Casting Rod Observations

[rps]

Why bait caster? Spinning rod should be a better choice for the lighter weights.

To control speed and distance, I find my thumb on the spool to be far better than a fore finger on flying coils. I also believe the release point, a critical element of accuracy as well, to be more precise with bait casting equipment. Maybe others can handle spinning equipment as well as they do bait casting. I cannot.

[Al Agnew]

Yep, spinning rod aficionados will argue, but IF you can cast a light lure effectively with a baitcaster, you will be more accurate with it. That's a big "if", though, which is why Mitch is looking for the right rod. Yes, you can cast a light lure on a heavy rod if your reel is good enough, but it's really the loading of the rod that gives you more distance, a smoother cast, and therefore more accuracy. On the other hand, if your rod doesn't load well enough (flex with the weight of the lure on the back cast and beginning of the forward cast), it will be very difficult to be accurate with the casting reel.

Like Mitch, I used to use spinning tackle with light jigs, but I've switched to baitcasting, because it's simply more accurate and more trouble-free, and I like the feel of the baitcaster. I'll still use spinning tackle for most soft plastics, but if I can do well with the baitcaster, that's what I'm going to use.

[exiledguide]

I'm joining the Woo Daves crowd and and converting to more spinning equipment. My right thumb has used up all the cartilage in both joints and after x number of years going back to my Ocean City, I'm trying to use spinning for every style of fishing I've in the last few years used spining for worm and jig fishing but I cant get comfortable with spinner baits or crankbaits with a spinning reel and switching to the left hand is not an option at 71 years old.

[timinmo]

Mitch or anyone else

Couple more thoughts that are not at all orginial. As Hoglaw states the mhx blanks seem to be a good value. I have not built as many rods as he has on those blanks but I have been happy with the ones that I did build. I believe those blanks were designed to match the blanks that Loomis used to sell to rod builders but does not any more. So if you find a Loomis that you like you might find a mhx blank that matches it. As Al stated to properly cast any lure your rod should load from the weight of the lure. Certainly a reel that is build to throw light weights is part of it and you must consider the total package, rod, line, reel and the weight to be thrown. I have a friend that can throw the lightest of lures with a medium heavy rod and 16lb line but I can not and I think most of us can not. As far as not being able to build a rod. I really think anyone can build a rod that wants to, it is not very complicated and if you can tie a fly or jig you can build a rod.

Al mentioned something about the Gary Loomis story and you can find some of it on tackletour.com if you search for Gary Loomis. It is a very interesting story. His blank company is North Fork Composites as previously mentioned and I would have total confidence in anything he builds. I just have not felt the need to spend the money that he charges for his blanks.

For anyone interested in building rods you might express the interest to the people at MSA as we have been kicking around the idea of having some kind of seminar on rod building/repair, jig making, and soft plastic making. I think we need a location for it and it probably would not be part of our regular meet schedule but nothing has been worked out as yet.

I don't know about anyone else but I am bored with the old spinning verses casting debate and think that being comfortable and proficient with your equipment is more important than which type you use.

Tim

[Mitch f]

Update:

While Al was at the Classic, he picked me up a rod that should fit the bill pretty well.....But it just so happens I was at Bulls Eye bait and Tackle in OFallon and found a perfect rod there too. It's a 6' fast tip medium rated from 1/16-1/2 oz. It's a very light and sensitive rod that loads well and still has enough backbone to drive the hook home. Great thing is it's built in Collinsville, IL 40 minutes from my house. The price was $150. Between this rod and the one Al picked up for me I should be set! But I was just about ready to have Hoglaw build me one!...Oh well

here's the link:

http://www.broutlawrods.com/home.html

BTW, I got the BR60M 6' model

[tjulianc]

Update:

While Al was at the Classic, he picked me up a rod that should fit the bill pretty well.....But it just so happens I was at Bulls Eye bait and Tackle in OFallon and found a perfect rod there too. It's a 6' fast tip medium rated from 1/16-1/2 oz. It's a very light and sensitive rod that loads well and still has enough backbone to drive the hook home. Great thing is it's built in Collinsville, IL 40 minutes from my house. The price was $150. Between this rod and the one Al picked up for me I should be set! But I was just about ready to have Hoglaw build me one!...Oh well

here's the link:

http://www.broutlawrods.com/home.html

BTW, I got the BR60M 6' model

Those look like nice rods. What kind of reel seat does it have, can't tell based on the info on their site? I've gotten use to the exposed blank reel seats, especially for jigs.

[Gavin]

Hope you like them Mitch. Need to finish up a 5'6" Northfork Composites casting blank rated for 1/4-5/8oz. Its going to have a 4" straight cork grip, Fuji ACS seat, Alconite Guides and a Titanium SiC tip top..I really like that Fuji ACS casting seat..this will be the 3rd rod that I've used it on.

Glued up my first split grip spinning rod set up yesterday..6' Medium Batson Blank.Fuji SK2 split grip reel seat..There was alot of measuring, fit, and glue work involved...Took more time and effort to mount split grip instead of a standard seat. Probably not much in terms of weight savings. Biggest advantage..Cost. Less than $15 in the handle assembly v. $25+ for a standard spinning grip handle using cork.

[Mitch f]

Tjulian-Here are a couple of pics of the reel seat. Gavin, looks like you need to teach me how to build a rod!

[hoglaw]

Gavin, I've started doing split grips on most all of my baitcast rods for no particular reason other than I like the way they look. I don't think you save much weight either. And what weight you do save is below the reel seat anyway which just means the rod is more tip-heavy. Some folks prefer their rods balanced which means ADDING weight to the butt. For others, that's a cardinal sin. Personally, I like a rod that's close to balanced but not quite for worm and jig fishing. A rod that is just slightly front-heavy feels more sensitive to me. For crankbaits and spinnerbait rods, there's zero purpose in balancing the rod since it will be under a constant load. But for jerk baits and top water rods, perfect balance can be really handy. But the main reason I like doing the split grip is it gives me a perfect space to do a tiger wrap which I think looks really cool. Do a google image search to see some examples.

I'm about to do a pretty stout flipping stick for a guy, so I figured I'd share the shipping and pick up a blank to make myself a wiggle wart rod. I've come to prefer EVA grips for splits even though they're cheaper and not as "nice," but for this one I sprung for a carbon fiber grip. I forget which reel seat I'm putting on it. It isn't the pac bay minima that I like so much, but a fuji one that's super contoured and pretty comfortable to hold. Trophy was telling me about a rod that dtrs5kprs had built for himself so I decided I'd emulate what he did. Rather than use a traditional blend, it's an MHX hot shot blank I think. I use a slightly lighter one for shakey heads and for throwing 1/16oz maribou jigs for carp. This one is the 7'6" 8-15lb line model. I forget the lure range, but warts should be in the sweet spot. The point of the story is it is a more sensitive rod than the fiberglass blends, so I decided to spring for a carbon fiber grip. I didn't see the point in spending the money to use the same carbon fiber for the butt of the split grip, so I'm just using a cheap EVA butt. Hopefully it won't look too stupid. We'll see how it turns out, but it should be able to launch a wart into outer space and be able to feel every single pebble on the way back in.

[Gavin]

Looks like a standard Fuji Mitch...Gimme a holler anytime you want to wrap one. You probably have most of the tools...the most important one is a digital caliper to measure parts. The rest can be done with some simple hand tools, but a jig to wrap, and a turning motor is a plus.

HL ist good to compare notes. Let me know how that cranking rod works. Havent found one I really like yet. A couple pics of some builds in progress. Top one is the spinner with the Fuji SK2, next is the caster with the Fuji ACS..bottom two are for my daughters, standard Fuji casting seats and undersized grips for little hands. The little jig is an old fly reel seat with a screw through it...It works great for lining up tip tops and guides. Next is several rods that I made 8-9 years ago, and some works in process that are going nowhere for the time being.