a  Twin Power 14000SW-C just for ease of use, it's a fair chunk lighter than the 18k and they are plenty strong enough to deal with most of the topwater fish I encounter. The softer tip of the PE8 rod provides a cushioning effect when you do the sweep of the rod to impart the action. This cushioning prevents your lure from just blowing out of the water and gives it that slow start with good acceleration through the sweep to get the best action from the lure. That cushioning that helps with stick baits would make working a large cupped popper very difficult as you don’t have that direct contact with the bait to get that instant and aggressive pop. Mid-sized poppers tend to blow out or cartwheel on the wrong rod so the PE8 or what I call my stick bait rod is perfect for that. The rod is still capable of getting the lure to do a nice pop but the softer start means the popper accelerates and starts working before it gets the full speed of the rod. Similarly to the PE10 Grappler, the PE8 has plenty of low-end power for fighting big fish.

Lastly, my PE 6 rod is the Grappler type C S 8'2" MEDIUM HEAVY (PE6) spin. Now with this rod, it depends on if I am expecting to be chasing fish like coral trout or GT’s. For Trevally, I am using my 14k Twin Power on this rod with the mid-sized stick baits and small poppers. And for the smaller reefies like trout and emperor, I am down to an Twin Power 8000SW-C that I can comfortably use all day long. The PE 6 rod has plenty of power when I need it on the flats with GTs but has a nice soft action for casting the small-sized stick baits and poppers long distances. When using poppers on this combo I am more dragging the popper to get the bubble trail and that initial pop rather than the big chug. The soft taper of this rod means none of the lures blow out or cartwheel and are super easy to use with the rod doing most of the work.

All the rods I run are 8'2" so they cast a mile and give me some height advantage on shallow water to steer away from reef edges and bommies. They also all have a similar feel so I get used to what pressure I can put them under and have similar castability when matched with the right weight lures.

All saltwater topwater fishing revolves around two things, current and bait. Find current/pressure and you will have some fish close by. Add some bait and it's all too easy. Presenting the lure to them then becomes the most difficult part of the equation. Nail that first cast and then tangle your lure on the first cartwheel. Even worse, don’t make the cast and your mate nails it beside you and gets the bite!

Next time you are choosing a topwater rod check out the Grappler cast range of spin rods and think first about what lures and line weights you will be using before selecting what rod is right for the application.