So I’m looking at building my second rod. I’m looking to build on the 6’8” St. Croix 5X68MHF S.C.-V blank. 

 

First question is is there a benifit for a spilt grip on a rod like this or is it for weight reduction.

 

second I would like a reel seat that leaves the blank exposed, any recommendations on what to look at??

There is a weight reduction, but the original prime mover was that no matter what rod, or grip length, it only took 10 premium cork rings to get the job done. A standard 9 inch grip takes 18 rings, a 14 inch grip 28.

If you liked the older Castaway rods with the long exposed bottom on the reelseat, CUI still makes it last I needed some, Bingham Ent. is where I bought them, Karen will have everything you need for your build.

7 hours ago, spoonplugger1 said:

There is a weight reduction, but the original prime mover was that no matter what rod, or grip length, it only took 10 premium cork rings to get the job done. A standard 9 inch grip takes 18 rings, a 14 inch grip 28.

If you liked the older Castaway rods with the long exposed bottom on the reelseat, CUI still makes it last I needed some, Bingham Ent. is where I bought them, Karen will have everything you need for your build.

Thanks for the input and info much appreciated

Good quality cork is getting harder to find and is getting expensive.  I love the look of a nice cork handle and there are people who do outstanding job building custom handles.  The lightest and best handles i have found are carbon and the one i have right now is from CFX.  Its 10" long and on a st croix SC5 610MXF.  Its worth a look and the price is no more than a high quality cork handle.  If you fish in the cold at all they warm to the touch and have made fishing in 30 degrees a lot more tolerable.  Baston also makes carbon handles but i have not used one of theirs.

http://www.mudhole.com/Components-Rod-Building/rod-building-component-brands/CFX-Carbon-Fiber-Grips

Edited December 31, 20178 yr by Angry John
added link

@Angry JohnSo those look real interesting. How much do they dampen or increase sensitivity? Should I look at a full grip or a split? I do fish in cold weather so warming up is nice. How are they in extreme heat (100-110)?

Fished mine from 30 to 103 and it was superb.  Never hot in the heat but will warm in the cold and cork never did.  I like full grips so that's what I got.  I feel like the full grips prevent rods from being tip heavy.  The full grip weight of the cfx material is not any heavier than the stock cork split grip.  The factory legend extreme old model with cork and my rod with full cfx grip weighed exactly the same.  I did not use a fore grip as I see no need.  I am very tall so I like longer handles.  If I were jig fishing the 10 inch like I have would be first choice.  If your in a kayak and sitting the baston 9" may be better.

Frankly, there's nothing out there that's as good as the old 7'6" Fenwick HMG 2 piece sticks.   If anyone knows of a side by side comparable flippin blank speak up, but I've searched for years.   It's all in the tip and that's where they fall down.   I've bought many off the shelf and nothing there either.   I know some like the Loomis or other light weights but I'm not a fan of the open/partial handles.   These sticks are made for power fishing and need to hold up when you have 30# mono or 60# braid on big fish.   I don't think light weight or shorter rod is the way to go for those reasons.

Thanks for the input but I’m not wanting such a long rod. I understand the trade offs with this but I’m much more comfortable with a shorter rod for this technique