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Factory-built
rods for the Big baits?
If you are looking for factory built rod
which
may be available locally
and which could be worth
looking at for casting the "big baits",
check out the -
-
7'11" Shimano Crucial Swimbait
series of casting rods (7'11" in
Heavy and Extra Heavy actions (just
heard, February 2006, that Tatlow &
Pledger will not import these - the
heaviest Crucial they are
bring in is the Flipping Stick - pity!);
-
7'6" Okuma Guide Select 761H
(rated from 1 - 5oz and costing just
under $90) or the
7'6" Okuma Guide Select 761XH
(rated from 2 - 8oz). Also
ascertained from the SA importers,
Akals, that they are not importing
these at the moment - February 2006 ...;
-
7'9" Redington RFXC 7911
(rated for up to 30lb line and retailing
for $99); and
-
8'0" G-Loomis GL-3 965BBR
(rated for 2 - 8oz and going for $275).
By the way, this is the rod Butch
Brown uses ...
(if you don't know who Butch Brown
is, scroll right down to the
bottom of this page and click on the pic
of the Huddleston Deluxe Swimbait.
If you don't know what a Huddleston
Deluxe Swimbait is, you need
to spend more time on this site!),
which
will all do an admirable job with most
of the "big baits" (with the
Okumas being the cheaper option).
Where to get them if you cant' find them
in SA?
You can also consider the following -
-
8' Shimano
Calcutta
CL
820XFA (rated from 1 - 4oz);
-
8' Shimano
Teramar Inshore
(West Coast)
TMC X80H
(rated from 1 - 4oz);
-
7'6" Shimano
Teramar Inshore
(West Coast)
TMC X76H
(rated from 1 - 3oz);
-
7'9" Daiwa Heartland HL-S
SS791XHRB
"Big Bait Special"; and
-
the Daiwa
Coastal range,
not the best options, but may be OK (at a
pinch!).
Any Saltwater
or Inshore rod around 8' long
and rated for up to 3oz or 4oz should be
able to handle most of the "crankbait
type" big lures such as the 9" MS
Slammer. The big all plastic "swimbaits"
which can weigh a whopping 8oz require
rods with more backbone.
For an excellent
review on various rods and blanks
suited to big bait applications, click
on the link.
These rods teamed with the Shimano
Calcutta
400 or ABU Ambassadeur
6500 series baitcaster
reels, would be a good
combo for the purpose of
handling the big
trout-type swimbaits and
crankbaits.
Line is nothing less than 20lb test mono
(with a 30lb mono or fluorocarbon
leader). 25lb - 30lb test mono or 50lb -
65lb test braid mainline is usually
used.
You
can build a better rod
than you can buy ...
If
you have read some of the
articles posted on this
site, you may decide to
build yourself a rod,
especially one needed to
cast and retrieve the
really big lures and
(hopefully!) to control
and land that really Big
Bass you have been
longing for! There are
very few commercially
available built-up rods
which will do the job -
locally as well as in the
USA.
You could build a
better rod than you can
buy using an 8' Rainshadow SW
967, Calstar
GF 800XL or GF
800L
blank. These blanks are
graphite with glass tips
with just the right
amount of
"give" in the
tip and backbone in the
butt to handle those big
lures and the big Bass
you will catch on them.
If
you are a first time or
aspirant rod builder, you
would most probably be at
a total loss of where to
start to find the
recommended blanks and
components. Don't worry,
help is at hand!
The
guys at Mudhole carry
a full range of the
excellent Calstar
blanks (which
are generally recommended
for this purpose - see
the Articles
section) as well as many
other brands of fishing
rod blanks (amongst
others:
Graphite-USA,
Seeker, St.
Croix,
Rainshadow
and Pacific Bay)
and a full range of
components. If you put
your mind to it, with a
little effort you can
build a better rod than
you can buy! Mudhole
is based in
Florida, USA and provides
fast, efficient and
professional service to
rodbuilders anywhere. The
site also has other
rodbuilding info you may
find helpful in your
endeavours (see www.mudhole.com/docs/r101.html).
For
the full range of the
excellent Shikari
blanks (with
an original-purchaser
lifetime warranty against
any defect in material or
workmanship) manufactured
in Oklahoma, USA, and
available on-line, click
on the logo below:
In
my ramblings on the 'net,
I have come to the
conclusion that
probably builds the
majority of their Bass
rods on Shikari blanks.
If I am wrong, or if
anybody from either
Castaway or Shikari sees
this, please feel free to
put the record straight!
My
conclusion is that
Castaway's "Standard"
Graphite is probably
Shikari's SH II
(33 million modulus
graphite) and the
Castaway HG 40
is probably Shikari's SH
III (42 million
modulus). Similarly,
Castaway's T700SX
range is probably built
from the Shikari SH X
blanks (57 million
modulus). Shikari also
makes a 65 million
modulus graphite range of
blanks (SH Xi).
also
offered a great range of Castaway Standard
Graphite and HG 40 rods
(already built up on Shikari
blanks with quality Portuguese cork
grips and Fuji reel seats and Fuji
guides at good prices).
Check
out the great new Castaway flippin'
stick range all available from Cabelas
too!
Anyway,
for custom rodbuilders
visiting this page or
anyone who wants to build
a quality custom Bass
rod, check out the mind
boggling array of
excellent blanks in
various grades of
graphite (and a wide
range of prices!) at www.shikariblanks.com.
I was
particularly interested
in the wide range of flipping
stick blanks offered
(telescoping blanks and
fixed one piece blanks in
lengths of 8' as well as
the more usual and
traditional 7'6").
You will
most definitely find
something you like there.
For those
of you who still want a
custom built rod using Shikari
blanks,
cork grips and Fuji
components, without
having to build one
yourself, check out the
amazing range of purpose
built custom Bass rods at
Everything
Bass
Inc.
Brad
Tharp who
recently signed the Big
Bass Guestbook
custom builds these rods,
called Tactical Assault Revolution
Rods,
and he also uses the
“Spiral Wrap”
explained below. These
unique Revolution rods in the
Pro,
Team
and X4
Series series come in various
models, including flipping
rods and an 8’ heavy
action swimbait
model to handle those
big lures weighing in at
1 – 8oz! Brad also
builds rods with the standard or
conventional guide alignment (called the
Transition
rods) as well as Spinning
rods.
Definitely
worth serious
consideration! Visit the Brad's site
at:
Hook
up with probably the most competent
South African Rodbuilder/ Rodcrafter:
PO
Box 798, EMPANGENI 3880, South Africa
Tel.:
+27(0)35-753-4580 (W); +27(0)35-792-4434
(H)
Fax.:
+27(0)35-753-5590
Cellular:
082-496-6382
Jan
Croeser has been in the business
for many years and I recommend his work
very highly. So, if you don't have the
time, inclination or confidence to build
your own dream rod, why don't you
contact Jan? You'll be glad you
did!
If you
need to source any hard to get blanks
(including Calstar, Seeker
and others) or other quality
rodbuilding components and
supplies in South Africa, give Jan a
call - he will probably be able to
assist you himself or give you details
of the South African agents/ importers.
REMEMBER
YOU HEARD IT (AND SAW
IT!) ON THE
BIG
BASS
WEBSITE
FIRST!
A
unique way of wrapping a
casting rod ...
Have
any of you heard of or
had experience fishing a
rod using the "Roberts",
"Spiral"
or "Acid"
Wrap?
When
wrapping a rod in this
manner, the first couple
of guides from the tip
(including the tip) are
placed under the rod as
in guide placement for a
spinning reel, then the
last four guides
including the stripping
guide bringing the line
to the (casting) reel are
placed around the blank
in a spiral to cause the
line to travel from under
the rod spiraling to the
reel (go
here
for a more detailed
description).
The
guide placement around
the blank looks like
this:
This
wrapping technique is
said to eliminate torque
and provide a very stable
fish fighting platform
whilst improving
castability and has been
used on both saltwater
and bass rods by certain
custom builders. Those in
the know maintain that
you will never go back to
the conventional way of
wrapping a casting rod
after trying this! Sounds
crazy, but can you argue
with results?
One
of the goals of this site
is to challenge Bassers
to start thinking more
laterally, instead of
merely regurgitating old
Bassing info or
unthinkingly locking into
standard accepted
practices. Remember, what
was considered "way
out" or
"ridiculous" in
the past has, in some
cases, become the norm
which few today would
consider challenging -
just think of the first
plastic worm poured by
Nick Creme ...
For
more rodbuilding
info, also check out:
www.bad-fish.com/pagetwobf.htm
www.rodbuildingtutorials.com
Great,
informative site with excellent "how to"
info for the rodbuilder!
Hot
Tip #1!
Struggling
to fit EVA Foam or
Hypalon grips?
To
successfully fit EVA or
Hypalon grips that will
not even normally come
past halfway down the
blank, wipe the
blank with lacquer
thinners, apply
the glue to area
where you want the
grip to finally be as
well as a couple of
inches above this area.
Soak the grip in lacquer
thinners for a while
and pour lacquer
thinners into one end of
the hole of the grip,
blocking off the other
end of the hole
with your hand, pour
until the thinners
"overflow",
block this end with your
other hand and swirl the
thinners in the hole of
the grip around from side
to side and up and down
for at least two minutes.
Then, working fast, allow
the thinners to run out
of the hole, place the
grip onto the rod holding
only the top end and with
one fluid motion, never
stopping for a second,
force the grip down into
position.
With
some grips and thicker
blanks you will really
have to apply a lot of
downward pressure - but
the key is not letting up
until the grip is where
you want it. You
will be surprised how
easily (relatively
speaking) the grip is
positioned and there is
never a problem with
loose grips as the grip
is stretched over a blank
diameter far larger than
the hole in the grip. It
is actually better to use
a grip which when just
loosely slid over the tip
of the blank stops at
least a foot or two above
where you want the top
end of the grip to be
finally fitted. Make sure
the hole in the grip is a
smaller diameter than the
thinnest diameter section
of the blank you want to
fit the grip
over. Now all that
remains is to clean up
the glue residue on the
exposed area of the blank
with the lacquer
thinners. I
also find that a contact
adhesive commonly used to
stick vinyl floor tiles
(in South Africa the
brand name is Gemkem Contact
Adhesive) works well
for installing these type
of grips.
I
have used this technique
just recently while
building a Calstar
GF800L
which I fitted with
preformed EVA grips. The
results look and feel
great especially after
the grips were
streamlined further using
a file and glasspaper.
Incidentally, I also used
the "Roberts",
"Spiral"
or "Acid"
Wrap guide placement
system discussed above
and am thrilled with my
truly unique and
functional rod! Teamed
with an ABU Morrum
6600 and 65lb
test Berkley Whiplash
Braid together with a
30lb test Seaguar
fluorocarbon leader, it
puts those big lures out
of sight and exercises
excellent control on the
retrieve ...
To
chat about rodbuilding in
general, use the Forum
or e-mail Jacques
with your contact 'phone
number.
Hot
Tip #2!
Keep your
rods clean and shiny with
Pledge Classic
or Lemon spray Furniture
Polish!
Also makes dirt easier to
remove after subsequent
outings ... Just sponge
with mild, soapy lukewarm
water - rinse, dry, apply
Plegde and
buff with a soft, dry
cloth. With rods costing
what they do these days,
you just have
to take proper care of
them.
Hot
Tip #3!
The best
way to clean and brighten
up cork grips?
Wipe with a cloth
moistened in Lacquer
Thinners.
Guaranteed to make cork
grips look like new!
Lacquer Thinners is also
great for cleaning and
de-greasing rod blanks -
just don't use on cheap,
painted rods and blanks
as it will strip the
colour. High quality rods
and blanks which have
their colour pigment
added as part of the
graphite or fibreglass
resin will be fine.
Hot
Tip #4!
The best
way to wrap single foot guides so they
don't pull out from the wrapping?
Check out how to do the
Forhan
Locking Wrap (developed by Rich
Forhan) step by step!
***
OK, so who's
Butch Brown? ...
Must see
VIDEO Clip
You just have to see this
Video clip
(click
on the pic and then
on the Butch Brown links)
of a big Bass taken on the
Huddleston
Deluxe Swimbait!
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