First off- I need a suggestion... a friend of mine needs a swimbait rod. This would be the throw 6" and 8" Hudds and a couple other 5"-6") baits. The Okuma rods ($100) are a little out of the price range right now.

Any ideas on either something like a saltwater rod or a private label musky rod that might be adequate and in the Sub $75 range? Hopefully closer to $50 if that's possible. Someone here suggested a BPS rod in the past but I haven't found it in the searches yet.

BPS options are better as there is possibly a gift card to apply. Any options appreciated (BPS or otherwise)

_______________________________________________________

2nd thing- I am thinking of another swimbait rod (bigger baits) for me. Not enough time to build right now, so I think I'll buy one.

-occasional use

-mostly for 8" Hudds

-budget ~ $150 or less

What should I be looking at? Okuma, Shimano?

I appreciate the insight.

Daiwa Heartland Casting Rod Big Bait Special - $64.95 on ***.  It comes in either a 7' 6" that can handle lures 1/2 - 6oz or a 7' 9" Xtra heavy that can handle lures that weigh 1-8oz.

I use a BPS Extreme 7'6" H rod.  Normally $100, but frequently on sale for $65-ish

I'm no SB expert but the price was good to get me acquainted with swimbaits, and the telescoping handle makes storage on my 15ft jonboat easier.

This may sound a little crazy but here is how I got the perfect swimbait rod for $20. I was at BPS looking through a bunch of discount rods that were $20 each. Well I saw what looked to be a rod rated for up to three ounce baits that was 8 1/2 feet long but had the Dobyns ML series type handle with the foam. It was a medium action and after picking it up I thought this is a great rod for throwing the tiny new shad swimbaits. It was a Walleye trolling rod but it was perfect for throwing those small swimbaits a mile so I bought it for $20. Took it home and started looking at the rod and was wishing I could get one like it for throwing big swimbaits. Looked on the BPS site and found out it was under $70 regular price but they didn't make a model for baits over three ounces. Started looking again at the rod and realized it was 8 1/2 feet long and if I cut off a little it would be perfect for larger baits and the length I need for big baits. I am guessing it is about 7' 10" after the Dremel tool and I went to work and works great for all of my swimbait needs up to 8" Hudd Size. I am selling all my expensive swimbait rods and getting some more of these to replace them. ;D http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_74425_100002005_100000000_100002000_100-2-5?ordProd=Y&CMID=TOP_selectitems#itemDetail The one I have is at the bottom of the list.

Daiwa Heartland Casting Rod Big Bait Special - $64.95 on ***. It comes in either a 7' 6" that can handle lures 1/2 - 6oz or a 7' 9" Xtra heavy that can handle lures that weigh 1-8oz.

Better think twice about that rod...Here's a review somebody gave that rod who actually owns it.

I know it is not swimbait season, at least not for me. But I got a bunch of gift cards to tacklewharehouse so I spent $120 on 6 swimbaits and I bought a rod. Not sure if I am going to dig the whole swimbait thing so i spent my money on this stuff because I don't WANT anymore reels or lures. I bought the Daiwa Hartland swimbait rod which is actually a steelhead rod but listed as a swimbait rod. It is 7'6 goes for $65 which is cheap, got decent reviews from somewhere, and is rated for 1-6 ounces. Didn't fish with it, but it is rated poorly. I tied on a 2 ounce swimbait and this thing was doubled over like I had a 5 pounder on. The 2 ounce is the biggest swimbait I own so not going to get rid of it, but if I like throwing the hard plastic jointed swimbaits enough, I'll upgrade next year.

Flech, cant really help other than to say that the daiwa sucks, big time. At least the small one does, I saw that they just made a xh version available, it might be better.

Thanx Grimilin.  I was just poking around a few sites that I knew to see if I couldn't help Flech find a rod in that price range.  I don't use the Diawa, I am currently using a Shimano Crucial for Swimbaits, looking at getting a St. Croix Mojo 7' 9" for smaller baits.

Randall-  that might work well for my buddy, thanks.

Which model crucial (7'11" hvy or X-hvy) and which Okuma (7"11 hvy or X-hvy would be the better choice for 8" Hudds.  I don't have a local retailer to check them out in person and the 8" Hudd seems to be kind of in between the ratings, from what I read.

I'm open to other suggestions in the $150 and under range, if any make sense.

Thanks again.

In all out honesty, I haven't used the 8" Hudds.  ANd according to the shimano's rod reccomendations, they do fall in between the H and XH.  I currently have the H mainly, b/c here in Minnesota, I dn't hav the need to sling a MONSTER swimbait that wieghs over 5oz. so my reccomendation would to ask you this.  If you think your going to use  8" Hudd and in the future see yourself throwing something bigger I would go with the XH.  If the 8" Hudd is the biggest your going to throw than I would think the H would be the way to go.  Ofcourse however, I don't have any experience w/ Huddlestons and I dn't know their exact wieghts for the ROF system.  I am merly going off of what Shimano says and my experience.  Hope this helps.

I use the Crucial CRCS711H for 6" Hudds and the 8" Hudd ROF 12/16. I use the Crucial CRCS711XH for the 8" Hudd ROF 5. I like a softer tip for the heavier baits because I fish them deep. The soft tip allows them to engulf the bait and pretty much hook themself. The reason I use the XH for the ROF 5 is because you pretty much fish that bait with controlled slack in the line. When you get bit you need to sweep fast and get rid of the slack. The XH does a better job of that and my hook up ratio went way up.

The 711H has just been the perfect rod for me with the 6" Hudds. It loads nice to cast and when you get bit    I went through a lot of rods until I tried this one. Its now my favorite for the 6".

flechero, by all means Im no expert in this style, but I've been beating the swimbait rod thing to death the last few weeks. And everywhere I turn it's the Okuma for an entry level rod into the swimbait world, and TackleTour loved it. I know your buddy is having a hard time choking up $100 bux or better for it, I think alot of us are feeling that.  I know the new St Croix MoJo SwimBait rod can be had for $90 shipped, another alternative. If he can wait a little and save up, he may enjoy it more...

Keith, I don't know if you'll find a better rod for the $$ than the Okuma 7'11 H. It throws an 8" Hudd three miles (or one country mile).

The Okuma shines because of the handle configuration. That little pistol butt is a dream (and a feature I wish more manufacturers would copy).

Now if only I could catch a d**n fish on the thing... :-[

Flech, the newman fig rig rods are pretty good @$99. Save you twenty bucks over an okuma at least. Personally I dont like the 7'11 Okumas plenty of people do though. I love the 7'6"s though.

Regardless of the rating, the heavy Fig Rig handles 8" hudds just fine. it is a fairly fast rod by swimbait standards.