Any Great Hunting Kamloops Stinger owners? How do you like the rod?

After years of trying to find the right general purpose ultralight rod, I'm coming to accept that an ultralight rod may not even be what I want at all. The majority of my UL fishing is in a lake where I'm regularly catching 2lb+ bass as bycatch and I've lost every 5lb+ fish I've hooked into in the past couple years since it's always been near structure where I didn't have enough control over the fish to keep them away from it. Plenty of 2lb+ crappie in the lake and the gills are very large as well, so going up to a light rod won't ruin the panfish experience at all.

With that in mind, I've basically stopped looking at UL area trout and ajing rods altogether and am looking more at light stream trout rods. Most appealing to me right now is the Megabass Great Hunting Kamloops Stinger, though the light 6'4" Cardiff NX is somewhat interesting too. Wondering if anyone has on the water experience with either of these or has any other light powered rod suggestions? Definitely only looking for xf or fast actions. Majority of my fishing is twitching 1.5" plastics on a .8gr jighead semi vertically, sizing up to 1.5gr depending on depth and wind conditions. Occasionally cast and retrieve 2" plastics on 1.5-3gr jigheads and fish 45-50mm hard baits which usually come in at 2.5-3gr. I fish .2 PE, usually without a leader just because micro guides hate leaders.

I have a Lunakia that is different than any other I have. It’s a soft tip rod but the middle and lower portion have backbone. It’s a light action under 6’ a little. The largemouth, catfish and mudfish I’ve caught on it surprised me with the response of the rod’s tenacity. Might not be the answer but it might be worth a look.

Should be a good rod. I don’t own a great hunting but someday would like to get one of them in the huntsman version. The rear grip is very elegant and would look sharp with a round reel.

I get your point about losing big fish near structure. A trout steam rod would help put more pressure on the fish. My solution this year has been to carry a BFS rod with either 0.6 PE with 4lb leader or 4 lb mono. This is in addition to two area trout rods, or one area trout and one light game rod. A light power spinning rod would work great too!

Lastly, I don’t think you need to worry about micro guides with trout stream rods. Most will have either size 4 or 5 running guides. So you should have no issues using a leader provided the knot is well tied. I have no issues at all using Alberto knot with 0.6 PE and 4 lb leader. Also, I use a triple surgeon knot on area trout rods with micro guides (size 3) using 0.4 # ester and 2 lb trout magnet sos line as leader. The casting distance is not discernibly impaired.

Hopefully you find what you are looking for. Good luck!


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Originally Posted by skeetbum

I have a Lunakia that is different than any other I have. It’s a soft tip rod but the middle and lower portion have backbone. It’s a light action under 6’ a little. The largemouth, catfish and mudfish I’ve caught on it surprised me with the response of the rod’s tenacity. Might not be the answer but it might be worth a look.

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I've had a Lunakia on my radar as a dedicated crappie rod for a while. If I had more than 1 good crappie lake and if the crappie at my 1 good lake weren't so easy to catch, I'd prolly already have the rod haha. Been wanting to retire and move to a better place for fishing for a while. If (WHEN) I do, a Lunakia would be a must buy rod for me I think.

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Originally Posted by dannypeoples

Should be a good rod. I don’t own a great hunting but someday would like to get one of them in the huntsman version. The rear grip is very elegant and would look sharp with a round reel.

I get your point about losing big fish near structure. A trout steam rod would help put more pressure on the fish. My solution this year has been to carry a BFS rod with either 0.6 PE with 4lb leader or 4 lb mono. This is in addition to two area trout rods, or one area trout and one light game rod. A light power spinning rod would work great too!

Lastly, I don’t think you need to worry about micro guides with trout stream rods. Most will have either size 4 or 5 running guides. So you should have no issues using a leader provided the knot is well tied. I have no issues at all using Alberto knot with 0.6 PE and 4 lb leader. Also, I use a triple surgeon knot on area trout rods with micro guides (size 3) using 0.4 # ester and 2 lb trout magnet sos line as leader. The casting distance is not discernibly impaired.

Hopefully you find what you are looking for. Good luck!


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Yup I think I've sold myself on the rod. I'd definitely be going from .2 PE to .6 and probably go to a 5 or even 6lb leader. The Whippet and one of the new Orochi X10 rods have caught my attention as rods to actually target trout with as they regularly stock 10lb+ fish and I also UL fish in the salt with stuff in the 1/4oz range but salty fish are mean and there's thick grass everywhere so you need the rod to handle them. Been using my NRX Ned rod for those purposes but it feels a bit much for some lures.

Not retiring my actual UL by any means as it's a pleasure to dock/open water fish where I don't have to fear being helpless against a larger bass that decides he's hungry for my 1.5" offering. Haven't hooked into one this season but did have a 5lb+ try to gulp up my 8" bass and a 7lb+ go after a 10" bluegill on my last trip. My favorite lake has some crazy fish. Last season was a heartbreaker, losing 2 fish that were easily over 5lb in a single session and I suspect one was an 8lb class fish based on the headshakes and difficulty I had moving him at all.

Attachment 489296

This is why there are moments when one needs more than 2lb line and XUL rods. I wouldn’t have been able to keep it out of the structure on 2.3 lb ester.

Let us know which rod you decide on [emoji4]


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