I am mostly a fly fisherman and fly rod builder so I have little experience with bass and crankbait fishing. a freind at work has asked me to sprial wrap a crankbait rod for him so I am looking thru the catalogs for a blank. He will be throwing deep wee r's and shad raps mostly for smallmouth. I have my eye on a Lamiglas ssp844 but would love suggestions from others who have a little eperience. I have sprial wraped a few heavy rods for striped bass here on the Hudson using the O'quinn method with some success. Comments?

Is your friend an experienced bass fisherman, especially with crankbait lures? If so, he may have developed a preference for certain actions, many crankbait fishermen prefer a moderate action rod, so as not to tear the small crankbait hooks out of the bass' mouth. Or he may prefer a more general purpose fast action rod. In either case, for those lures, I'd use a medium power rod. Ask your friend. If he doesn't know what he wants, I'd recommend a moderate action, medium power St. Croix SCIII blank, either 6'6" or 7'. These rods are specifically designed for crankbaits.

Bob,

I, being a Bass fisherman myself, would prefer a 7 ft. medium action fiberglass rod. Fiberglass is more forgiving, especially with smallmouths, when fighting the fish close to the boat. Smallmouth are known for their never give up behaviour, and tend to run when they see the boat. Fiberglass gives with the fish, allowing for the hooks to not be torn out. I would check with the customer to see what he prefers.

Bill in WV

Can't go wraong with all those previously suggested. But don't forget to look at the rod blanks in the American Tackle line-up. There are several 1 piece and 2 piece rods to choose from.
The full line is handled by a number of fine ATC dealers, such as Mud Hole, Bingham, Richard's, and others.

good wrappin,
David A. Fuller
Great Basin Fishing Rods

The suggestions above are very good ones. What I might add is that the lures you mention are pretty small and light especially the shad raps unless the are the very large ones. Most smallie crankbaits are on the medium to small side. I would definetly go with the Med. action over the MH. I got a few of the discontinued St Croix SC1 blanks from Richards Rods a while back. I Spiral wrapped them and they came out awesome. They are some of the best crank rods I have ever held. Now I wish they had not disc. them.
I have the SCIII and SC V blanks also. I would recomend a St Croix blank highly.

Brent

Don't forget about the Rainshadow/Forecast blanks. Check out our new all graphite small diameter Crank baits ( CB series) and also our E-Glass crank baits ( SPG series ) both lines are very good crank bait blanks. The Vision Continues - Offer Quality Blanks & Components at Reasonable Prices.. Check out our new website at www.batsonenterprises.com. Also feel free to contact us for your FREE color catalogs, IMHO the most comprehensive catalogs in the industry.
Thank you
Bill Batson
CEO
Batson Enterprises
Rainshadow/Forecast
wbatson@olypen.com

Bob,
The Lamiglas blank I think would be put in the faster blank category above, tight tip that firm up rather quickly in the last half of the blank. The St Croix 3C70MM also mentioned is a sweet blank in the moderate category.

St. Croix crankbait blanks are your best bet for price vs. performance and are domestic made right here in North America at their factroy in Wisconsin. The technology and backing go back over 45 years on their rods and blanks.
The Crankbait series mentioned are super for bass fishing fast reaction spinner and crank baits. The moderate action is what you want.
The graphite series are nice and light and responsive with sensitiviy that many bass anglers seek.
The S-Glass blanks made by their proprietary domestic process are available in satin black now and improved over the older blue models. You wouldn't be disappointed with their appearance and function.
Price vs. Performance....think St. Croix

For imports I would seriously consider the new American Tackle Matrix series AMC models from 6'6" to 7' models with med. lt. to heavy powers and moderat actions. Sweet blanks for the money and purpose. A beautiful forest green color with matrix butt woven construstion add appeal and strength.

Richard's Rod & Reel carry American Tackle Matrix , Heritage, Elite series and all the available models currently being made by St. Croix.
We are constantly stocking and ready to ship these blanks for our valued customers.

email: info@rodreel.com

Rich Garbowski
Richard's Rod & Reel

I know some guys that swear by Loomis CB743 and CB843, depending on the length you want. Sounds like he wants a 7' footer so check into the CB843. I will be wrapping some of those for myself later in the year. If he's throwing a no#5 balsa Shad Rap I hope he's using spinning tackle, which would negate the spiral wrap. To each his own.