Hello all,

I'm building a pair of rods to use on Pickwick lake hitting the ledges etc. One for crankbaits and one for swimbaits/ bottom "stuff" 1/2oz+. I am undecided on specifically what blanks, but I do know they are definitely going to be MHX. 

 

Rod 1: primarily Berkley dredger cranks in all sizes but mostly the 10.5-20.5's (the 20.5 is 3" and 7/8oz) as well as rapala dt-10's and dt-16's. As of right now I am leaning towards the cb905, but am not dead-set on it.

 

Rod 2: building it for use with big bite baits 5.5" BB kickers and 5" suicide shads on 1/2-3/4oz jig heads but would also use it for 3/4oz jigs and t-rigs ( 3/4's feel a little heavy for my mb843). I'm between the FS904, which would appear to be similar to the cashion's f90476 that Michael Neal used for those exact setups on Pickwick, or the mb874 which I'd probably extend another 2". Or any other suggestions...

 

Please help me make a decision, I've been wasting too much time and energy trying to decide. Thankyou! 

You sound pretty knowledgeable, so don't delegate your decisions to those who really cannot be as familiar with your tastes/preferences/details of your plans.  Stick with it and make your own decisions.

 

Regarding extending or cutting a blank 2 inches, you just might be over-thinking this.  With all the blanks available, I don't think there ever is a justification for cutting a blank, maybe a little for extending, but not likely.  IMHO

46 minutes ago, MickD said:

You sound pretty knowledgeable, so don't delegate your decisions to those who really cannot be as familiar with your tastes/preferences/details of your plans.  Stick with it and make your own decisions.

 

Regarding extending or cutting a blank 2 inches, you just might be over-thinking this.  With all the blanks available, I don't think there ever is a justification for cutting a blank, maybe a little for extending, but not likely.  IMHO

First off thankyou for the compliment sir, means alot since I'm only 20 and have only put together 7 rods haha. And I wouldn't be shortening any blank, just extending. And the 2" is just the size of the eva butt peice I like to use ( I glue the butt to a section of donor blank etc. Then glue that peice inside the blank giving ~2" extension at the very butt of the rod, maybe even balancing it due to the extra material).  

Right, it's custom si get exactly what YOU want. Experimenting is half the fun. It'll be better than any over the counter rod and if it's not exactly what you're looking for you have an excuse for another build. If that doesn't excite you, you might in this for the wrong reason. 

I think I'm going to go with the FS905 and CB907, a little stronger for both to make them more versatile

IMO, the mhx crank blank for #2 might be a bit soft for a jig hooked bait.

 

Maybe look at the SWB956 for that application? Don't be put off by the 1-4oz rating. It's a versatile blank and has a faster action and lots of backbone that may help with a lot of line out on a ledge with a jig hook...speaking on swimbait applications specifically.

 

The FP885 is what I'm using for deeper jig applications right now. Really dig that rod for 1/2 to 3/4 oz football heads.

for deep water jigs i'd get the MB905 , a 7'6'' XH/F

Thankyou everyone for the recommendations, I ended up going with the fs905 and cb907. Hopefully they'll do what I'm looking for, and if not I'm sure I'll love them for some other use regardless