A buddy of mine wants a saltwater rod made. He currently uses a 7' Ugly Stik with moderate action and I think he said medium power. He uses this for pretty much everything offshore; grouper, snapper, kingfish and loves it. I wanted to make something similar and just had a couple questions. I found a Rainshadow blank that is pretty similar except med/heavy power that I am going to build on.

I don't do a whole lot of saltwater fishing so my experience is very limited... For offshore jigging do you guys prefer your rod to be perfectly balanced or top/bottom heavy?

Does anyone have a setup that you like for guide sizes/spacing? This is going to be a spinning rod.

Should I get double foot guides, or does it not matter?

To start, it's really hard to determine what "medium power" is. No standard exists, it's a subjective term and may be more or less from company to company. Without some means of quantifying it with numbers from a standardized system of measurement, you're going to have a tough time trying to match it with similar terms from another manufacturer's catalog. You might email the folks at Batson and ask, as they may have some experience with the Shakespeare rod and be able to point you to a close match in their own line.

Double foot guides are not necessarily called for - the line doesn't care, but the type of use and possible abuse a rod may see could well dictate the sturdier nature of double footed guides. I'm going to take a stab at this from what you've written, and say that you'll most want double foot guides for this project.

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I like k series double foots for jigging rods, and for jigging I prefer it to be bottom heavy or balanced if possible. But it's all an opinion, other people may like it different.

Grouper, snapper, kingfish.....sounds like my wheelhouse:) I suppose I should mention I hate the ugly stik rods though.

For a 20# class all purpose spinning rod, for those fish, I'd look at a RCLB70L blank. This is not a jigging blank. I'm not inclined to think that is how he is catching those fish. The blank I mentioned is a live bait blank but will do for trolling and bottom fishing. I would use a quality single foot guide like the byag alconites. Guide sizes would be based on the reel spool diameter. I would normally be fishing "tip down" but I'm more of a live bait guy.

I'll just ask this....if he loves his ugly stik.....considering what they cost.....why would you bother trying to beat what he loves at (at least) twice the price and less warranty?

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

He took me out fishing for a few days, I wanted to show my appreciation.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone

Hello Clint.

If he likes the Ugly Stik brand get him a Gator Blank (KC30-84), from MudHole, it's a 7' 30# IGFA Regulation. blank, tip: 18, butt: 1.012, as for power like Tom said "No standard exists" and you said nothing about line or lure weight.

Where is he fishing? East coast from FL to VA all have these fish but in different size ranges.

Spinning rod in the 30# class I would use all SF guides, I like the ATC Titan Titanium guides (NIA-?) for corrosion, but the A-Frame Ring Lock guides are good too just up to $ on what kind of ring the frames all do the same thing and to me there is not much difference between the rings when using any line but wire.

Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

The trend in tackle for kingfush these days leans towards lighter drags and softer tipped rods. They want the fish to run and tire itself out so they don't lose it at the gaff. On the other hand you want serious muscle for any reasonable sized grouper. Not sure I see one rod doing well at both unless the grouper are under ten pounds.

Clint, given you went fishing with him please elborate on the "jigging" technique he is using. These days with vertical/waxwing jigs the term can mean very different things.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Ok some more information:

Not sure on the line, I brought my own reels. I would guess 30-50# mono.

Jigging for him is usually frozen (insert baitfish here) on a bucktail jig of 1-2 oz

He usually fishes in 40-50 feet of water in the Gulf.

Grouper are normally in the 5-12 lb range? I really don't know on this. Reds and gags anywhere from legal up to ~32" was the biggest I've ever caught with him

Okay Clint, this is about what I thought he was doing. Standard rig is a 1-2 ounce jig rigged with the extra trailing hooks and a ballyhoo.

I have done 5 decades of this type of fishing. If I really wanted to say thank you, and maybe show him a quality rod puts more fish in the boat, I'd go with a st. croix/rodgeeks 2/3 series inshore blank, 7 foot in a MH or H rating. These blanks will be quite sensitive but a "little" on the fragile side. The RCLB I mentioned is a solid durable choice. A trued and true one is the CLB704/CLB706 blanks by Seeker (also a live bait blank).

Russ in Hollywood, FL.