Hey all, I'm in need of finding a blank to match the Duckett Fishing Ghost crankbait rod. DFGG-CC 7 The rod has a dbi of 16.5/70. My measurements are actually 180 (cents)/ 70% Any suggestions? This should be a graphite blank of some kind. I'd appreciate any guidance on this. Thanks Joe
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This thread has been extremely helpful to me. Relieved some of my questions about ERN. So thanks to all.
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Seth, I've been fishing the MHX FS904 for a couple years and I love it. It can handle exactly what you've described and is a great blank. Don't let the "Flipping Stick" designation throw you. It would be perfect for what your describing. It's sweet spot is the 1/2 oz total weight lures. Joe
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I'm using a 7'6" MHX sj9000. It's a light power but can cast a mile. The hook sets are great because of the extra length and the light wire hooks used. It's interesting, but the bubblegum colored TRD is killing it for smallmouth right now.
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One of the best cranking blanks I have built lately is the Rodgeeks Fiberglass Series - SG70MHM, $60 and has an unbelievable feel for a glass blank. If he throws DT 6's DT 10's and Squarebills of all flavors, this is absolutely a home run. On the 2 I've built I had them 2tone paint them and then had them paint the reel seat to match. Looks incredibly sharp.
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Thanks for the reply's. I appreciate the well thought out responses. I really just thought I'd try to shake a little more information out of the experience of the builders here. As I mentioned, I'm in no way an expert on everything with rodbuilding. As a side note I stepped on a rod this weekend and broke a dbl footed minima guide, one of the first builds that I did 6 years ago. Nearly b
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Well the whole point of asking questions is to see what's information is out there. I certainly am not in a position to be hard headed when it comes to fishing and especially rod building. This board, in particular, has been EXTREMELY helpful to me in understanding many of the nuances of rod building. For example, I just fixed a Quantum Smoke rod. The customer specifically asked for cera
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Mathew, Funny thing is, I am constantly repairing rods for people and the problem, almost always, is the ceramic guides. Mind you, these aren't the rods I've built, just production rods of all flavors. Maybe muskie guys aren't as rough on their equipment, but I doubt that too. Again, I'm trying to figure out why ceramics are so highly touted. If grooving is really the only issue, I
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I've come to a point in building rods that I realize that more expensive does NOT necessarily mean better or even higher quality. So many of the labels that are used to describe rod parts and blanks are completely subjective. (This has been covered ad nauseam... ) However, I'm really confused by so many people being completely sold on ceramic guides vs. hard chrome. This is one quest
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One last suggestion that I have used with GREAT success: Use the Duralite Microwave guides but just the first three. Then for the runners use the (KF4KG) minimas the rest of the way to the tip top. The TiCH frame with TiCH ring are a close match. That combination has been phenomenal for me and my clients. Plus i'd use the KP4KT - TICH FRAME W/TiCH RING as the tip top. You will never loose a
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The only guides I'd throw into this discussion are the pac bay minima 4s. I use a dbl 8 then single 5 and 4s the rest of the way and I pass the FG knot cleanly on my frog rod (50lb braid and 15-20lb leader) In my opinion, if you use ceramic guides one of them will loose the ring. It just happens, but i've only had to replace 1 minima in 3 years of building with them on 30+ rods. (I stepped on
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There's 2 that come to mind: The RX8TC 822.5 was an awesome blank for finesse, I''ve had my best overall experience with that blank. The most underated/not mentioned blank for me is a crb IS701L . The darn thing is a $20 blank and it's great for dropshotting and working finesse applications.
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I've been researching different densities of eva and I'm curious as to what the density rating is for the Mudhole products, specifically the blocks? Billy sells a similar product and I'm curious about that as well. Both seem like quality products, but I'm specifically looking for dense eva. Similar in density to a phenix m-1 grip. Again, I'm not looking for preformed grips, just the
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Just thought I'd share a couple groundbreaking tips for rodbuilding that I stumbled across last month. 1. When eating sunflower seeds, the best and most functional way to get rid of the shells while building rods is by using a shopvac. If you hold the vac next to, but not touching, your mouth the shells are magically whisked away. No mess, no spittoon. 2. In order to keep the markings
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The process for me is similar, here's my process: 1. layout and dryfit all components of the handle. Winding checks included, I dry fit everything so that once I start the epoxy work I can tell exactly what will need to be modified to end up with tight presentation. 2. I will take whatever insert i'm using and epoxy the arbors to the inside of it first. 3. The insert gets epoxied
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I think that the best blank by far for this technique, built casting or spinning, would be the Rodgeeks C473MHXS. It's got enough power in the butt end to handle whatever you need but the bend is definitely more parabolic. I use mine for 1/4 oz jigs and splitshotting. It has handled light line like a champ. Joe
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Jay, I built the BB1 with a split grip and micros (pac bay minima 4s-4) I have loved it. After 2 years of fishing it a ton, I stepped on the darn thing and broke it. It held up to some pretty significant use. I mainly pitch my local lake with 1/2oz jigs and t-rigs using 17-20lb floro. Worked great. It's a fast action and pretty stout. I don't have experience with the Northfork bl
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C4711HMF 7'11" H MF I don't know about the bass recon2 blanks, but I've built a rodgeeks carbon 4 7'11" blank and it's awesome. Very light and responsive and still has some give (slower action than a fast rating), GREAT flippin blank. Here's the specs: C4711HMF 7'11" Heavy, Medium Fast, 14 - 30 lb,1/2 - 2, 6.5 tip, 0.564" butt diameter, 3.30
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Rick: How does an independent rod builder purchase these guides and reel seats? Is there a distributor among the sponsors? Joe
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These are the kind of ideas I was after, thank you very much. I've got 20 or so blanks in my shop right now along with various repair jobs and as I've reorganized my shop I realized I need a efficient blank/rod rack. I believe having a display rack along with a "working" rack will solve my organization needs. I've got plenty of head space so the 4 inch pvc is a great idea.
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I'm sure this has been covered, but what are a lot of you guys using for your rod and blank racks? I'm designing one for my shop and I'd love to see and hear about some of your options.
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The Minimas are some of the best guides made, i've put them on every high end rod I've made. Both spinning and casting and they flat out get the job done. In fact I put the highest end guides available on the GLX from another company and ended up rewrapping it and putting the Minimas on because the others failed. GREAT GUIDES. I use the Tich framed Minimas 4s quite a bit, but only for
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RF Legacy Elite Blank RF 765 I have two of these rods set up for Rattle traps and large crankbaits. They work awesome. They're s glass and so they have a good bend, but they are stout enough to handle just about anything. For example: My Bro-in-law and I were fishing for smallmouth on a lake with Tiger Musky in it. He had a big musky swipe at a rattle bait and ended up tail hooked. The r
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I agree with the Pac bay minima 4 guides comment. I have not found a better performing guide for my running guides. 0 fails in 3-4 years of hard tournament fishing with 10-15 different rods. I've had almost every other guide I've tried fail. I use the Microwave guides for all my spinning set ups. Just the first 2 guides are the American Tackle and the rest are pac bay minima 4s. Phenomena
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This is just my opinion, but especially on a flipping stick the first guide needs to be high. Like at least a size 10 dbl foot guide. Personnaly I like the ZDH kigan guide in the 5.5. I then run the ZDH 5 and then pac bay minima 4 Tich size 5 all the way to the tip. The tip top is definetly a place where the size 6 ring is essential. I like the MODEL CP4CT. T'his will pass any knots you
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I would use the pac bay minima 4 tich frame. They have the sizes that will pass all your knots and will be the most durable. I probably sound like a rep, but I'm not, just my experience... Joe
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I do use the size 6 because the smaller tip tops don't allow heavier line (17-25lb mono or floro) to bend as freely as the 6 during a cast. Plus during a retrieve the bend in the line is such that it makes it feel rough. I've had both the micro top (size 4) and size 6 on the same rod and noticed a substantial difference on the feel of the cast. I know the "feel" isn't quantifiable b
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Cameron: As a tournament angler, I can personally attest to the the fact that micro guides have great benefits. Through my own trials (and errors) I have found that using the Kigan ZDH 5.5 then 5 and then pac bay minima 4's in tich to the top is the best perfoming and must durable guide train i've been able to use. I use the pac bay tip tops CP4CT and have not had a single tip top fail.
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Scott, I've built 7 rods on the carbon 2 and 4 and they are great blanks. I've built 2 drop shot rods on the C4610MXF for clients. Both rave about the sensitivity. I built a flipping stick on the C276HMF for a client and he loves it. He's used it everywhere from Lake Powell to Clear Lake and done extremely well with it. My personal favorite is the C473MHXS that I use for throwing fin
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Jim: There is a huge group of guys that do a lot of jigging for Macs out here. Is he going to be jigging for the Macs or trolling? If he is jigging, they/we use big tube jigs (8 inchers) that are weighted pretty heavy. It's almost like deep sea bottom fishing. I'm guessing he's going to need a 6ft medium heavy to Heavy rod. I use a 6ft Md heavy St. Croix sc111 blank that I cut down.
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