Star Rods

Notalwayshelpful

Hello all, 

I was hoping someone could help me choose between buying a Star Aerial or Stellar Lite series rod. I am upgrading my girlfriend's setup and am partial to Star rods, but I've heard some people have had issues using braided lines with the Stellar Lites. Does anyone use either of these rods with braid? If so, could you share your experience? 

Fisherman007

I was going to get a Star as I've always heard how great they are but when I compared it to Okuma Epixor there was no comparison.  The Okuma Epixor is way better imo.

BooBoo

I have two lights and one Aerial. Couldn’t be happier with each one of them. I think they are great rods. I’ve used braid with them all. Never an issue. I really like the split grip Aerial, 7.5 foot and rated good to throw up to 1.5 oz. I do think 1.5 oz is a little heavy for it though. 

brianb

The aerial is a 75 dollar rod and the stellar is 100 with Fuji guides. I'd expect that higher cost one to be better.  I'd also think that in 2023 you should expect every spinning rod to work with braid. 

I'm not sure what "having issues using braided line" looks like, except that someone put on 50lb braid bc it's the same diameter as a 12lb mono so now he thinks that means his rod can handle 25lbs of drag. Some guides don't get caught as much by poor casting with braid as others due to frame design, but they still work.  IDK

BooBoo

I need to fix my previous post. After reading what brianb posted I realized I was mistaken. I have a Star Segis 10-20…. Not an areial. Love it. 

Jack Hexter

I used to sell Star rods at the tackle store where I worked.  Both the Aerial and Stellar Lite are good rods at  their respective price point.  I had several guides use Stellar Lite rods for their charter business and they are using braid.  Depending upon the action you want, from light to med heavy  I would not put more than 20# on them, probably 15# would be better.  If you are going for Tarpon, the 8' Heavy loaded with 30 would be good.

One word of caution, and since you currently use Star rods, Star used to have an over the counter warranty exchange.  They stopped this about 2-3 years ago and now the rod must be sent back to the factory, but most all manufacturers insist on this now

Notalwayshelpful

brianb said:

The aerial is a 75 dollar rod and the stellar is 100 with Fuji guides. I'd expect that higher cost one to be better.  I'd also think that in 2023 you should expect every spinning rod to work with braid. 

I'm not sure what "having issues using braided line" looks like, except that someone put on 50lb braid bc it's the same diameter as a 12lb mono so now he thinks that means his rod can handle 25lbs of drag. Some guides don't get caught as much by poor casting with braid as others due to frame design, but they still work.  IDK

Thank you for this, as it was my thinking exactly. My immediate intuition was to go for the Stellar Lite, and these issues with braid sounded strange. Still, I figured I'd ask before sinking any money into it. 

BooBoo said:

I need to fix my previous post. After reading what brianb posted I realized I was mistaken. I have a Star Segis 10-20…. Not an areial. Love it. 

I also own a Seagis 10-20, and I love it. It is a fantastic rod. 

Jack Hexter said:

I used to sell Star rods at the tackle store where I worked.  Both the Aerial and Stellar Lite are good rods at  their respective price point.  I had several guides use Stellar Lite rods for their charter business and they are using braid.  Depending upon the action you want, from light to med heavy  I would not put more than 20# on them, probably 15# would be better.  If you are going for Tarpon, the 8' Heavy loaded with 30 would be good.

Thank you so much. I will buy a 7ft medium heavy rod, pair it with a Penn Spinfisher VI, and load it up with 15 lb PowerPro.  
.
 

lemaymiami

All of the Star rods I've seen were good values and locally built.  This from a guy who's been building rods since 1971 (and I still build nearly every rod I hand my anglers).

Yes, some do struggle with braid - but that's easily solved once you teach them how to handle the gear since the handling characteristics of braid are a bit different than mono... 

Here's some of the tips (but not all...) I give to my anglers about braid... 

When spooling up line on a spinner with braid - put a bit less line on it than you would with mono...

When you make a cast with braid - don't use the automatic, turn the handle to close the bail and start reeling routine -(particularly when making cast after cast the way you do when tossing lures....).  Instead, simply close the bail manually - then pull the line tight before turning the handle... That alone, will cut way down on any line tangles with braid...

Braid is expensive and you don't want to automatically break off a tangle or knot in your line...  Instead, remember that braid does not want to stay in a knot - never pull a tangle tight, instead, with a bit of patience many tangles with braid can be sorted out on the spot using the point of a hook...  If you don't want to take the time - a spare spool, loaded with line and leader is a very quick solution - then you place the tangled spool aside until you get home where you can usually sort it out with two needles or pins... then rewind onto the spool and you're ready for the next time you need a  spare spool on the water..

Hope this helps.. 

"Be a hero... take a kid fishing ! "

Notalwayshelpful

lemaymiami said:

All of the Star rods I've seen were good values and locally built.  This from a guy who's been building rods since 1971 (and I still build nearly every rod I hand my anglers).

Yes, some do struggle with braid - but that's easily solved once you teach them how to handle the gear since the handling characteristics of braid are a bit different than mono... 

Here's some of the tips (but not all...) I give to my anglers about braid... 

When spooling up line on a spinner with braid - put a bit less line on it than you would with mono...

When you make a cast with braid - don't use the automatic, turn the handle to close the bail and start reeling routine -(particularly when making cast after cast the way you do when tossing lures....).  Instead, simply close the bail manually - then pull the line tight before turning the handle... That alone, will cut way down on any line tangles with braid...

Braid is expensive and you don't want to automatically break off a tangle or knot in your line...  Instead, remember that braid does not want to stay in a knot - never pull a tangle tight, instead, with a bit of patience many tangles with braid can be sorted out on the spot using the point of a hook...  If you don't want to take the time - a spare spool, loaded with line and leader is a very quick solution - then you place the tangled spool aside until you get home where you can usually sort it out with two needles or pins... then rewind onto the spool and you're ready for the next time you need a  spare spool on the water..

Hope this helps.. 

"Be a hero... take a kid fishing ! "

Thank you so much for this. All of it is incredibly helpful. In particular, your note about using a hook to undo wind knots is a game-changer. I grew up fishing, have braid on all my personal rigs, and have dealt with enough wind knots to make me consider going back to mono or a good copolymer, but I never once thought about using a hook's tip to help get me out of trouble. 

lemaymiami

Most guides get lots of practice sorting out knots and tangles… Every one you sort out is one less leader you need to make that day or night…

DES51

Dealing with tangles/bird nests is all about patience. How much do you have? All can be undone with time and patience. 

mplspug

Notalwayshelpful said:

lemaymiami said:

All of the Star rods I've seen were good values and locally built.  This from a guy who's been building rods since 1971 (and I still build nearly every rod I hand my anglers).

Yes, some do struggle with braid - but that's easily solved once you teach them how to handle the gear since the handling characteristics of braid are a bit different than mono... 

Here's some of the tips (but not all...) I give to my anglers about braid... 

When spooling up line on a spinner with braid - put a bit less line on it than you would with mono...

When you make a cast with braid - don't use the automatic, turn the handle to close the bail and start reeling routine -(particularly when making cast after cast the way you do when tossing lures....).  Instead, simply close the bail manually - then pull the line tight before turning the handle... That alone, will cut way down on any line tangles with braid...

Braid is expensive and you don't want to automatically break off a tangle or knot in your line...  Instead, remember that braid does not want to stay in a knot - never pull a tangle tight, instead, with a bit of patience many tangles with braid can be sorted out on the spot using the point of a hook...  If you don't want to take the time - a spare spool, loaded with line and leader is a very quick solution - then you place the tangled spool aside until you get home where you can usually sort it out with two needles or pins... then rewind onto the spool and you're ready for the next time you need a  spare spool on the water..

Hope this helps.. 

"Be a hero... take a kid fishing ! "

Thank you so much for this. All of it is incredibly helpful. In particular, your note about using a hook to undo wind knots is a game-changer. I grew up fishing, have braid on all my personal rigs, and have dealt with enough wind knots to make me consider going back to mono or a good copolymer, but I never once thought about using a hook's tip to help get me out of trouble. 

Be careful when use a hook and make sure you are wedging the hook between the line and not impaling the line.  

For me every wind knot is different.  If you can catch it before it cinches down on itself, you usually just pull on the loops until you find one that loosens and undos the knot.

But like he said, pulling the line after manually flipping the bail will reduce wind knots greatly.  

pottydoc

Closing the bail by hand as soon as you see the lure/bait hit the water works well for preventing wind knots also. 

Missed

Wind knots are from the loop of line that catches across the top of the reel, or on a conventional the loop that sticks up.

It is just from not paying attention to what you are doing.  Easy to do when surface fishing or just casting and closing the bail after the line settles.