spoonplugger1

8 - 10 years ago Hunter McKamey, one of the guys on the Mudhole rod building videos and a tournament angler, built a 6 ft. medium power smallmouth spinning rod using the specs from custom spinning rod expert Pat Vinzant. He already had a standard built version to compare it to. He built it with a first guide from the reel being a high framed 10 mm, followed by an 8 mm "V" frame. followed by a 6mm fly, than 3 mm to the micro tip. Reel used was a Shimano 2500. Using light braid with an 8 lb. Fluorocarbon top shot long enough to need to be spooled on the reel he easily out cast the standard build sporting 8 lb. mono, or braid and it matched the casting distance using the same reel and mono. Not really something new, my 30 + yr. old 12 ft. 3 piece, European match rod rated for 2 to 8 lb. line has a starting guide of 10 mm, going down the 4mm at the tip, it casts offerings into next week. It wasn't new tech when that rod was built. It has a Shimano 2000 with 8 lb. mono on it and I've used it to cast hardware to trout on 4 lb. like 1/6 oz Acme Kastmasters when I have a big flat in front of me to cast past, and as my first steelhead float rod, before there was such a thing. I have the specs and distance from reel of Hunter's build if you're interested.

MHX 752XF-MHX, Angler's Workshop close by has them.

What kind of grip is on the back? I custom build, rarely look at the store stuff, it's not cutting edge, doing stuff that was well established with custom builders 10 years ago. Your grip can be fixed.

Brad, you're right in your perceptions, wrong if you take the time to actually measure the load the shortened blank will carry. Loss of graphite and butt diameter can have dramatic effects, a rod blank using the same amount of graphite, but double in diameter, will be 9 time stiffer.

I think Mick was trying to say, shorten any rod and it's action slows. Shorten from the tip, stiffer tip, slower tip, power stays the same. Shorten from the butt, slower rod, same tip, less power. If it was me, I'd take the rod and reel I don't like to the store. First thing, find that softer rod, second thing, put the reel on both rods and compare weight and ballance. Rods are regional, western rods by and large have softer tips, a MH is usually a bit less powerful than an east of the Rockies rod. We have the "G Loomis influence", deeper, cleaner waters as a whole.

S has a point, if the guide wrap under the finish are loose and the blank is moving underneath then they make noise, if the guides are put on with sharp tips, or burred edges, or both they can cut through the blank, or at the very least scratch the crap out of it under the wraps sometimes you'll hear it.

Put masking tape on the inside of the guide and talcum powder the frame than cast it, any removal of the powder is line hitting the guide frame, SiC guide rings are great transmitters of heat and noise.

Andy Dear, the fellow that developed Threadmaster has developed a new finish, reportedly near impossible to keep an air bubble in, Gen 4 I believe is the name, out real soon.

Just get an inexpensive portable heater, 1500 watts, or so to augment your home heat, you can tent your rod with a sheet, or something non fuzzy and keep it even warmer.

Statics can be measured and are repeatable, what a particular manufacturer calls MH, a certain line weight, or lure weight is all subjective, there is no industry standard. That's why the Common Cents System is so importanr, not because it gives you a dyed in the wool value you can set all things to, it gives you a repeatable comparision value so you can produce the same thing over and over again, or at least know why it isn"t. Just like if you need to cut two boards identical by using a yardstick, tape measure whatever. To get the best result you use the same measuring device, you don't measure the work at the site than use a different measuring device to cut it, compared devices side by side lately?

Not taking in the rest of the equation is a waste of time and money. Water temp. the fish's lateral line, etc. is just as important as color, easier to evaluate and control, and don't cost nothing.

Weight won't slow the action, it will slow the REACTION,not the same thing, not even close. Additional weight deadens the sensitivity big time. X Fast action can be built from any material, reaction time will not be the same, weight won't be the same, it won't fish the same, but the way the rod bends will always be the same.

Don't cut the tip on any rod unless your absolutely sure of the results, 99% of the time you'll ruin a rod. There is a way to find out if you can cut a tip and how much, but most don't want to be bothered learning and doing it.

St. Croix AVC66MHM is about as close as I can think of. 3C66MHM is the blank, Rod Geeks may not make either the 6' 6", or 7' blanks.

I second that, unless prices have changed, the Get Bit Liberty blanks are also a good choice.

Until you get the hang of it and collect some supplies, in fact, after all these years I still do it occasionally, have the shop you are getting the blank from size a rod tip top and reel seats for the length grip you want. If you are shipping your blank, the rést will ride for free.

I turn the rod around where the guide are facing away from me, and than use the rod blank as the alignment tool, ensuring the guide frame is sticking out equally on both sides of the blank. Finally I give it the eyeball, guides up. I spiral wrap virtually all my rods, it gives the straightest line path, myself and others years built some rods with a 540 degree spiral, 1 1/2 turns around the blank, there was no real difference in rod performance.

The guides after the one on the reel are not as important as you think, you can probably stack 50 lengths of the line you using in the first guide on the rod after the reel, just how much ròom does the line need? Especially after running though the itty bitty one on the reel. It's not a rifle, you'll never know the difference. If you change nothing on the guides, but their position, it's easy with little cleanup, the new finish will hide the old. Cụt the thread off the top of the guide foot, no need to get close to the blank with the sharp stuff.

Don't used MHX blanks much, being a westcoaster and near the rod blanks meccas of Woodland and Sequim, WA, I stay close to home. Noticed MHX makes a 6' 3" XF jerkbait bank, the MB753XF-MHX.

Extend the shooter blanks 3 inches if you want, easy to do. G Loomis had a 6 ft casting rod series for decades, until recently when discontinued, they were well received jerkbait rods. The CR series of rods.

You've hit the nail on the head of a discussion we used to always have till the mid 90's. "what type boat are you fishing from and what is your normal presentation stroke?" Many a customer stood on a chair, or stood on the floor to simulate how far they were off the water while fishing. The first from an elevated casting deck, the latter from the floor of a john boat, or in your case your kayak while standing. A lot more 6 ft. rods were sold back in those days with shorter handles that didn't impede the angler's wrist in the presentation, because the majority didn't have a big bass boat. The tip has to be close to the water, but not in it to get the most natural presentation from the average angler and since it's a tip down presentation, balance isn't an issue and shorter rods aren't the problem the longer rods are anyway. The shorter handles also put near the same amount of rod in front of your hand on a 6 ft. rod over the long gripped 6 1/2 footer. Have you looked at blanks similar to the Shooter series of MHX blanks? If your worried about durability because of your restricted mobility in the Kayak's deck the DHX, dual helix wrapped, blanks from United Composites are certainly a more durable all graphite blank with little sacrifice in blank weight. Though the poster above got a little carried away with blank suggestions. All things being equal, the XF rod will have a softer tip than a F action rod and will be damaged far faster in a high rod tip situation found in kayak angling.

Rarely do I see someone selecting their next rod have the reel they are going to use in their pocket to really get the rod's feel in use. They also disregard the intent of the rod and test all rods the same way, not thinking about such things as whether it's going to be used in a tip up, or tip down presentation. Lastly they disregard build construction, lighter tipped rods due to component selection are as cheap to build and they don't need or will use less rear weight to get the feel you want.

I'm of a completely different opinion. IMO a rod built that your not happy with just for practice, is money poured down a rat hole. This is not rocket science, a bit of extra time concerning yourself with each step and fit and finish goes a long way in getting a rod you want to use. If the finish isn't perfect it can be redone at a later time if needed, go out and enjoy your first build using quality components. My first rod was on a Loomis IMX blank, built on an ice breaker heading for Antarctica, I still use it today because it's always been what I needed, even 30+ years later. Need to practice? Get a wood dowel or old garage find rod.

Scneider Rods has an IP963 2 piece blank in the Hot Specials section for $60 bucks. Buy the rest there and your shipping will be cheaper and it will all go in the same tube.

If he was mistakenly in mm than he needs a 4/64 tip.