North Fork question

[Sota]

For those of yall that have used their products. 
 How are the North Fork X Ray rods/ blanks? 
 I found an X Ray blank that is medium x fast. Looks like it could be a decent base for a spinning setup. The blank is 80” long. 
 Fair warning. lol. I’m sure I will have a lot of questions. As I have not had a custom rod built before.  

[MikeK]

I've built several and they are fine . . . 

1. Real good prices when on sale

2. May take a few weeks to receive an order rather than a few days

3. They are hard to compare to one another using the manufacturer line/lure and power/action ratings (CCS helps)

[spoonplugger1]

Don't have the rod built till you have your ducks in a row, exactly what you want and need, custom rod builders are there to build your rod. Your rod builder is your only face to face person that can pick your brain to fill in the necessary blanks to build you your rod, at best we are second best, if not third.

[Sota]

1 hour ago, spoonplugger1 said:

Don't have the rod built till you have your ducks in a row, exactly what you want and need, custom rod builders are there to build your rod. Your rod builder is your only face to face person that can pick your brain to fill in the necessary blanks to build you your rod, at best we are second best, if not third.

I’m not building anything yet. Just trying to do my research on what I want. 
 So far I know I want an x fast medium rod with micro guides. As far as the rest. I’m still up in the air. 
I saw the X Ray blanks at a good price. So I’m trying to figure out if that’s what I should go with. 

[MickD]

X-Rays are OK, but so are many other brands and models.   Keep in mind there are little to no methods for objectively evaluating rod blanks for sensitivity, so what you will get are opinions only.  Very few blank manufacturers publish objective power and action numbers, but Point Blank does, as does Rainshadow for their RX10 top of the line blanks.  X-Ray publishes numbers for only a few of their blanks.  If you really want an X-Ray, I think they have a fair selection of pre-built rods, so you wouldn't have to go custom if you can find what you want.  There are a lot of objective data from builders on X-Ray blanks if you want to look into that.

 

If I had to choose one blank for a spinning setup for finesse, it would be the Point Blank 701MLF, a 7 foot blank that measures about 20 CCS ERN, which many would consider medium power.  The only problem with it is that it is pricy, over $150.  But it is IMHO the best finesse blank that I have found.  If you want to go shorter, their PB692MXF is a beauty at 6 ' 9" and ERN about 22.  I have built it as a baitcaster, but it will make a nice shorter spin rod with a little more power than the PB701MLF. 

 

If mostly going for other techniques, a power in the range of 22-25 ERN would probably be better.  

 

One thing to consider is that as with other products, the additional value in the form of performance is not linear for dollars spent.  There are sweet spots where more money doesn't add that much more value, but it adds some.  I think the sweet spot for rod blanks is probably with the Rainshadow Revelation series, which goes for a little over $100 for most blanks.  Lots of choices.  

 

Where you go depends on your budget and priorities.  

[spoonplugger1]

Actually, the NFC blanks are well documented, the vast majority being bass blanks. This goes for a lot of other blanks from other companies in the same place.

[Big Swimbait]

I have built 6 rods with X-ray blanks. I only buy them when they are on sale, which is pretty often lately.  I have zero complaints for the dollars invested. But as been said many times, they are slower than slow.

[BassinBrett]

I have built 3 so far and have another blank wait to be built.  I like them so far.    I think you are looking at the SB 683-1(X-Ray LMX) blank.  It is a nice blank and I have 2 of them.  They make a nice top water rod for smaller poppers and walk the dog lures.  3/8 oz is the sweet stop for this blank.   

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Are you working with a builder yet? They should be able to answer these questions but will need more details about the application. If someone recommends a blank without asking questions about the rods intended use, run. 

[Sota]

13 hours ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

Are you working with a builder yet? They should be able to answer these questions but will need more details about the application. If someone recommends a blank without asking questions about the rods intended use, run. 

I haven’t started working with a rod builder. 
 I’m looking for a rig for Texas rigs 4-5”. I’m in Tennessee. So probably going to be a lot of river and lake bank fishing. No boat. 
 I have a hard time feeling river bottom/ fish bites. Coming from a salmon/ steelhead side of fishing.  So my thoughts are a medium x fast rod. Lightweight guides probably micro guides. As far as line. I’m thinking around 15 lb braid on spinning reel. 
 As far as handles, reel seat, thread, thread colors. I’m not sure yet. I know I want a rig that stands out from other rods.  

[spoonplugger1]

I can't speak for others, but I will not warranty a rod and components that I haven't ordered, checked and had in my possession the entire time, so it might be a good idea to get with someone soon. I have seen some horror stories from people who did and the bad reputation that follows when everyone hears only one side.

[Goby]

All of my Walleye jigging rods and most of my finesse Bass spinning models are made on X-Ray blanks by a guy named Erik Kraemer of Kraemer Custom Rods. 

 

The blanks are without a doubt, of the highest quality, right there at the top with only a handful of others. 

 

That being said, I very much would suggest working with a rod builder that does business with NFC regularly and actually stocks blanks, which is why I deal with Erik Kraemer. 

 

I don't know if the blanks themselves are the most sensitive, but X-Ray blanks built with the guide train and everything that Erik uses are the most sensitive spinning rods I have ever used, by far and that is amongst NRX+, Fenwick World Class, Elliot Identity, etc... 

 

If you would like to try an X-Ray, I cannot recommend Erik highly enough, no affiliation, pay full price for rods from him, etc... nothing to gain by suggesting him, but have had great great experiences with buying rods from him. I have only bought spinning models thus far, so cannot speak to the quality of any X-Ray casting models... Most of my fishing with casting gear is reaction baits so not really any need for X-Ray type blanks... 

[Goby]

20 hours ago, Sota said:

I haven’t started working with a rod builder. 
 I’m looking for a rig for Texas rigs 4-5”. I’m in Tennessee. So probably going to be a lot of river and lake bank fishing. No boat. 
 I have a hard time feeling river bottom/ fish bites. Coming from a salmon/ steelhead side of fishing.  So my thoughts are a medium x fast rod. Lightweight guides probably micro guides. As far as line. I’m thinking around 15 lb braid on spinning reel. 
 As far as handles, reel seat, thread, thread colors. I’m not sure yet. I know I want a rig that stands out from other rods.  

 

Reading this... 

 

My personal suggestion would be the 7'2" Medium Power, Fast Action X-Ray spinning model blank built by Kraemer Custom Rods...

 

The ZR series is his top of the line models, of which that is one of them. 

 

I can feel a Walleye or Bass sniff a jig in 40' of water with that rod, has a great action/taper for the type of stuff you are looking to do... 

 

Cheaper than an NRX+, but honestly, quite a bit better in my opinion. 

 

Dealing with Erik is a million times better than dealing with NFC too. LOL 

[Dwight Hottle]

Not to discourage you from building a custom rod on a NFC blank but have you considered just buying from Edge rods? If you get on their email list they have frequent sales. The last sale rod I purchased from them was $299 with tax & shipping included for a EFX Pro MBR 766-1C with micro guides & graphite handle. 

[Sota]

21 hours ago, spoonplugger1 said:

I can't speak for others, but I will not warranty a rod and components that I haven't ordered, checked and had in my possession the entire time, so it might be a good idea to get with someone soon. I have seen some horror stories from people who did and the bad reputation that follows when everyone hears only one side.

No. I totally get that.  If I were in the business. I wouldn’t take a pile of parts from someone… can you build this?  You don’t know the history of the parts. There might be damage somewhere in the pile. That may bite you later on. Then you might have Billy Joe Bob bad mouth you all over the place. 

[spoonplugger1]

I believe regional knowledge has value, it has been long past time for me to have reliable opinions on what would work best in your area, literally I can think of many companies I used that no longer sell blanks or gone out of business since I lived/fished the SE and the Midwest. So in all honesty I would not be your best choice if you live there. Our walleye are bigger than the average I caught back east and in much windier, deeper/steeper, nastier bottoms then anything back there, 1/2 oz. to 1 oz. is the norm for jig weights, I wouldn't build one of our rods for the Great Lakes/river systems either.

[Alex from GA]

I fish a lot like you, rivers and creeks and have built several blanks that interested me and I settled on a Rainshadow Immortal walleye XF blank either 6'2" or the 6'8" medium.  IMMWS68MXF-TC or IMMWS62MXF. I have minima or SSR guides and a comfort hump handle on both.  Either 6 lb mono or 15 lb braid and a leader.  I use a 1/16 or 1/8th oz bullet sinker and a Zoom finesse worm.