I'm looking to buy a new tarpon rod for pier fishing down in PCB. I fished some last year with an 8ft MH rod but I just couldn't compete with the locals tossing swim baits a half mile. Any suggestions?

A lot of the locals are most likely using custom built rods. If you want to go that route, check in with Cavitt's Custom Rods - 850-375-2757, no idea on the cost for that type, or a timeframe in getting one built, so best to ask them. If you are not looking for anything that custom, maybe check with Half Hitch and look into some of their pier special rods.

Paging Peach..... Mike, please steer this man in the right direction.

I use two different rods. Both are 9ft in length. (You need distance in the pier) I use one rod for live bait and one rod for throwing swim baits. My swim bait rod has back bone but is limber enough to cast a swim bait a long ways. A good over the counter swim bait rod is the bass pro shops 9ft cobia special. For live bait I use a phenix blank. It’s light with a fast taper but has back bone to wear a tarpon out. It is stiff so I give the tarpon the rod when he jumps. Call Obie Hill in Pensacola and tell him to build you a good tarpon rod. 850-375-9190. He will give you several options and knows what he is talking about. I generally hang over 100 tarpon per summer off the pier, and know well that a quality rod is extremely important.

I was actually on the county pier in PC Saturday afternoon catching squid. I use them to tip my cobia jigs but mostly freeze them for calamari.

I didnt think Obie was building rods any more. I would have suggested him as well. Actually I need to get in touch with him about building me another king rod.

I'm going to start hitting the pier heavy after turkey season in May. How long do you think it would take Obie to build me one? Also, since I drive down from Montgomery in an SUV, I think I might have to have a two piece if it was 9 ft.

On a separate note, when is the spring tournament on the county pier? is it Memorial Day weekend? I stumbled upon it last year and would have won the Spanish Division but I hadn't signed up.

Century is the best I've seen. Lots of folks down there use a custom one from Barrett rods

[quote=JKlep]I didnt think Obie was building rods any more. I would have suggested him as well. Actually I need to get in touch with him about building me another king rod.[/quote
Let me contact him and see if he is still building rods. I haven't heard from him in a while.

There will be two tournaments this spring I think! One for cobia and one for king. I will let you know shortly when they are going to be.

I'm still trying to reach Obie. You can also call Cavitts Custom Rods in Panama City. Ernie Cavitts has been building rods a long time and is a pier fisherman. I would specify whether you want a live bait rod or a swim bait rod, or one that is suitable for both. He will know what to build.

I bought an 8 ft. Shimano Terramar inshore rod last year that I really like with live baits for Kings. I'm looking strictly for a tarpon rod with swim baits.

I just talked with Obie. He said he is no longer building rods. He told me that it takes too much time away from his fishing. He is finishing up his final rods now. A nine foot gator blank will cast a swim bait a long ways and has a ton of back bone but it is heavier than some of the newer rods. I'm not sure how a two piece would feel.

One piece if you can

Thanks for checking. I’ll visit Half Hitch when I get down there and see what they have.

Half Hitch has their own custom rod and is pretty good quality for the price. Their king rods are very good but not sure if they make a custom tarpon/cobia rod.

The 8 ft MH I have been using is a Half Hitch custom pier rod. It’s one of the older black with gold trim models. I’ve seen a lot of guys on the pier using them. It’s just not limber enough to cast very far and that dang thing is heavy.

Those windows roll down

Howell’s in Panama City has Shimano Speedmaster 2 pc rods for less than $150. I use a 10.5’ and fish swim baits and live bait with it. I’ve used almost all of them over the years and it’s the best I’ve used for the money.

I heard there will be a cobia tournament in April and a king tournament in September. They frequently have free weekend tournaments with no registration required. They cover more categories like Spanish, flounder, etc. I think the official dates will be set next week.