Hello,

Been toying with the idea of building a dual-rung surf rod for personal use. Blank will be a Rainshadow SUR1569. Intended reels will be a Penn Jigmaster (conventional), and Spinfisher 9500 (spinning), both with monofilament. Is it too much to expect reasonable performance from both set-ups?

It seems the limiting factor would be the stripper guide, as its size and placement would necessitate a compromise to work with both reels. Has anyone built a dual-rung surf rod and got it to work acceptably? Any insight/experience is appreciated.

chad

A compromise rod is usually just that - a rod that works okay with both but not particularly great with either.

But, if this is what you need to do, use your custom building skills to do the best you can do for this type of rod. It can work and work reasonably well. I think you need to determine the best set up for each and then work backs towards the middle.

...............

Yes. I use a size 30 Fuji SVLG thirty inches from the center of the reel seat on a ten foot blank. The spinning reel is a Penn 550 SS and for conventional any reel that I have spooled with 20 lb. line, mainly a Garcia 500, 600, or a Penn Squal 15. I normally don't fish for sharks. My main goal is to catch redfish and black drum. Sometimes I will catch a large speckled trout. If someone goes fishing with me that does not have a surf rod I will let them use one of my American Tackle 10 footers with whatever reel they wish to use. That is a very versatile set-up.
Cheers, Ellis

Hello,

Thanks for your quick responses,

Tom-
Good to know this can be successfully done. Thanks for the tip on finding the best set-ups for both reels, then seeing if they can be dialed in to overlap.

Ellis-
That kind of data is what I'm especially interested in. Sounds like you got the height of the round Garcia conventionals to mesh with the spool diameter of the Penn 550. Looks like I'll have to test out different reels--as the size difference in my choices may not work very well using the same stripping guide. Thanks for reminding me its always easier to work with components suitable for the desired rod, than to try and make the rod suitable for mis-matched components.

Look forward to hearing more ideas on the double-rung concept.

-chad

Chad,
Don't discount the possible use of a size 40 or 50 stripper guide. Depending on your particular circumstance, the larger ring and height, may actually work better for you.

Be safe