Hi there,
I'm looking to build myself a rod for casting walleye jigs. Most often 1/8oz jigs with a 3 or 4 inch twister tail grub body. Sometines a similar body and jig heads of 1/16 and sometimes 1/4. 1/8 will be the bread and butter though.

I'm torn between the two rods listed in the subject line. I have been leaning towards the ml Croix but have wanted to try a Rainshadow blank too. I can get the Rainshadow Immortal blank for about 20 dollars less but that isn't a major consideration for this build.

I'm used to using mono on 6'6" ml fast rods for jigging, and am looking forward to giving an xf a try. Have not decided if i will primarily run braid or mono on the new rod.

Would look forward to any suggestions you have to offer.

Thank you,
Tucker

I personally would prefer the Rain Shadow over the Avid.

Thanks Roger, I was hoping you might be one to reply as I know that you understand your walleye rods!

What reasons make you fvor the Rainshadow blank? I see the Rainshadow and Croix have the same listed weight. My only concern is that the Rainshadow at Medium power might be too heavy to do well with the 1/16 to 1/8 oz jigs I use, and maybe too much power if I decide to run braid also?

If it worked out, a handy side benefit to this rod could be casting 1/16 oz crappie jigs and/or bobbers too, but not the primary concern.

I figure the Avid is a pretty well known blank and would work well, but maybe the Rainshadow is a better buy?

Thanks,

Tucker

I would also pick the Immortal. No problems with Avid, have made a couple for grandkids, nice rods, but I think the Immortal is a higher grade blank, I love the TiChrome finish. I've made and used an Immortal walleye blank, and since it is very similar to the old RX 8's with which I have a lot of experience, I have a lot of confidence in it. I'm talking generalities of the two, not specifics for your particular application.

Tucker,

IMHO the Rainshadow Immortal is an outstanding blank for your application. I have built D/S rod on NFC, St. Croix, Mudhole and Phoenix blanks and all of my customers rave about the Rainshadow Immortal IMMS610MXF. Plus Batson has recently reduce the sale price of the Immortal Series of blanks. Give Carol a call at Upmosts, they're great people!

Don Campbell
don@sensorfishingrods.com

Tucker,
You are right about the Immortal 68mxf rod being too heavy for 1/16th -1/8th oz jigs.

I build a lot of walleye rods and do not build on this blank for the clients who are using this weight jigs.

Rather, I go with the 7'2" ml blank for the rod and that blank is perfect for the use.

I also typically build these rods at a 6'8" length and just trim off the extra 6 inches of length - all from the butt of the blank and the rod ends up being perfect.

I have built many rods trimmed to 6'8" from this blank and all of the clients have been extremely happy with the rods.

The avid blank is fine - but the Immortal just builds up into a rod that works better for your application.

p.s.
If I were vertically jigging with jigs that are 1/4-1/2 oz jigs, I would certainly go with the Eternity Mxf blank. Again, the right blank for the right job.


Take care

Thank you so far for the good replies. I thought about the 7'2" ml Immortal blank too, but would trimming 4 to 6 inches from the butt turn it into a mod/fast action? I was hoping to build on an xf blank to see what that's all about so don't want to get too slow. In comparison, my main jigging rods are an old St. Croix Premier 66mlf and an older Bass Pro Shops Bionic Blade 6'6" mlf. I'm sure any of the above will be quite an improvement over them, but as mentioned I did want to try an xf rod, or at least a very quick one.

Thanks again for the help.

First, I think the rod you are looking at is too heavy. I have St Croix 6'3"mlxf and mxf and I have the 6'9" mlxf. I would be going wth the 6'9" mlxf. This blank (rod) might be the best blank they ever built. I use that rod for casting 1/4oz. jigs and small cranks for walleyes and smallmouth. There is a big difference from1/8oz-1/4oz jigs. I use two different rods for these two jigs. But, if I had to go with one, it would be the 6'9"mlxf. For 1/8 I have used 7'0"lf rods. As far as which manufacture, I have always used St. Croix. I started with Avids and have moved up to the Elites, Extremes and Legends. I build strictly for performance on the water and when it comes to rod choice for walleye guys, hands down St. Croix.

See you on the water, Doug
Captain Paddlefoot

First let me say that I'm not familiar with either of the blanks you're considering. I'm just offering general thoughts on your question about trimming the 7'2" Immortal blank down to 6'8" or 6'9".

Second, let me say that I've only trimmed two blanks to build rods. Both having trimmed 6" off the butt of the blank to build the length rod I wanted. Is trimming the butt going to slow the action of the rod. Yes, but it's been my experience that it has no effect on how the rod casts. With the weights you're planning on throwing you're not going to be getting into the butt of the rod, so IMO other than a longer rod casting further, you won't see any difference in how the rod casts those baits. The difference you're going to see is in hook setting power, and when the rod is under the load of a fish.

As your going to be using exposed hook jigs, setting the hook probably isn't going to present any major problems. The one scenario I could see presenting a problem is making long casts with light 6 or 8# mono filament line. Long casts and stretchy line coupled with a shorter and lighter powered rod, could make getting a good hook set difficult. Going to braid will help that, but the shorter length rod will still hinder you when trying to set the hook at the end of a long cast.

Anyway ...... that's how I see it.

Oh, and if you do decide on the Immortal blank I have no doubts you will absolutely love the rod you build on it. I've built on two Immortal blanks thus far (with plans to build on more) and they are awesome blanks.

I've Built three immortals over the winter, 6'2" light, the 6'8" medium, and the 7'2" med light. I cut the 7'2" down to 7'.

I find myself grabbing the 7'2" the most out of the 3. The 6'8" is a bit stiff, but works well for heavier jigs fishing rivers early spring. The 6'2" is too light for my preference. Really like the 7'2" the best. I've caught a lot of fish already with it. And I like the feel better than the 6'8".

I did airwave on the light, microwave on the medium, and Fuji concept on the med light. I prefer the Fuji myself.

I did build a rod off of the 6'2" light revelation blank, and like it better than the immortal. Just a bit stiffer.

I fish the Mississippi and Wisconsin rivers in spring.

Great info Matthew, thank you. I will actually end up buildimg on both the Immortal 68 medium blank and the 69 ml Avid. My uncle asked to to build a rod for him and uses a lot of 1/4 to 3/8 jig heads with plastic bodies so we decided the medium may work best for him.

The 72 ml is still on my radar for a future build. How would you rate the speed of the 72ml vs the 68m?

Tucker