sarcazmo

A friend asked me to build a rod for his son. I placed all the guides, wrapped them, and applied the first thin coat of epoxy. Looked good, but there were a couple low spots so I used syringes to measure out some more, thoroughly mixed for six minutes, and applied the second thin coat. Initial application looked good. I left it overnight and came back in the morning. Imagine my dismay when the second coat was totally out of whack. It didn't look like it levelled itself at all! High and low spots all over the place! I'm using pro kote and used the same technique for both coats. It all came out of the same bottles. I apologize for the poor quality pic, it was difficult getting a good one. Those little guys that appear like bubbles are actually separate high spots of epoxy. Any ideas what caused it? How can I fix this? Do you think I could sand it down and re apply another coat? Unfortunately I'm going out of town this weekend so time is of the essence.

Nice thread work!

Before you start worrying about blanks to practice on establish a budget. Once you know how much you want to spend you'd be surprised at how much nice stuff you can grab.

Hard to beat the E series shimano line of reels... Love me some Curado/Chronarch/Scorpion action.

Haven't built one but have fished a couple now. Super nice blanks, very sensitive. I feel like they're a little under powered for their rating. There are quite a few reports of breakage issues, although my time with the rods they felt fine enough. They're priced at the higher end of the market for sure. I won't buy one for myself unless there's a 20% off sale. Super nice blanks, but I think you can build on super nice blanks and save quite a bit of money.

Blade baits or a jigging rap. Seriously, jigging raps are amazing. Normally considered for ice fishing, they work really well for bass.

I have a badger patriot. Its typically far less expensive than the Iwatas and generally very well regarded.

I've built the Immortal 72ml and Have an eternity waiting for me :-)

Looks top notch as usual! Really like the way those MHX blanks look. Enjoy it!

Can't wait to see the pics!

Handled them in store. Seems like a great value @ that price point.

I'm hoping someone finds an RX8+ 822.5 in a back room they'll sell me. Heard nothing but amazing things about that blank and the RX8/+ in general.

Fair disclaimer, I have yet to build on the Gen 2 hi mods. I like the direction they are headed though, reduced diameter, lighter weight etc. That seems to be the direction most rods are headed. Honestly I just feel like it does everything better. It communicates to me whats on the bottom better, its easier to distinguish transitions from hard to soft or vice versa, grass, grass edges, etc. I never really wonder what my jigs doing on the bottom, I'm always 'connected' if that makes any sense. Even on those 'mush' bites, I can feel that something is different and react. The MHX hi mods are nice, and I don't think you'll miss many, if any, fish with them, but after using both I feel like it does everything a little better. Its kind of like you read all these mythical things about NRX rods and whatnot, it's as if they're a unicorn. Well this particular blank is my 'unicorn' if you will. The more I use it the more I really love it. I'll be buying another 72M so I can have a dedicated T-RIG and Jig rod. I really feel like it excels from about 3/16 to 3/8 with trailers. I will say I prefer the raw finished look of the MHX blanks. The blue Eternity looks great too, its just a preference thing. Please excuse the tape at the bottom, I have been experimenting with several different 'butt' styles trying to find the one I prefer the most.

If you can handle it make sure you do so. I bought a Dobyns DX 744 and 745 based on all the amazing reviews on the web. I was stupid and bought them without every handling them. I was VERY underwhelmed with them and they are no longer in my possession. That said, with the trade in going on @ the hook up, you could probably get one for a great deal, and if you don't like it they certainly aren't hard to move.

In the hundred dollar range MHX HM, Rainshadow Immortal are great choices. I REALLY like my immortal rod, but I have the 72ML and use it for finesse applications. If you can save up a bit of money or wait for a sale, I would HIGHLY recommend the Rainshadow Eternity2 72M or 72MH. I built up a 72M and was throwing 3/8oz jigs w/ trailers the other day and the rod is just fantastic. Absolutely fantastic for bottom contact applications. I actually have the 72MH blank at home. There was a recent thread about spiral wrapping so I emailed Rainshadow and they provided me a recipe to spiral wrap the rod. Just waiting for a couple odds and ends to arrive before I build it.

The beauty behind pouring your own baits is no ones are the same! Ive never poured a bait with salt, just because I prefer my plastics to float. That being said I do need to get better @ Fishing with senkos, I have some of the sinking additive and I may go down that route when I decide to pour them.

Hey Jeff I found this scale that helps reference guides and their 'hardness.' I've seen some variance in the numbers below, +/- 100 or so, but these seem to be in the ball park. VICKER'S HARDNESS SCALE: Stainless Steel (SS): 200 Chrome: 800-1000 Aluminum Oxide: 1200-1400 Alconite: 1700 Zirconia: 1400-1800 NANOLITE: 1800 SiC: 2200-2400 Batson has guides that use zirconia which are what I used on my 2 builds using their blanks. I used alconites on everything before then. So far I'm pleased with the Alps/Forecast guides, but I honestly don't think you can go wrong with either Alconite or Zirconia.

First, you need to decide what you want to use this blank for. If you want to use it for a bottom contact application, If you can swing it, get a nicer blank. You'll appreciate it in the long run. A nice blank can make a world of difference. For around ~100 my blank of preference is the Immortal line, but to be fair I have not built a new MHX hi mod just the first gen. A decent set of guides (depending on how many you decide to use ~20-30 dollars, and then your grip of choice. You could probably squeak by at about ~150 dollars and you'll have an AWESOME rod. That being said thats only for the rod build. You'll still need everything else, thread, epoxy, etc etc. Getbit and mudhole both offer great tutorial series on youtube about building rods. Watch them all. Then watch them again. Check out this forum, ask questions, and rodbuilding.org is a great resource as well as they have a HUGE archive of information.

Great insight. I've got a rainshadow blank here I've been on the fence about spiral wrapping and you just pushed me over the edge.

I dig mccoy line. That being said I never fish braid with a leader. It's either all braid or all mono/co/fluoro.

Powell Diesel. I've thrown up to a 5xd on it and it handled it ok. Perfect for anything less than that IMO.

Honestly I've been super curious about the new Garmin units as well. They seem top notch and are priced very aggressively.

Perhaps this rod is their answer to many of the criticisms leveled @ their GL2 series of rod? If it can deliver in that price point it will be a great thing. Healthy competition is always a win for us as consumers.

Hopefully this is the year I can go all custom. Been selling off my old stuff to fund a bunch more blank purchases for myself :-)

I'm curious as to whose blank they are building off of