I am looking at building two surf rods for myself - I have the RodMaker article, the book and have searched the subject on this site.

I am looking at the Seeker SCSU115 for a heavy baitcasting reel - What is a British-Styled Two-Piece Rod? and is this a good choice for about 6-8 oz of weight and bait? The other rod I am looking at is a Cascade SU1267 for a Spinning set up that will throw spoons and cut bait - probably 3-5 oz. on the bait. My other choice is an All-Star blank. Primary consideration is casting distance - I can adjust my sinker from 3 to 5 oz depending on the day.

Both reels will have 20lb test. Need to cast 75-100 yds. for trout, redfish and shark off the Texas Coast. Thanks in advance!

The British Style rod has a graphite butt section and E-Glass tip section. The butt section is shorter than the tip section. I have the SCSU120 and I think (without actually measuring) the tip is about 7-feet and the butt is about 5-feet. I can tell you that it takes at least 5 or 6 oz of lead just to load it up properly. These are pretty heavy duty sticks and very durable. You'll probably want to use a shock leader for tossing that heavy of lead.

I used Quick Grip shrink tubing for the grip... you don't need to add any bulk to these blanks as the butt diameter is already close to an inch.

Erik

The British-style surf rod has a very stiff butt section and a more flexible and faster-tapered tip section. The ferrule is closer to the butt, and is usually at ~ 40% of the total rod length. The Seeker blank CSU-115 has a graphite butt and fiberglass tip section.

Currently, CONOFLEX is a premier manufacturer of English surf rods. Summer Moon Rod Works carries about 10 different models. The Cast n' Snatch-2 (Con-9; $140), Super Bass (Con-3; $216), Mirage (Con-6; $232) and the Cobra (Con-2; $284) are around your lower lure-wt range. The Injection (Con-1; $310) is the only one rated for "6oz + bait".

Check out the Allstar 1418 3-6 OZ sweet blank throws Great

P.S. - The CONOFLEX English Surf Rods use all-graphite or graphite-kevlar blanks. That, no doubt, contributes to their higher price.

Ryan -

For your heavy (eight plus bait) rods here are good choices from
All Star:

Model lngth pcs lure line
BGSW1508-2 Casting 12'6" 2 4-10 20-40 Mod-Fast Ex-Hvy 10.0 0.955 15
================================================
* BGSW1509-2 Casting 12'6" 2 5-18 15-60 Mod-Fast Ultra-Hvy 10.0 0.965 16 3/4

From Batson Enterprises / Rainshadow:
*SU1509F 12'6" 2 20-60 5-12oz 1.03 10.5
*SU1508F 12' 6" 2 20-40 4-8 oz 1.035 11

Mate any these up with an Avet MX series reel and 75-100 yards is no problem at all. Don't let the overall size of the reel fool you as they are very, very tough! I have two Avets - an MX (4.5:1) spooled with 40lb power pro (10 lb diameter) on a Rainshadow 1387F and an SX (5.1:1) model spooled with 20lb power pro (8lb diameter) line that I use on a Rainshadow 1267F.

I used American Tackle graphite/aluminium reel seats on these rods to match the reel colors (graphite/gold .// graphte/blue). They hold the reels very firmly and require little adjustment to fit the blanks.

As Erik stated shrink tubing works on these as they are already nearly an inch at the butt section however I prefer cork (actually cork/rubber
composite) tape for the look and feel.

The SU1266 or SU1267 from Rainshadow are very nice blanks either of which will suit your purpose .

SU1266F** 10' 6" 2 12-25 2-5 .900 7.0
SU1267F** 10' 6" 2 20-40 2-6 .830 9.5

I'm very impressed with the Rainshadow blanks and have built several of them for myself and others but primarily those that are even lighter for plugging (the 1262's and 1264's).

I don't care for the "British style" rods very much not because of any "technical" issues but because they can add a handling or 'transportation' problem with the uneven split and longer tip section.

You will like the CSU115. I think it's rated for 5 to 8 but I find 6 or maybe 7 total to be perfect. Great blank. Hard to backlash. The tip isn't quite as fast as some British blanks but it's close and I think it's even easier to cast.

Ryan,
I just hate to agree with Ken again but I do. It is really hard to beat the Rainshadow blanks. Ken may apply epoxy with his dog's tail but he is the expert on serf rods.

Em(o/e)ry ....

Serf rods? I'd prefer to think of them as "nobility"

Some others to look into for 8+ are from Purgalss PSFB300, the Mud Hole Surf Rocket series and many blanks by Lamiglas. Nick.

i live in the uk and have just built my first beach rod from a conoflex blank , top class blank . It throws 5-7oz and is 12`6