MOsmallies Posted February 3, 2014 Author Posted February 3, 2014 I definitely plan on doing nice split grips once I start progressing and building with higher quality materials. Doing a cheap $50 kit is my first step to get a feel for the basic process. I can see this turning into an addiction as well.
rps Posted February 3, 2014 Posted February 3, 2014 I have two 7'6" rods I built to drag bottom bouncers and troll cranks for walleye. I bought salt water blanks, medium power, moderate flex to use with 10# braid. I put a minimalist split grip on them and used para cord between the split. In addition I had a "pro" make a top water rod for me with a 6" MH blank and a fast flex for 10-17# line. I did not like the grip I chose and gave the rod as a gift. All three rods are superior as far as their blanks.
Gavin Posted February 4, 2014 Posted February 4, 2014 I've been happy with most everything from Rainshadow & North Fork Composites. Tom Hargrove might let you use his lathe to spin a grip if you want to undertake that task yourself.
dtrs5kprs Posted February 4, 2014 Posted February 4, 2014 I have two 7'6" rods I built to drag bottom bouncers and troll cranks for walleye. I bought salt water blanks, medium power, moderate flex to use with 10# braid. I put a minimalist split grip on them and used para cord between the split. In addition I had a "pro" make a top water rod for me with a 6" MH blank and a fast flex for 10-17# line. I did not like the grip I chose and gave the rod as a gift. All three rods are superior as far as their blanks. Good to know. Built two of the JMX from Jann's in the 7'6" last year, one spin for finesse, one crank for warts and fins. Both work well for the given applications. Believe it is the same blank as the MHX Hot Shot 9000. Jann's number was SJ9000. Understand Mudhole also offers that blank as a "spin jig" because it sells better...not enough folks know what hot shotting is. Wart rod, also good with braid for throwing the fins. Big Uglee...shows up with the reel taped on in one of the Ned Rig videos. Very nice for fishing the little stuff, could be a little softer.
Mitch f Posted February 4, 2014 Posted February 4, 2014 Love the Lew's "Honor is a man's gift to himself" Rob Roy McGregor
dtrs5kprs Posted February 4, 2014 Posted February 4, 2014 Love the Lew's Yep. It's one of the 5:1 ratios. Can just crawl that fin along.
hoglaw Posted February 4, 2014 Posted February 4, 2014 I'd echo everyone else's comments. I'm surprised to hear the rainshadow blanks are overrated. I haven't tried one yet and maybe I won't. I've been a big fan of the MHX blanks. I tried one of their blend blanks for crank bait fishing and I don't care for it at all. But other than that, I really like it. I think I used one of those spin jig blanks for my carp rod. I don't recall all of the model numbers I've used, but by and large I've been a big fan of their blanks for the price. I haven't tried their high modulous ones yet but I want to. Probably the nicest blank I've built on for myself is a St. Croix SCV blank. It was probably around $220, but I got it during a half off sale. I'm a big fan of that rod. My friend's grandfather is an old rod builder in Little Rock. I'm pretty sure he still has a stockpile of G Loomis blanks squirreled away. I'm going to try to get my hands on those soon. All this talk makes me want to start building some more rods! I haven't done one for myself in a while.
dtrs5kprs Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 I'd echo everyone else's comments. I'm surprised to hear the rainshadow blanks are overrated. I haven't tried one yet and maybe I won't. I've been a big fan of the MHX blanks. I tried one of their blend blanks for crank bait fishing and I don't care for it at all. But other than that, I really like it. I think I used one of those spin jig blanks for my carp rod. I don't recall all of the model numbers I've used, but by and large I've been a big fan of their blanks for the price. I haven't tried their high modulous ones yet but I want to. Probably the nicest blank I've built on for myself is a St. Croix SCV blank. It was probably around $220, but I got it during a half off sale. I'm a big fan of that rod. My friend's grandfather is an old rod builder in Little Rock. I'm pretty sure he still has a stockpile of G Loomis blanks squirreled away. I'm going to try to get my hands on those soon. All this talk makes me want to start building some more rods! I haven't done one for myself in a while. Wrapping the SCIII tonight. Another split grip TN handle. May go after my 7' SCIII spin blank tomorrow, or one of the casting blanks that are staring at me from the corner. SCV's are hard to beat. Remember when they switched Mudhole and Jann's had some deep discounts on them.
rps Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 Wrapping the SCIII tonight. Another split grip TN handle. May go after my 7' SCIII spin blank tomorrow, or one of the casting blanks that are staring at me from the corner. SCV's are hard to beat. Remember when they switched Mudhole and Jann's had some deep discounts on them. It was during that discount that I bought the 6' blank I used to build my Top Dollar rod. (For those of you new to the board, I refer to my favorite top water bait. Look at my avatar.) Recoil micro guides, spiral wrapped. Minimal split grip. I put a Revo MGX on it. Sometimes I have to look down to see if I am holding anything.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now