# Rod making



## Cajunsaugeye

Reading and posting on another thread has got my mind churning.Any rod makers out there? I would LOVE to get into making my own good quality rods.I think it'd be an extremely rewarding thing to do.Catching fish on your own rods.I'm not looking for the "best blanks" or those types of things.I'm curious as to what start up cost would be for good/decent quality tools to do this.Any Place,brand,type,whatever recommendations are welcome.Full kits available as far as necessary tools? Just wanting to get the ball rolling.Appreciate any/all help or advice.Thanks guys!


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## wildlife53

There is an organization called Ohio Rod Builders. They are around the Canton area. You can Google "Ohio Rod Builders" to get more information and you can also find them on Facebook. I wood be interested in learning more about rod building also. 


Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


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## Cajunsaugeye

Thank you for the info,wildlife.I'll be sure to check it out.


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## bjicehockey

i have made some "custom" rods to pack on trips and what i used for the guides were a bobbin (the type for fly tying) a 2x4 to hold one end and a drill to turn it and finished it with a two part epoxy you could do more but this worked well for me and i had almost no $$ in it


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## Cajunsaugeye

First of all,Thanks for the input.I just placed an order for everything(I think) needed to make 2 ice rods for my father,from Jannsnetcraft.He SOMETIMES goes dock/ice fishing w/me so I thought I'd be a nice guy and build him a couple(instead of using mine!).Went cheap,easy on handles and got the Corkalon handles as I have on a couple of my bought rods and do just fine.Making one walleye microlite and one panfish microlite.HOPEFULLY in a wk or so I can post some proud pictures of my first rods.On a side note,i'm not getting a rod dryer yet.Want to see how things go before making any more investment.Looks like I'll be sitting in front of the TV turning by hand occasionally until set up.Thanks again guys.


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## Cajunsaugeye

OK,still gonna do these by hand and a cardboard box BUT,getting on Mud hole.com today I see a rod wrapping station and a 9rpm dryer for 39.95 each.Seems cheap comparatively but think it will be my next investment once I catch "the bug". If anyone cares to look on there and could share their opinions on them vs more expensive set ups I'd surely appreciate it.I know I wouldn't be " production lining" rods out of these things but I think,for what I want,they'd be great.I may make a few to try and sell eventually,once I wasn't so "green" but itd be a VERY limited amount.More of just something to do and to help out the "newbie" icers OGF gets every season that needs equipment.Geez,I haven't even made one yet and getting all giddy like a school girl!


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## Cajunsaugeye

Of course by very limited amount I mean they'd be labeled "limited edition" and the price doubled


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## Cajunsaugeye

Well,did my first one up yesterday.Learning curve started! 1) Already learned I need bigger thread than I ordered. 2) the corkalon handles are pretty flimsy when attached directly.Think a graphite arbor and more snug fit is in order for those.I'm sure every build will show me more.Enough talk for now.Here's a quick pic of my first rod(don't laugh!)


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## Cajunsaugeye

Just ordered another.HMX ultralight 30" from mudhole.Gonna slow down,use what I've learned from 2 rods done so far and make me a NICE one.Going reel seat and cork for this one.Also going black wrap w/green trim band to match the green tip.Ordered the 39.95 wrapper to make things a bit easier than books,etc.!


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## Bassbme

Tough to see the guide wraps in the picture, but they look pretty good to me. The whole rod looks good. When you say you need to get bigger thread, my guess is that you bought size A? At least you were working with red thread. I was working with black thread on a black blank. Talk about tough to see !!! lol 

I put a post in the other rod building thread you were posting in suggesting getting size A and size D. D is much easier to work with, and while it gives good results, it doesn't look as smooth as a guide wrapped with size A thread. 

You say once you get bitten by the bug? You already are bitten by the bug. lol It's great isn't it? I looked at the rod wrapper I assume you bought. The black metal CRB hand wrapper? That's going to work out fine. Like you said, you're not looking for mass production, and you can always upgrade down the road if you find the need. The only thing I could see that could be limiting is in the amount of side to side adjustment in the thread tray. I know with the one I built, being able to get the thread carriage as close to the rod stands as I could, helped with wrapping guides near the tip of the rod. Of course I've only put guides on three rods, so I could be doing wrong. 

Just a question concerning your guide wraps ... are you burnishing them? Burnishing as you wrap insures a nice tight wrap. I use a popsicle stick as a burnishing tool. Also .... something that I learned about thread tension from talking to one of the rod builders at The Rodmakers shop in Strongsville. I asked him how much tension I should use on the thread when wrapping guides. He told me that while you want it tight, that you don't want it so tight that you can't adjust the guides with medium light pressure. He told me that wrapping them too tight will lead to rod breakage. Especially near the tip.

Anyhow ... the rod looks good. Keep posting pictures. Especially of the trim bands you plan on doing. I've tried doing them and I just can't get them as thin as I'd like.

If anyone reading has tips on doing thin trim bands, I'd love to read them.


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## Cajunsaugeye

Thanks Bassbme.Actually that thread is orange and yes,size A.I think I'll go back to size A w/a run or two on the wrapper.I was really struggling w/keeping consistent tension w/my cardboard box and books.There are some minor gaps that I think I will avoid w/the wrapper.The bit of reverse tension it adds should be very beneficial until I perfect my technique.As for my trim wraps,I HOPE to show you good pictures,but,don't hold your breath! Really enjoyed the first builds and hoping to really do up this next one when it all gets here.


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## Cajunsaugeye

Here Bassbme.Just tried a trim band using that method I messaged you.This is a trash casting rod blank.Used bowstring serving for main wrap as I don't have other colors of thread yet.But orange is the size A. Four wraps total of orange.I like the technique so far.


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## Bassbme

Cajunsaugeye, that trim band looks good. I'm definitely going to check that Mudhole Youtube video you suggested. As far as the gaps in you wraps, you're right, being able to keep your thread at a slight angle is going to help tighten up your wraps, but you'll also want to burnish them. As I said in an earlier post, I use a wooden popsicle stick. I'm pretty slow at wrapping guides right now, but getting better, but as I turn the rod I'll some times notice a slight gap, that's when I take the popsicle stick and just push the threads together with the edge of it. It works really well, but after the first few guides I don't find myself needing to use it as much. It's a getting in a wrapping rhythm kind of thing I guess. 

Anyhow ... keep posting the pics and thanks for turning me on to that Youtube video.


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## Cajunsaugeye

I've learned already that the two biggest things for wrapping guides nicely is 1 burnishing and 2 prepping the guides well.I'm using my Worksharp sharpener w/medium grit to really make the foot smooth and seamless so the thread flows up the foot better.As far as the trim wrap,that worked pretty slick for me.I just used the wood(round) handle of a paint brush that I had lying there.Taped it on and wrapped around it.I think you'll like that video and technique.Easy! Isn't that what we all want?!?! If anyone else doesn't know this method for trim wraps,look up Mudhole videos on you tube.Think its called Rod building101- trim wraps.Maybe since I'm new at this,its a technique everyone uses.I thought it was super slick,myself.


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## Cajunsaugeye

Little practice on trim wraps before the MHX ice rod comes tomorrow.Should be built and photos this weekend.Not colors I'm gonna use in the photo.


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## Snakecharmer

Good work. Looks like fun.


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## Bassbme

Cajunsaugeye, I checked out that Mudhole trim band video. I haven't tried it yet, but talk about looking simple !!! I was just trying to do extremely thin wraps, as trim bands, and just couldn't get them thin enough. I like that the video says you can do the bands with as few as 2 wraps. Thank you for posting.

How do you like that hand wrapper you bought? Beautiful wraps, nice and tight, and smooth. Seeing the fun you must be having, has given me the bug big time. Once I get my taxes filed, I'm going to be ordering some stuff for my first build.


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## Cajunsaugeye

Wrapper seems quite adequate for my needs.Had an issue w/mudhole on the MHX ice rod order.Its now squared away and the handle,while not the exact one I wanted,is coming.Should be built by no later than Saturday,hopefully sooner.I'm building the 30" ultralight.Wanted the finesse handle w/cork but getting now the finesse w/black EVA.


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## Cajunsaugeye

As far as I got tonight.Handle epoxied on and hook keeper wrapped.Theres a green trim by handle also just can't see it in the picture.Guides should be on hopefully tomorrow but definitely by the weekend.Probably should've went straight cork handle but we'll see once I use it.MXH blank feels very good,however,it seems pretty stout compared to my other UL rods.


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## Cajunsaugeye




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## Cajunsaugeye

OK eyes wrapped.Only thing left is coating them.Be ready to fish by tomorrow!


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## bowhunter29

You might be okay fishing it in 24 hours, but it's best to wait 2-3 days.

Nice work BTW!

jeremy


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## Cajunsaugeye

Done! 2 coats Lumiseal.I use it instead of epoxy as it is much lighter in build than epoxy.And all about lightness in a finesse ice rod.It dries to tackless in 1hr.So second and thicker coat is on now and drying.May go one more tomorrow since not using yet.I won't be out until at least Friday anyways.Pics don't really do it justice but I'm proud of the turn out!


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## sciotoyaker

I like the way the trim band matches the tip. Looks great!


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## bowhunter29

You should be good to go with the Lumiseal.

jeremy


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## Bassbme

Looking good Cajunsaugeye .... man I need to get my taxes done and start ordering parts. lol


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## Cajunsaugeye

Well,another rod coming.Not because I'm addicted,but because Mudhole had another glitch.I said earlier in this thread that the rod felt"stout" for a UL.Well after I did a little investigating on their site I found that the blank,if ordered individually,is a light not an UL.But when ordering the UL kit that is the blank sent.So now I'm getting another 32" UL kit sent overnighted at no charge! They have some issues there but their customer service (Bob McKamey in particular) is OUTSTANDING.
Thanks for the compliments on the rod build guys.A much enjoyed endeavor.The ability to customize fit/finish,actions,lengths,looks,etc. will make it pretty difficult to slap money on the counter for rod ever again.Not going to go crazy and replacing everything but as they age,break,whatever they're gonna be replaced w/my own builds.Can't justify replacing 40+ rods w/the wife or I would!


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## Cajunsaugeye

Finally got to put my UL together.32" MHX.


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## sciotoyaker

Very nice.....still waiting on a few thing for my build.


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## Hotfishinrod

Guys, I took the dive this morning. Have been interested in building/using my own rods. I needed a hobby for winters. I've been watching Youtube and reading blogs trying to absorb as much info as possible. I guess the only real way of learning is by doing. I went to Mudhole and made the order. Bought the Beginners Kit they have along with a 7' MHX Spinning Rod with EVC handles and some thread. It should be here in a week. In the meantime, I'm going to sort out a working space in the basement. I have a feeling I may be on here asking my share of questions. I hope it's as easy as it looks from the videos. I'm in no hurry to get it built so I will be taking my time. I want to do it right.


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## grub_man

Hi Guys,

Looks like some good work going on here! By starting with ice rods, everything else will seem like child's play. Wrapping on the thin tip sections of those rods is about as tough as it gets. Keep up the great work!

I'm one of the founding of the Ohio Rod Builders. I was on roadbuilding.org, and thought I saw a name I recognized as a former coworker of my father. As it turns out, it was a guy that I didn't know, but we found a few other guys to meet with and talk rod building. We started as a group that gets together once a month in the fall and winter, and have started having more formal get togethers called Gatherings. Some generous manufacturers and suppliers in the custom rod building industry often send free items for door prizes. We have always charged an admission price to offset the cost of the venue, and that is it. We are not a group designed for profit. We just like to get together and talk rod building and fishing. Many of us are hobbyists, but there are some experienced builders who have carved out a niche and operate rod sales and repair businesses.

In case you haven't seen, there is a great opportunity coming up to meet other rod builders, and learn a little something whether you haven't even ordered a component or you have been building for decades. We have a Gathering scheduled for March 14 at the Sippo Lake Clubhouse in Canton. As of now, the cost of entry is about $12, but goes down with each new RSVP. Members of the group always prepare a little something for lunch which is quite good. We've never had a Gathering where someone left without a door prize that was worth at leas the cost of admission, many leave with items worth much more.

For more information visit the ORBS. To RSVP or to ask questions, feel free to PM me.

Come join myself Bassbme, and others!

For those who follow the ORBS, I'm working on breathing some new life into our web presence, and am working on a series of interview articles of the members of the group and prominent people in the rod building community. Hopefully we can get some product review articles out there, and such.

I apologize for stepping up on the soap box and derailing the thread a bit, but we really need a few new faces to help breath a little new life into the group!


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## Hotfishinrod

Grubman, count me. I did RSVP to an email address I saw on another site but have not received a reply yet. I received my mudhole order today and anxious to get started. I have ideas of how I want it to be and hoping to get a lot of advice from the more experienced. Looking forward to the meeting.


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## Cajunsaugeye

Man,I'd really enjoy that,but I've got a new daughter coming Friday(if not before!!) so my time is going to be pretty sparse.Do you always meet in Canton area? Its @3 hr drive for me.Would LOVE to pick the brains of experienced people,but that may be a bit far of a jaunt.We'll see.


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## grub_man

Hotfishinrod,

Great, looking forward to seeing you there! Count yourself in. Email me at deltacustomrods "at" gmail "dot" com and I'll forward it to Bill to see if he already has you counted in.

Cajunsaugeye,

Congrats on the little one! You definitely need to be there for her and mommy for a while. Sleep well for the next couple of nights. If you are lucky in a month or so, you'll be able to get 5 consecutive hours of sleep . Maybe you'll be able to sneak out for the next Gathering. My little ones are growing into fishing buddy age at 2 and almost 5 now. My little girl loves to fish, and was just on me this weekend to get her rod finished.

Unfortunately, we do usually meet in the Canton area. The core group of guys come from Tuscarawas, Stark, Coshocton, Columbiana, and Portage counties, so it is kind of the geographic center of the group. Of course things could change and evolve a bit if the group begins to grow.

If there is every anything that you get stuck on or need a bit of advice, track one of us down, we are always happy to help. If you check around the ORBS site, you'll find that each of us have our own little niches, and there is almost always one of us that will be able to help.


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## Cajunsaugeye

Thank you.Already have one awesome fishing buddy.She's 8.The one coming,I'm told,is going to be taught fishing by her "big sister".







Hopefully I can make one of your meet ups someday. I'm enjoying the building more than I thought I would and already have plans for a new cranking rod and little lighter action drop shot rod than my Crucial MH.After those,as the others age,ALL will get replaced w/my builds.Just too rewarding catching fish on your own builds to not do it.Thanks again.Tight lines and tight wraps.


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## Bassbme

Joe, I'm really looking forward to it. I should have my order from Mudhole in hand hopefully by Friday. The order left Florida yesterday. The only bummer is that only 4 of my 6 running guides shipped. The other 2 are back ordered. lol I'm not to worried about it though. My guess is they'll be showing up in the mail within a few days. That and I'm thinking the first tournament I was planning on fishing this year is going to end up being canceled. Unless of course all the ice on the lake melts off by March 29th. lol


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## grub_man

Dave,

It should be fun. It's always great when the goody box arrives. I'm like a kid in a candy store! Hopefully the running guides don't stay backordered long. The International Custom Rod Building Exposition was last weekend, and a lot of vendors take a bunch of stock and move it there. Hopefully your extra guides were at the show, come back and can be shipped. It seems if things get backordered around the ICRBE, it can take a bit of time to replenish stock as a large group of vendors is trying to replenish at the same time.

This is where a set of inexpensive guides comes in handy. If you buy a set of 10 running guides, in each size you plan on using, say 4mm, 5mm, and 6mm, and then a couple double foot 6mm, 8mm, and 10mm guides, and finally a few spinning rod reduction guides. For about $60 or so, you have a stash of guides that will allow you to set up just about any rod you need to. Then if you want to order the high end expensive guides for a build, you can get exactly what you need. My biggest problem is that those cheaper guides are perfectly fine for bass fishing, and I tend to use them without restocking. I'm making an order this week and hoping I can be restocked before the Gathering. If not, I should have enough to get by.

If the guides don't come in by the time of the gathering, I might have a couple spare 5mm AmTak fly guides you could use for static testing and test casting, but I'll have to check.

Ice out will come soon enough, but is certainly going to be late this year. I remember in the late 90s catching some big bass at the back of one of the bays at Tappan around Valentine's Day. It was a year of little ice. Hopefully that tourney doesn't get postponed, but it looks like things are going to stay locked up with ice potentially growing for the next week or so around here, and I don't trust the long range forecast after that.

Joe


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## Bassbme

Here ya go Joe .... I'd appreciate it if you let me know what you think.


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## grub_man

Dave,

You've got mail. I'm not sure what is going on with those 'bulges,' but they shouldn't be there.

That winding check does look sharp though!

Joe


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## Bassbme

Joe, thanks for the mail. I kind of figured your answer would fall in line with my thinking. Oh well. I went ahead and started the build.

I had cut and turned down the O.D.s of my foregrip and rear grip out of a 24" length of EVA. I left the O.D.s a little bigger so I could turn them down once I got the EVA butt cap. I wanted to turn the final O.D for the rear grip with the butt cap installed dry. Turning the tenon to mount the butt cap on was a piece of cake. I made myself a Flex Coat type lathe, but I need to make a couple of mods that should make it sweet as heck. 

I bought that trim ring for between the rear grip and the back of the reel seat. The ring is made for the SK2 Fuji reel seat and I used the Pac Bay Minima split seat, the trim ring works on the Pac Bay, but isn't quite as flush with the outside of the rear portion of the seat as it appears it is on the SK2. I figured I was going to have to turn a little tenon on the front of the rear grip to get the trim ring centered, but it was only going to be about a 1/4" long tenon so I went a different route. I glued the ring to the rear of the reel seat at the same time I glued up my arbor into the thread tube. It ended up working beautifully. Not as flush as I was hoping it would be, but it came out beautifully. I had ordered another Pac Bay 16 mm reel seat with a gold hood that I was going to use, but the black hood looked better, so I went with it instead. I couldn't trim the thread tube as short as I would have liked because the reel foot for the Citica mounted in the picture must be a little different than my Curados, because when I put the Curado on while dry fitting it, the hood screwed down a little smaller. I probably could have taken an extra 1/8 off and still be good, but better safe than sorry.

As far as the bulges, I figured I'll put my hook keeper where one of them is so it and the wraps disguise it a bit. And if I decide to put the specs decals on the rod, I'll just put them where the other bulges are to disguise them a bit. If the lettering on the decals were gold I'd put them on for sure.

For guides I went with ATC, ring locks with gold nano plasma rings. They're gonna look sweet. Black thread for the wraps with gold metallic trim bands. I wish I could have seen the presentation you did at the ORBS gathering before I ordered my guides. If I had I would have went with 5's for my running guides. I ended up going with 6's because the smallest ringed matching tip top I they make is a 6. 

Probably have the rod done on Friday, Saturday at the latest. Not that it matters..... I won't be able to fish with it just yet. lol


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## grub_man

That's looking great. I built rods for several years before I got the nerve to turn a grip, even though it isn't difficult at all. I have an old Hirsch drill lathe that Bill gave me, and it works great. My drill could stand to turn a little faster, but it prevents me from taking off too much material too fast, which is something I would almost certainly do at some point with a faster drill.

You'll get to fish that rod soon. I saw open water as I drove by the Salt Fork emergency spillway on I-77 last night and read that someone fished it, so it wasn't my imagination. So, about another week or so up your way.


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## jeffjenkins1

I use to build them regularly, now I do one every couple of years. Been working on one with a martini and olives wrap for several months now... a couple of minutes at a time.

I did finish a fly rod with this same wrap and it came out nice.

Jeff


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## jeffjenkins1

BTW, if you want to do more advance wraps, including the martini and olives I mentioned, here is a good start and you can PM me with any questions.

http://rodbuilding101.com/library.php

Jeff


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## ironman172

I am getting into some rod building......more redoing,bringing the old back to life.....hand wrapped a few guides and made a hand gaff,for practice.....I was shown by one of the best builders on the gulf coast, starting to build my own power wrapper using a old sewing machine,the rod dryer motor is a roetisory motor that worked great for the few turning of the rod during flex coating......I love the old conolon blacks strippedto there natuaral fiberglass blank.....I can't understand why they would ever paint that blank


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## grub_man

Sounds great! Post some pics when you are done. I would love to see what those blanks look like in their bare form.


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## woodworker2001

And of the homemade power wrapper. Sounds like a great idea


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## Bassbme

Figured I'd post a picture of 4 of the 5 rods I've built thus far.

From top to bottom ..... two identical 6'6" spinning rods. Both built on Pac Bay Quickline QLSJ782 blanks. I built them for fishing shaky head jigs and drop shots.

Below them is a 6' rod built on a MHX, SJ783 blank. I took 6" off the butt of the blank to slow the action a bit. I built it for fishing hard and soft jerkbaits.

Below it is a 6' rod built on a Rainshadow RX7, CB66MH crankbait blank. I took 6" off the butt of the blank to aid with more accurate casting. I built the rod for throwing squarebills and other crankbaits into wood cover.

Haven't gotten a picture of my latest build yet. It's a 7'2" flipping/pitching, Carolina rig rod built on a Rainshadow Immortal IMMC72MH blank.


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