mine is a rod geeks carbon 5 7'0 medium heavy blank used Fuji cork grips and a exposed reel seat.

the thing can handle anything I cought a 3lb with another 3 pounds of grass and I boat flipped it and it didn't break plus its the best custom fit rod I have built. I just interested what other people got for more rod ideas

I built a bushido CB72/6-12 specifically for wiggle warts, rock crawlers, and small cranks in the Ozarks... I put pac bay minima guides and made a big knobby burl split grip for it... That rod fits so well for the application...

 

A sneaky one I really ended up liking was a custom rod components AHX72H in teal with large black camo EVA split grip. It was an inexpensive build, it looks kinda obnoxious, but it has just the right action for a big worm.

 

- Jared

Currently I am in love with my 6'6" light power point blank.  Setup in a spinning configuration paired with a 2000 tatula reel.  Super sensitive and light.  

No matter how many I build, I keep going back to the 5S69mlxf St Croix I built many moons ago, even though I gave it to my wife when I built a replacement on the newer 6-10 blank.

There are two very close. One is a casting rod on an original Rodgeeks c473 MHXS. The soft tip and good backbone are a unique and versatile mix. My favorite was not on a high end blank but fished great. It was an MHx 6’9” MLxf DS blank with a Tennessee handle on carbon fiber tube. It had my Minima guides and an Alconite tip top. The experiment of the spinning rod was to build a high performance rod on a budget. Both have since been sold to customers. 

Lamiglas EC 862, Castaway reel seat, spiral wrapped Alps micros to 3 mm. custom Fluor cork 2 1/2 inch split grips 8 1/2 inch spacing, no foregrip. Pac Bay G 16 winding check, Gudebrod Garnet wraps, and silver 3 wrap trim bands.

7 hours ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

One is a casting rod on an original Rodgeeks c473 MHXS. The soft tip and good backbone are a unique and versatile mix. 

 

That Rod geeks is a good blank.  I built that one tossing tubes.

Rainshadow Immortal IMMWS68MXF-TC, cork split grip, CRB palm swell reel seat, Mudhole SSR guides.  Use with 2000 reel with 12 or 15 lb braid and 8 lb FC leader.  Use for finesse worms and 1/16 or 1/8 oz TR. 

Point Blank 701MLF built as a spin, split grip, Fuji KLH to KB/KT runners.  Super rod for finesse, and just about everything else within its power range.  Power is what many would consider medium (CCS numbers) but it fishes like a ML and M power.  It's so good I built one for a very good friend whom I owed a favor.  

7-3 MHX casting rod med. heavy ecsm reel seat micro guides. best worm rod I have. has a shorter than average length on the handle I like a shorter  handle length ,always have. more like the old Trigger stick handles from way back.

My Rainshadow IC847-3 rod, now that I think of it, would be a tossup for the rod mentioned above, a much more versatile multispecies fresh and salt rod.

On 10/5/2024 at 4:41 PM, MickD said:

Point Blank 701MLF built as a spin, split grip, Fuji KLH to KB/KT runners.  Super rod for finesse, and just about everything else within its power range.  Power is what many would consider medium (CCS numbers) but it fishes like a ML and M power.  It's so good I built one for a very good friend whom I owed a favor.  

All my builds are on NFC but I’ve been eye ballin the PB701MHF along with the PB701MLF.  I’ve read many great things about these blanks.  IP is definitely higher on PB ML and MH compared to NFC.  

 

I’ll probably try the ML first.  I have some Atlas carbon guides I want to try out. (Had a thank you coupon, got them a lot cheaper).   Fuji guides will always be my go to, just trying these out.  Atlas Spinning guide height mirrors Fuji KLH guide height.  

To date: 

 

Mine is on the NFC MB-725 X-Ray C6O2.  It’s a medium heavy (light side of medium heavy).  IP is around 685.  Grip is a XO Skeleton.  Guides are Fuji KW’s then KB/KT’s.  

 

Sadly, I’ve done a lot of building but it’s been my 15 year old son and FIL using the builds.  Haven’t had the time to fish much.  I’ll be getting out tomorrow to fish some of them.  

On 10/5/2024 at 4:41 PM, MickD said:

Point Blank 701MLF built as a spin, split grip, Fuji KLH to KB/KT runners.  Super rod for finesse, and just about everything else within its power range.  Power is what many would consider medium (CCS numbers) but it fishes like a ML and M power.  It's so good I built one for a very good friend whom I owed a favor.  

Love the look of your Point Blank!!! 

Mine is a 7ft. ML/Fast casting rod I built using a Forecast spinning rod blank I acid wrapped the Fugi guides. I paired it with a Daiwa Alphas 103. The biggest fish I've landed on that combo was an 11.5lb cat just today. I never doubted the equipment and it performed better than I'd hoped for.

Depends on the day and what the fish are biting.

 

I built a lime green MHX FP885 that I love flipping tubes or other t-rigged soft plastics with.  This and the next rod below caught most of my fish this year.

 

I have a 7'6" ml-f rainshadow revelation that I love for traditional tube jigs that I have caught many smallies on.

 

I also have a 7'6" ml-xf st croix scv which is my nicest rod that I throw light neds or marabou jigs on.  Its almost too nice that I don't use it a lot because I can't replace the blank anymore.

On 10/24/2024 at 5:23 PM, Jrabbit82 said:

, g

How does that c602 MB725 do for moving baits, spinnerbait chatterbait? 

The MB725 I have handled and fished a short time, I believe like the MB705 HM it is rated to 3/4 oz., I would not even go there on either rod, the 725 being the lighter powered of the two, my max. would be 1/2 oz. and the tip throws little, light stuff beautifully. The MB705 HM is no more than a 5/8 oz. rod, and stiffer tipped, not the light bait rod the 725 is.

NFC 807 with a spiral wrap.  They most amazing carolina rig and football dragging rod.  Seems soft/moderate in the hand but when you get to dragging it's immediately an "Ohhhh I get it now" moment. 1/2-1oz is it's wheelhouse.

 

I know this will sound goofy but it's also a great chatterbait rod.  

On 11/5/2024 at 1:29 PM, dwtaylor said:

Depends on the day and what the fish are biting.

 

I built a lime green MHX FP885 that I love flipping tubes or other t-rigged soft plastics with.  This and the next rod below caught most of my fish this year.

 

I have a 7'6" ml-f rainshadow revelation that I love for traditional tube jigs that I have caught many smallies on.

 

I also have a 7'6" ml-xf st croix scv which is my nicest rod that I throw light neds or marabou jigs on.  Its almost too nice that I don't use it a lot because I can't replace the blank anymore.

SC-5 blanks are still available:       https://rodgeeks.com/collections/frontpage/products/rod-geeks-carbon-5-series?variant=43394162589943

On 12/9/2024 at 5:45 PM, Lyman X said:

SC-5 blanks are still available:       https://rodgeeks.com/collections/frontpage/products/rod-geeks-carbon-5-series?variant=43394162589943

I am aware of those, but the blank I have is actually the legend elite blank which had a size 3 tip instead of the 3.5 tip that is specified on this site and the normal legend extreme blank.  At the time I bought my blank they actually offered both...one with the teal green (extreme) and the light green (elite) of which I bought.

 

This smaller tip makes it much lighter and more of a true xf action than the 3.5 tip size.  

Ever wonder what the blank mandrel that can produce a 3.5 diameter tip looks like?   And how one would even handle it?  Have to admit, I'm impressed with the quality of the blanks I am seeing, and amazed that they can be produced.

3mm is “only” 1/8. I used to buy precision ground rods down to 3/16 for space applications. That’s only 1/16” above 3mm. Wonder if they have any problems with it. I wouldn’t guess, but then again, I’m not their design or manufacturing engineers!

And that 3mm is the OD of the blank, so the mandrel inside is ????  And at the end of probably a 7 foot mandrel. 

My favorite rod is always my latest creation, usually a custom Cagey hook wrap spiral wrap guide design I wrote an article about in a custom rod magazine back in Dec. 2020.

 

Notice the line flow is ruler straight from reel all the way into the 180's? And notice that when under a 90 degree loading of the rod how the line flows through the transition guides according to the rules of custom rod making which says the line should flow in the top or bottom of the guide and at no time should there be any side loading of any guides.

 

What I came up after years of trial and error working towards the ideal, this is what I came up with and I call it the Cagey Hook Wrap method or process.

 

It is a process because with all other spiral wrap guide designs the builders impose external ideas on the materials like dictating specific degrees of guide placements. I started off building that way, but over the years I learned to let the materials tell me what they want. And once I started listening to the materials, things progressed swiftly and well.

 

The Cagey Hook Wrap process adapts to any rod blank and there are no specific degrees or angles of guide placements to this process. Each rod presents a different bend shape and my process simply adapts the spiral wrap idea to any rod blank.

 

 

John Scanlan patented the spiral wrap guide design back in 1909 if I recall correctly. In his patent he specifies specific degrees of angle for each guide and he did not take into consideration at all how the rod bends and what that does to line flow which looks fine when the rod blank is straight, but as it loads up the rule breaking line flow begins to climb up the sides of the transition guides putting side pressure on them. The heavier the load, the more the rod bends, the more side loading effect there is.

 

 

So I worked hard to eliminate that. It took some time. I was not in a hurry because I really did not think I was doing anything worthwhile back then, only trying to improve upon an already existing idea.

 

Today when most people make a spiral wrapped rod they invariably decide where and how to place guides on the blank in the unloaded static condition. All other varieties of spiral wrap guide designs start with a static rod!

 

I went a different path. I learned to adjust the guide design to the unique bend of each rod blank. So as my CHW rods load up, the guides actually move into the most ideal alignment for the most ideal line flow under the specific loading of a blank I choose.

 

I usually go with a 90 degree load, but it could be 70 or 120. It is up to the builder and adjusting the rod and guide design to match the size scale of the fish it is being used for. So the process I came up with can be adapted to any rod blank.

 

But you can see from my photo above that the line flow just can't get any better with these materials. I have maxed out what I can do with it. And this type of guide design reduces the line resistance through the guides under load to is absolute most minimum possible.

 

In my opinion, I can't make the line flow any better than what you see here. No other spiral wrap guide design comes close.

 

What is really sad is that on custom rod forums do you know the number one recommendation to newbies is to build a simple spiral? That idea is worse than John Scanlan's 1909 patented idea! His guide placements are more advanced than the simple spiral which in my opinion should never be mentioned, never be recommended, and never built! It breaks the rules of custom rod building concerning side loading of guides, especially under load.

 

There is a thread about it right here on this forum from 2021 when I was not a member here and was not able to discuss it with members. Now I can if anyone would like to.

 

https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/235292-cagey-hook-wrap/

 

 

 

This next rod is an MHX Gen1 blank. Extremely fast blank. Notice how far out the spiral transition is? The guide design follows the rod's bend to achieve the most ideal line flow for that particular blank.

 

Line flow under load simply cannot get any better than this. Maximum line flow resistance reduced to its absolute minimum making reeling in a fish easier and more enjoyable since the fisherman is not fighting with the rod wanting to torque over and line rubbing the blank between each guide when loaded up. All solved right here.

 

 

This next image shows someone else's custom spiral wrapped rod. Notice the line flow through transition guides? Side loading big time! This next image is what you don't want to see. But this is what happens when a spiral wrapped rod is built in the static mode. Switch it up to the loaded mode! Changes things drastically.

 

 

^^^^^ The rod above is not my rod and NOT the NRX mentioned below. Sorry for confusion. I used this rod above as an example of what a builder would not want to see on a custom rod build.

------------------------------------------------------

 

 

Forgot to mention my latest CHW was built on an old GLoomis NRX blank I found in a pawn shop for $40. Looked it up online & that rod sells for $525 to $625. Not sure why, but its a great rod. Gary Loomis is my all time favorite blank designer and his former partner Don Mook with Morgan McCain close behind. I hope to see Gary Loomis one last time at ICAST next month if he shows up.

1 hour ago, FloridaFishinFool said:

That idea is worse than John Scanlan's 1909 patented idea! 

There is no problem with the simple spiral and it simply works.  If there is any side loading on the guides, at least with "bass" rods as opposed to boat rods, it isn't enough to cause any problems.  I've done many, never had any issue, and they cast just fine.  Keep in mind that while your design does really look good, it takes a long while to set it up while the simple spiral takes a couple minutes.  Also keep in mind that a perfectly straight path is not necessary for great casting-the first guide , the level wind guide of the reel, turns the line often an inch laterally for an inch of line travel.  And it works just fine.  Guide misalignments of even major magnitudes don't cause problems.   Yes, you have an elegant design, but that does not justify trashing other options that, contrary to your opinion, fundamentally work just fine.   

1 hour ago, FloridaFishinFool said:

My favorite rod is always my latest creation, usually a custom Cagey hook wrap spiral wrap guide design I wrote an article about in a custom rod magazine back in Dec. 2020.

 

Notice the line flow is ruler straight from reel all the way into the 180's? And notice that when under a 90 degree loading of the rod how the line flows through the transition guides according to the rules of custom rod making which says the line should flow in the top or bottom of the guide and at no time should there be any side loading of any guides.

 

What I came up after years of trial and error working towards the ideal, this is what I came up with and I call it the Cagey Hook Wrap method or process.

 

It is a process because with all other spiral wrap guide designs the builders impose external ideas on the materials like dictating specific degrees of guide placements. I started off building that way, but over the years I learned to let the materials tell me what they want. And once I started listening to the materials, things progressed swiftly and well.

 

The Cagey Hook Wrap process adapts to any rod blank and there are no specific degrees or angles of guide placements to this process. Each rod presents a different bend shape and my process simply adapts the spiral wrap idea to any rod blank.

 

 

John Scanlan patented the spiral wrap guide design back in 1909 if I recall correctly. In his patent he specifies specific degrees of angle for each guide and he did not take into consideration at all how the rod bends and what that does to line flow which looks fine when the rod blank is straight, but as it loads up the rule breaking line flow begins to climb up the sides of the transition guides putting side pressure on them. The heavier the load, the more the rod bends, the more side loading effect there is.

 

 

So I worked hard to eliminate that. It took some time. I was not in a hurry because I really did not think I was doing anything worthwhile back then, only trying to improve upon an already existing idea.

 

Today when most people make a spiral wrapped rod they invariably decide where and how to place guides on the blank in the unloaded static condition. All other varieties of spiral wrap guide designs start with a static rod!

 

I went a different path. I learned to adjust the guide design to the unique bend of each rod blank. So as my CHW rods load up, the guides actually move into the most ideal alignment for the most ideal line flow under the specific loading of a blank I choose.

 

I usually go with a 90 degree load, but it could be 70 or 120. It is up to the builder and adjusting the rod and guide design to match the size scale of the fish it is being used for. So the process I came up with can be adapted to any rod blank.

 

But you can see from my photo above that the line flow just can't get any better with these materials. I have maxed out what I can do with it. And this type of guide design reduces the line resistance through the guides under load to is absolute most minimum possible.

 

In my opinion, I can't make the line flow any better than what you see here. No other spiral wrap guide design comes close.

 

What is really sad is that on custom rod forums do you know the number one recommendation to newbies is to build a simple spiral? That idea is worse than John Scanlan's 1909 patented idea! His guide placements are more advanced than the simple spiral which in my opinion should never be mentioned, never be recommended, and never built! It breaks the rules of custom rod building concerning side loading of guides, especially under load.

 

There is a thread about it right here on this forum from 2021 when I was not a member here and was not able to discuss it with members. Now I can if anyone would like to.

 

https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/235292-cagey-hook-wrap/

 

 

 

This next rod is an MHX Gen1 blank. Extremely fast blank. Notice how far out the spiral transition is? The guide design follows the rod's bend to achieve the most ideal line flow for that particular blank.

 

Line flow under load simply cannot get any better than this. Maximum line flow resistance reduced to its absolute minimum making reeling in a fish easier and more enjoyable since the fisherman is not fighting with the rod wanting to torque over and line rubbing the blank between each guide when loaded up. All solved right here.

 

 

This next image shows someone else's custom spiral wrapped rod. Notice the line flow through transition guides? Side loading big time! This next image is what you don't want to see. But this is what happens when a spiral wrapped rod is built in the static mode. Switch it up to the loaded mode! Changes things drastically.

 

 

Forgot to mention my latest CHW was built on an old GLoomis NRX blank I found in a pawn shop for $40. Looked it up online & that rod sells for $525to $625. Not sure why, but its a great rod. Gary Loomis is my all time favorite blank designer and his former partner Don Mook with Morgan McCain close behind. I hope to see Gary Loomis one last time at ICAST next month if he shows up.

I think the third guide of the NRX is side loaded.  If it were not the line would go through at 0, or 180 degrees.  In fact it looks like the first three guides are side loaded.  And it will work just fine.

59 minutes ago, MickD said:

There is no problem with the simple spiral and it simply works.  If there is any side loading on the guides, at least with "bass" rods as opposed to boat rods, it isn't enough to cause any problems.  I've done many, never had any issue, and they cast just fine. 

 

.... Yes, you have an elegant design, but that does not justify trashing other options that fundamentally work just fine.   

 

Yes the simple spiral works fine. I agree. But I could not live with it. I did not like the line flow static or under load.

 

I was not trying to "trash" it, only to say that on custom rod forums it should not recommended- especially as the first choice suggestion. Aim for performance.

 

What is the point to building a custom rod?

 

For some its all about art and how it looks. For others like myself it is all about performance only. Looks do not matter really.

 

I have the opinion that custom rod building is primarily for building rods that fit us better and give us better performance than off the shelf rods. To me custom rod building is not art. I do not build rods for how they look with pretty colors and feathers, snake skin and stuff like that. I build strictly for performance. Weight. Balance. Guide design. Top blanks. Best performance. No exceptions.

 

And that is from where my opinion of the simple spiral comes from. It is the lowest form of spiral wrap guide design. Worst of the worst from my perspective. That's not trashing it. That is putting it where it belongs on the list. As I said the 1909 patented idea by John Scanlan is far more advanced than the simple spiral.

 

This is 2025. Not 1905. In my opinion custom rod building should be aiming strictly for the best performance possible. End of story.

 

In 2025 why would anyone recommend or suggest a guide design that is less than advanced than 1909? Makes no sense to me.

 

So yes, I absolutely do not like the simple spiral but I wasn't trying to trash it, only put it in its place among the other spiral ideas. Its on the bottom. All the way down at the bottom.

 

I spent decades mentally improving performance. Not going in the reverse. I truly believe custom rod building is about performance only. Art be damned.

 

Breaking the rules of custom rod building was not my game plan for decades. Adhering to them and following them strictly to develop my idea was the goal.

 

To me the simple spiral is the opposite direction any and all custom rod builders should go in. I truly believe ALL custom rod builders should be building custom rods for improving performance and enjoyment of use.

 

Again, what is the goal of custom rod building? 2 camps: art and performance. I am squarely in the performance camp. Art has no place in my camp. And my performance desire seems to have no place in the art camp either.

 

I can tell you when I got my first custom spiral wrapped rod and learned its secrets, even it was far more advanced than a simple spiral, but the side loading and terrible line flow under load just bothered the heck out of me. Its why I embarked on the adventure of labor intensive and time consuming effort to fix it. To improve upon it. To make it so when the rod is in my hands I actually liked it and wanted to use it. A simple spiral makes me want to throw it away. I can't stand it really.

 

That MHX rod shown above took 3 times of guide replacements to get it where I wanted it to be. If I saw any deviation from near perfect it got redone.

 

My whole point was that on custom rod forums the suggestions and recommendations for any and all custom rod builders should be to recommend the best of the best first. And if they can't achieve it, then maybe help them out with a simple spiral or John Scanlan guide design or a Roberts wrap or acid wrap or any of the other methods people have come up and put a name to.

 

I hope you understand where I am coming from on this one. I was not trying to trash the simple spiral, but put it in its place where it belongs on the list.

 

And to anyone out there wanting a high performance hot rod of a spiral wrapped rod, consider guide designs carefully! Ask yourself why are you building it in the first place? Performance or to be a work of art? It can be both to some degree, but to me adding art weight is going in reverse again.

 

I hope you understand I have been steadily working for nearly 30 years towards performance and away from the simple spiral. No way I'm going to have a good opinion of that one!

 

The physics does not work for me. What I saw in my hands compelled me to create the CHW method. You could say my CHW came from the simple spiral. Step by step moving away from it.

 

Sorry if you thought I was trashing it. I tried not to really!

 

Now if you want to redo those simple spirals and turn them into some CHW rods... let me know and I can guide you through the process and the minute details most miss.

 

Once you hold and use a well done CHW there is no going back. And there is nothing quite like it when a big ole bass grabs the lure and the CHW rod loads up in your hands and those guides move into most ideal alignment and the fight is on and it feels like a wizard's magic wand! The performance level works for me. And I'm sure you would like it as well if you tried it.

---------------------------------------------------------------

 

I added this... here is a photo of a simple spiral used for saltwater. Do you notice anything? The line is NOT flowing through the top stripper guide!

 

Imagine the load on this guide if the line were flowing through it.

 

What you see in this image are fishermen using a simple spiral but NOT using it at the same time. They skip the stripper guide on top to do what? Straighten line flow under load. Same thing I did.

 

What you are looking at here is a simple spiral turned into a CHW by way of skipping the first guide and letting the line flow directly into the 180's. This is how you turn a simple spiral into an instant CHW right here!

 

I would think custom rod builders would want to avoid this in my opinion.

 

 

What sort of weight would that unused top guide experience here if the line was actually flowing through it? You can see where the loaded line wants to be and it is nowhere near that stripper guide!

 

This is what happens when rod builders impose external ideas on a static rod. Looks great on the bench. But in practical use look at truth above.

 

I learned this about spiral wrapped rods and used it to my advantage.

 

In the above example, a simple spiral is not working and is the problem. The physics does not lie! You can either use it to your advantage as I did, or wind up at a disadvantage like this half of a simple spiral example.