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Reeds Sporting Goods has the St Croix Premier Glass Crankbait Rod PGC66MM onsale for 67.50 each, 2 for 108 or 3 for 135. These are 2005 years rods. But still great rods for cranks. I got no clue where to find them at for 80 all the time though. Everything I have seen they were 95-110.

I would get a Falcon Original or St Croix Premier (around $80 +/-) put the extra $20 towards the reel and go with a Shimano Stradic 2500.

RM what makes the PT series that much different than the other versions? Just wondering because I have a Accurist PT and a AC500, I never had a problem with the Accurist PT but I sure cant say the same about the AC500. The AC500 pretty much ruined me for Quantums, but the Accurist PT has been a stable workhorse without a lick of trouble in 2 years.

Thats great news Alpster. I have never built on or fished a Loomis rod before, but after reading this, they might have earned a new customer.

IMO, I wouldnt shell out the cash for the Avid for a crankbait rod. to me sensitivity is not all that important in a cranking stick. I would look for something in a medium power moderate action premier if it were my money. ~River Warrior

I have one of each and I like them both very much. If I had to pick between one, I would go with the TDA 153 HST. Its one of my favorite reels and it hasnt let me down in the 2 years I have owned it. My Accurist PT has never failed me either, but I have all kinds of trouble with 2 AC500's that have pretty much made me stay away from Quantums from now on.

When it comes to crank baits I think the action of the bait has more to do with a strike than the color. I prefer square billed cranks myself. As for jerk baits, I think the color matters as well as the presentation. I like LC 100's in American Shad, Chartreuse Shad, Ghost Minnow, and Nikishi (clown).

Very good article RW, I enjoyed reading it again. There is definatly a lot of good info in there, for people just getting started in smallie fishing.

I like Punisher Hair Jigs (blk/blue, white, & Brown/orange) in 1/8 and 1/4 oz.

I use 20/6 and 30/8 Hi Vis braid for everything.

Good luck finding them, if you happen to run across someone who still has them and they got a PSB662 please let me know. Tommy

Congrats on the new purchase. Still hope that Loomis will help you somewhat on a new blank. -Tommy

Thats what I do too.

Yeah Andy quit selling to the public he is just a distributer now. I know fishsticks4u is going to be selling all his stuff, not sure when they are going to have everything though. Here is a LINK to him explaining whats going on. I have also had good luck with a Grade 8 bolt, and have also used drill rod. You can find drill at lowes/home depot, you just have to make sure you look through all of them to find one straight.

Thanks Doug, I have 3 TDZ 100HSD's and I love them to death, probably my favorite casting reels. How is the size on the Type F? I have heard there kind of small and I have rather big hands. I have TD 153HST and its about as small as I want to go size. Do you know how the size of the Type F's compare to the TD 153HSD? Thanks, Tommy

Thanks alot Raul I really appreciate the explanation. I take it besides the finish and the handle the Shimano seems like the way to go? But man its hard for a diehard Daiwa guy to go with a Shimano ;D

Thanks, thats where I am looking at them at, and I just cant make my mind up. I have always been a Daiwa fan but I still cant make my mind. Told the wife I should just buy one of each, and by the look I got from her, I dont think that would be a good idea ;D ;D

Wow Alpster thats a real pickle you got there. I cant add anything to whats already been said, but please keep us posted on the outcome of the call with Loomis. I have never used one of there blanks to build on but if they take good care of you on this mishap I might very well be inclined to build a few on there blanks. Tommy

What do you think would be better for a light lure setup, not super light but around 1/8 - 1/4 oz. I am thinking of going with either a Daiwa 103 Type F or a Shimano 1000 50mg or maybe just a regular Shimano Scorpion (red one) thanks

Cant add anything to the links given above as that pretty much covers them all. I try to deal with Andy Dear at Lamar and Robert Tignor at Fishsticks4u as much as possible. Those 2 guys are top notch people who will not do you wrong. As for starting with cheaper stuff my philosophy is a little different than most. With the wealth of knowledge and information available today via the internet it makes starting out much easier. Sure your first couple might not be perfect in terms of fit & finish, but it will still fish well and work the same as if it did. If you do go with a blank from lower in a company's lineup, it won't be long before you are building the rod you really wanted. I understand that others will tend to disagree, but I still say build what you want right from the start!

Seems like you got a good winter set of projects lined up. Flechero that stinks your having to wait that long. Did you go with a custom color? I have been thinking about ordering one through Lamar Fishing, but man I dont want to wait that long on a blank.

I have recently started using the Batson UD guides in 12, 10, 8 then an 8 for the bumper guide, then I finish out the rod with there 6 FL single foot guides. So far I am very impressed with there guides, they are little bit heavier than the average guides but if you go with the FL series to finish out the blank, i think it kind of trades off the weight to the tip. All these guides come in many ring colors.

Very nice "eyes"!!!

Thanks bud. I was actually thinking maybe it was to much stretch not the lack there of, that I like in a line. Not a big fan of stretchy lines, as I build my own rods, and build my rods to give what I want not the line. I use to use nothing but braid, but about 2 years ago, gave up on it when I went to mainly fishing shallow rivers for small mouth. Only thing I still use braid for is jerk baits and thats only because in the waters I fish are known for "toothy critters" and I hate watching 15+ dollar jerks swim away ;D I am thinking of putting #6 & #8 PLine CX Premium on my spinning rods that I use for tubes/finesse fishing and then going with #12 to #17 PLine Evolution on all the baitcasters for other applications. Might even give the PLine CXX a go on a crank rod and see how I like it. What pound test would you reccomend for CXX on a cranking stick? I am thinking probably 12-14.

Awesome work!!!! I too am interested on the details of the blank.