Hey guys so I am wanting to start planning out a crankbait build. It will be used for square bills mainly, but at times I will also use round bills that go 5-8ft deep. The cranks will for the most part be 1/4oz-1/2oz. So I think I am looking at three blanks, but if you have any other suggestions that you think I would be better off with I would be glad to hear them! The three blanks I am looking at are:

MHX CB843-Blend
St. Croix 3C70MM
Phenix X-9-B 7'

Thanks for the help guys!

Cameron,

I am sure Mudhole CB843 and St. Croix 3C70MM are excellent blanks; but I have not built on either of these blanks. I built a Phenix X-9-B7 for a buddy and he simply loves it. He vacillated between the composite and full fiberglass Phenix blanks; but 'was concerned about the weight. I talked him into springing loose with a little more cash and he ordered the X-9-B7 composite. He raves about it: casts great, loads up great and a guy can't pry it from his hands when fishing with him!

Don Campbell
don@sensorfishingrods.com

Donald R Campbell Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Cameron,
>
> I am sure Mudhole CB843 and St. Croix 3C70MM are
> excellent blanks; but I have not built on either
> of these blanks. I built a Phenix X-9-B7 for a
> buddy and he simply loves it. He vacillated
> between the composite and full fiberglass Phenix
> blanks; but 'was concerned about the weight. I
> talked him into springing loose with a little more
> cash and he ordered the X-9-B7 composite. He
> raves about it: casts great, loads up great and a
> guy can't pry it from his hands when fishing with
> him!


Thanks for the reply! What kind of power would you say this rod has? I would of course guess medium because of the lure wt range, but I wanted to double check. Thanks!

Cameron I personally think the 843 is a little heavy for you're looking for. Even in the blend. I like the 842 range for that type build. Square bills need to have a little more flex to the rod to make them reflect of structure. I have thrown them with heavier rods and noticed I get hung up more often. People often want to throw all types of crank baits with the same rod. The trouble is the baits all function a bit differently. On a good note your going to also end up with a great chatter bait rod if you stay in the 842 range. The 843 blend and the mag medium are good 10-12 foot regular bill crank bait rods. The 842 range will be a good square bill or rattle trap rod.

Another option to the blend blanks is a spinning blank built as a casting rod. They tend to have a better action for crank baits and spinner baits.

Of course this is my opinion.

Gabe

Gabe Neal Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Cameron I personally think the 843 is a little
> heavy for you're looking for. Even in the blend.
> I like the 842 range for that type build. Square
> bills need to have a little more flex to the rod
> to make them reflect of structure. I have thrown
> them with heavier rods and noticed I get hung up
> more often. People often want to throw all
> types of crank baits with the same rod. The
> trouble is the baits all function a bit
> differently. On a good note your going to also
> end up with a great chatter bait rod if you stay
> in the 842 range. The 843 blend and the mag
> medium are good 10-12 foot regular bill crank bait
> rods. The 842 range will be a good square bill or
> rattle trap rod.
>
> Another option to the blend blanks is a spinning
> blank built as a casting rod. They tend to have a
> better action for crank baits and spinner baits.
>
>
> Of course this is my opinion.
>
> Gabe

Thanks for the advice! I was just looking at the different mhx blanks and unless for some reason it is not listed any more it goes from 841 straight to 843. Would you drop down to the 841 in that case?

Also I noticed you mentioned a spinner bait and a chatter bait. So I take it you then are throwing them on a medium rod? I have always thrown them on MH rods. Would there be an advantage to getting away from that power?

Edit: I did just see this spinning blank "SJ842-MHX 7' 1 6-12 1/8 - 1/2 Fast Med-Lt" Would you think that would be better? I would be concerned about it being fast rather than mod-fast since I dont have a place I can get my hands on the blank before ordering it and see how it feels.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 09/11/2014 12:46PM by Cameron Johnson.

Cameron,
Another blank to consider is one of Batson's 842 or 843 popping rod blanks in one of their series.

Be safe

Yes I would opt for the SJ842. And Roger makes a good point. The popping rod blank is another good option. The SJ (Spin Jig) blanks and the popping rod blanks normally have a little smaller diameter or even taper. This gives the blanks a little more forgiveness ( softer, moderate feel) in the action. These type blanks are great for crankbaits and spinner baits. Batson, MHX, SHX (Binghams branding), St. Criox are all good blanks. When the bass hits the bait the rod will give some and simply load up.

As you start building venture out to some of the other actions with your rods. It seems every "factory" rod you pick up to bass fish with is Medium Heavy. You are going to find that a medium action rod suits you much better for some of the spinner baits etc.. You can also reduce your line size to 8lb and get more strikes in high pressure lakes. Don't get stuck in the old "I've always done it" habit. The sky is the limit now buddy, you can build your own. If you don't like it....build another one. These softer actions are more accurate to cast with also.

For the applications you mentioned above venture away from the Mag Bass actions. They are great for power fishing worms, jigs, Carolina rigs, etc.. The spinning, spin jig, popping, blends, etc are great. Keep in mind nothing says you have to build a spinning blank into a spinning style rod. That is the great advantage to building your own. You have all these different actions that are not available in a factory built casting rod.

The SJ842 is one of the best spinner bait actions available. You will love it. It will work great for square bills also. Don't forget to leave that foregrip off so you can cup the real and leave your forefinger touching the blank. You will feel more strikes and never go back....

Back to your comments above, A CB841 would be a good option for square ills also. The difference is going to be action. These CB blanks are going to have more of a moderate action (spongy) the SJ blanks are going to have more of a backbone. Heck you're addicted now!!!! Build both LOL

I'm not sure where you're located at but if you're near Kansas City give me call.

Gabe
816-591-4948

This Bushido by American Tackle is a wonderful blank for what you are after: CB68/6-12 6'8" 1 MEDIUM MOD-FAST 6-12 1/4 - 5/8 4.5 .415 1.37 - (note the butt is only .415, weight 1.37 oz - can easily be made into a 3.6 oz rod)

The CCS nuimbers are almost identical to the lighter Loomis crankbait blank which is no longer available as a blank. It is just a little faster than the Loomis, and it feels a little more sensitive to me, although I have not had the same lines on the two rods recently. It has become my go-to rod for lipless cranks to 5/8 and the lighter cranks as you describe. I built mine with the Fuji K micro casting setup.

I strongly agree with the posts stating that the right action is "crankbait" action, not a fast action. They are more comfortable to cast than the faster actions, more forgiving in hooks sets and fighting the fish. I took a 40 in northern pike on mine this spring, so they have the capabilithy to handle heavy fish. This is one of the best examples of a "technique-specific" action where the right action simply works better than the others.

Forgot to mention, these blanks are surprisingly affordable, less than half the cost of my Loomis, and I bought the Loomis many years ago.

Thanks guys for all the different advice! It looks like I still have a lot of reading and all to do before making my mind up on the right blank for me. Haha Gabe you maybe right, I probably will end up just making both! Im actually in North Carolina, but I still may give you a call eventually if you dont mind if I do decide to go with one of those blanks. Thanks again everyone!

Hey guys one more question. I am leaning towards the SJ842. My question is should I get the normal one or the high modulus blank? My issue is if I get the blank in and do not like it for cranking then I want to make it into a shakey head rod. I read somewhere earlier on this forum people were saying to not use the high modulus blanks for moving techniques, but to save them for bottom contact baits.

If using for Crank baits, I would NOT use the high modulus blank.
The lower modulus blanks are "softer" and are more suitable for crank bait use.

Be safe

Awesome thanks!

I have used the SJ842 for cranks but after building a glass blank I will never turn back! I love the forgiving flex and feel of it. On may occasions I have been tossing cranks over weeds for bass and ended up with 32+ pike, rod handles them without issue. Loads well, sensitive enough for the job and forgiving when I get dead on run strikes from the big guys.