spoonplugger1

Don't over think it, use the specs as noted above and you'll be surprised by the results. You'll never buy another factory junk guide system rod.

Mudhole is pretty decent, but in the scheme of things they are there to sell products, just how much less stress does their micro system negate? One of the things I've never understood is why the same person who tells you something needs to be different for a casting rod to protect a blank, doesn't also have similar needs for that same blank as a spinning rod, or a spiral wrapped rod? I've been using micro guides on spinning rods for maybe 40 years, they have been around since the Second World War time period. None of those rods have been overstressed by the older systems we have used over the years, nor by the factory guides spacing which is usually heavier, more prone to stress, and incorrectly laid out. When your talking guide systems, stresses, etc. stress tests to failure can teach you a lot, especially just how resilient our blanks/rods really are and how they all will only fail in the same place near the foregrip and nowhere else unless highsticked, or damaged in some way. Lastly, St. Croix, MHX, and NFC among others still make the shorter blanks. I bought up quite a few shorter blanks from other blank manufacturers when they were being discontinued because I still see a value in the shorter, lighter, more sensitive short rods also, about twice a year at least get requests for the short rods.

With all due respect, you are mistaken, stiffer tip I agree with, but that doesn't equate to faster, it equates to slower. Been in the business 45 years, have done many tests over those years and read lots of articles from many rod building publications and books on the subject, and spent many hundreds of hours talking to others rod builders, all agree with Mick D and myself.

There is no such thing as concentrated stress in a rod tip from guide spacing unless your out in excess of 6 inches, Sage fly rods have spacing that far out, not one has blown up. Rod tips under load start to and finish pointing right at the load. How can that produce concentrated stress. Until recently the average first guide from the tip would have been 4.5 to 5 inches away, second guide a half inch longer. You've never mentioned your spacing. Second thing if you shortened the tip on that rod, you now have a slower, light powered rod. you can't change a blanks power by cutting it anyway, or anywhere. The lower limit you can cast will change on your cut tip rod, but the upper limit will be the same and so will be the intrinsic power originally built into the blank.

From shore I'd look a bit further afield although United may have your blank. Go to Tackletour and check back a few years when they tested the St. Croix 5S76MLXF, I have one I love for your light reel application. It come in all the graphite except SCII I believe so sticker shock neddn't be so bad, even have a two piece version. Nice soft tip for crappie, etc. followed by good backbone for other species. The review was on 10/5/11, received an editor's choice award.

Seeker SBS706 S-glass blank, it has a long history of happy customers for all moving baits. Lots of info out there.

Take the picture of the Aero seat above and turn it upside down. The threads on the seat are the same as the Fuji seats, so if you want to hide the threads use one of the Fuji options like the HPS.

Magnesium reels don't do well in saltwater, or some other corrosive environments that won't effect you, or other reels with a little care.

JimmyJoe, Now that we have you totally confused hopefully I can give you sage advise on who to talk to about a build. He is both a dealer in all the components you need from three good companies, two you've mentioned, but also a builder. Like us he's getting long in the tooth, so he knows about that part of building too. Schneider"s Rod Shop, nice family business and a square shooter. Just remember to feed him as much info as you can about your needs. Your builder can never have to much info. Hope I've helped.

JimmyJoe, Problems like yours make rod building worthwhile, so let's see if we can come up with something. As Mick alluded to, power is probably your problem and not rod action, x fast rods were developed for plugs for 40 years now and they work well, the type blank I'm talking about has been incorporating in four rod types at G Loomis over the years. Hotshot steelhead/salmon, mag bass, walleye, and the Green water saltwater series. Same blanks with different grips/reel seat and guide layout depending on the application. A three pc. version in spinning has been my go to rod for 15+ years. It has caught native rainbows to over 30 inches, coho salmon and steelhead to 20 lbs., one Chinook salmon to 28 lbs., and one day 3 little football 13 to 15 lb springer Chinook while shad fishing with a #1 Dick Nite spoon that is so small it carries a #8 little siwash single hook. It's caught some smallies also, but no LMB. In salt it has caught bonefish, flounder, sea trout, and red drum. The rod is the G Loomis HSR9000-3S. Mag Light power, 6 - 12 lb. line, 1/4 - 1/2 oz. lure weight. As you can see just reading the specs really doesn't tell the story, this plug rod is using plugs less than 5% of the time.

I'd save an ounce and use a SB843-3CG. Get with Batson, they won"t steer you wrong.

Another option is to buy a grip with a larger hole than your blank's OD and just turn the old grip down to a cylinder the same size as the new grips hole. Glue up, slide on the new grip, install a new butt cap and your in business. Get Bit and others have inexpensive grips like I mentioned.

The material comes in different diameters for freshwater and saltwater grips. Salt grips being about a quarter inch or so larger. Measure across the hump. Use wood putty, etc to smooth out the bad areas than apply over, the good stuff will decrease in diameter by at least half, but length stays the same.

Am I missing something? I thought the sleeves went on the reel grips.

My all-time favorite is the Fuji DNPS 20, large enough in OD to be comfortable all day, long enough that I need no transition material, and down locking I have a smooth surface for my hand, just plug the ends and go. If I'm using a full grip, I use the old Lew's reverse taper pattern.

I buy th 17 mm Aero reel seat because it's more comfortable and all standard 1 inch + grip materials you'd use on a casting rod also fit inside.

No, there is no such thing as power and action when comparing blanks from different companies. They are subjective measurements at best, and most relevant within the same company's blank design. Go from MB to some other design and all bets are off. Lastly, I think there are regional influences too. Blanks from the west's cleaner, deeper reservoirs are a bit different from blanks designed in other regions.

St. Croix has a simlar length blank to the Rainshadow. They also had a 5 ft. 9 in. blank to if I remember right, though I don't think I've handled one, back in the 80's some liked walleye jigging rods down to 5 1/2 ft.

I got the impression from your first post that you were only going custom because you couldn't find what you need, so I mentioned something available. Rarely is a custom cheaper than the factory rod of similar materials, not from the quality builders I've been associated with all these years. Delaware makes an excellent point, I've heard good things about the shooter blanks, I've only used one and it was a heavier powered blank than you need, so I can't help you there.

That wouldn't stop me from fishing one of those fine rods, if you haven't fished one you don't know what your missing. The CR721 IMX should be a phenominal skipping rod as it's like powered spin jig rod sure is.

The G Loomis CR series rods have been around for dang near half a century and still are. 6 ft., and sweet casting rods in all the weight classes.

You guys need to get out more, the blanks he needs have been out for decades, G Loomis, GUSA now United Composites, and Lamiglas have all made blanks for this long before anyone heard of Rainshadow. They are a great company, just not one of the industry innovators. Sadly only United Composites still makes those blanks available, look at the UC66LXF and UC70LXF blanks, rated 1/32 the 5/16 oz. lures, 2 to 10 lb. line, and they are easily the most durable graphite blanks, especially with an extra fast action. I've fished the UC66LXF for over 20 years for panfish, SM and LM bass, trout to over 24 inches and a 9 1/2 lb. steelhead as a bi-catch fishing for trout. Just spent some time over at the North Fork Composites site and see they are making my favorite G Loomis pattern in a blank again, the SB5100-1 is a redo of the old SJ700 IM6. It was also Stan Fagerstrom's favorite rod. He was an angler, author, hall of famer, and trick caster. They built the factory rods on GL3 material till they changed their rod designs. It was a popular rod blank to extend into the 6 1/2 ft. range with rod builders for many years.

Great build.

The blank's have been well received for over a decade and have been used to win tournaments.

Are you talking a cork grip? Not a chance, I"D have to find some x lrg square cork that probably doesn't exist due to the offset, than prototype till I got it right. I could set you up with a tube grip, but I"m booked till mid-April at least. Your builder can do the graphite grip. Making a EVA grip from block material would be a hairball still, but at least the lesser evil.