Casting Rod Observations

[Al Agnew]

Al, do you like the GL /TFO 6.6 baitcaster??? I bought two on when Andy posted a link to buy them for $50 and bought two.....haven't used them yet.

So far I like it. It's not nearly as good as the Kistler was, but it was a whole lot cheaper (actually, I was given the Kistler by a tackle rep, and I need to see if he's still repping them

[hoglaw]

Short casters are tough to find...I made 2 5' casters last year...not quite happy with either. Was planning at least one more for this season...Probably one of the 5'6" model, maybe a 6' too.

http://www.northforkcomposites.com/catalog/bass

After you said that I checked the closet. I have two 5' "Duraflex" blanks, and another one thats just a little longer than 5' that I can't identify. They're all relatively stout rods...clearly made for short baitcasters. I think these are all destined for pistol grips and spinner baits in the White River Refuge.

After I posted that, I decided to look them up. Appears Duraflex blanks were made in Harrison Arkansas at some point in time. That's pretty cool. And some others had the same thoughts about them I did.

http://rodbuilding.org/read.php?2,28123

[Mitch f]

So far I like it. It's not nearly as good as the Kistler was, but it was a whole lot cheaper (actually, I was given the Kistler by a tackle rep, and I need to see if he's still repping them

I'd be curious to find out how you broke the Kistler. There's always a gap between a rod that is the ultimate sensitive lightweight rod and one that is robust.

[Mitch f]

What void? Are you talking about cutting off the butt end of a blank and moving the whole set-up to the tip and the resulting gap between the blank and reel seat? There's no reason to approach it this way and cut a blank down, but if you really want to then you just use masking tape to build up arbors to the inside diameter of the reel seat and epoxy the heck out of the tape.

When you're done taping, it looks like this: tip -----------------------------------------||-||-||-||----butt

with the vertical marks representing bands of tape that are built up to match the inside diameter of the reel seat. Then you epoxy on, around, and between the tape arbors. They also make graphite arbors that you can ream out to the proper size and they fit snugly in a reel seat, but tape works great.

Thats great info!

After reading Gavin's post my concern was finding the perfect blank and then adding a handle that was too long for the straight section of the blank. Kind of like the handle would be a straight cylinder and the blank would be cone shaped. I was wondering what to fill the void with and you answered it perfectly.

[cnr]

Hmmm...While I understand the desire to use a casting rod for better casting control I have to think tossing 1/8 oz could be a little light for this setup, even if you could find (or build) a rod to do it. Seems to me that light of a bait would not turn the spool very effectively and the distance may be somewhat limited.

[mixermarkb]

It's not a new rod, but check eBay as I see loomis CR-721 rods pop up there from time to time. 6', light power, fast action. IMX or GL3, and you should be exactly where you want to be.

[Gavin]

It would be a total experiment Mitch....got a blank you like, but want it with a caster and shorter...can be done.....shorten it up..or add length under the grip..it gets unpredictable when you start getting into the tapered section of the blank. Taper IS everything..A deflection test helps...(Hang a weight off the end and match the curve).But it tells you nothing about recovery rate (How fast the rod unloads back to straight).Fun stuff, but not inexpensive. You will go through 1-2 Ok's, till you get what you want....

[Mitch f]

Well, to make it an easy start I took Wayne's advice and started looking for the Falcon Low Rider. Can't buy it directly from Falcon, need to go thru distribution. Haven't been able to find a distributor that carries the LFC 3 166. Smalliebigs called the Falcon factory and they have 78 in stock.

[timinmo]

Mitch

This maybe a little late to your topic but the are several options. Yes you can make a casting rod out of a spinning rod blank. I have done it several times as I'm sure most of the rod builders on here have. In my rack right now there is a casting rod wrapped on a St. Croix SCIV 5'10" "Skippin" blank. The Mudhole catalog shows this blank as 3/16 to 5/8 but they also show a 5'9" "Classic Jig" blank at 1/8 to 1/2 these SCIV blanks are a little on the pricey side at $130 and they are both extra fast actions. They also show a 5'9" SCIII blank and a 6'3" blank both extra fast actions and both rated at 1/8 to 1/2 and priced at $90. I have not used the 5'9" blank but have built several rods on the 6'3" blank both in casting and in spinning. Anyone can make a casting rod out of a spinning blank or the other way around. The SCIII 6'3" is one of my favorite blanks and will do alot of the things that need to be done on the river. All of the blanks I have mentioned are listed as spinning blanks. The Falcon rods that I have used have not left me disapointed and I believe someone mentioned a Loomis 721 which I think I have in the garage wrapped as a casting rod and a spinning rod. There are certainly brands other than St Croix and if you take a look at the Mudhole web site I am sure you will find some posibilities.

The best option is to use one that you are thinking about before buying or having one built but obviously that is not always possible. I am a believer of fast and extra fast action rods for the reasons that you have mentioned and think they really shine when using lures that are on the bottom. In any case if you start on the path of building rods or having them built the possibilities are endless and it can get expensive. I did not mean this to sound like a plug for mudhole and there are other suppliers but they seem to have one of the largest selection around.

[Guest]

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