Ok here’s what I’m looking to do .I want to build a 7’ casting rod that will cast a plug or spinner bait [1/4 to 3/4 oz ] the very longest distance possible. I’m not concerned with fighting strength or weight of the rod, just distance. I plan on mating the rod with a Chronarch 201 SF reel and will probably use a 10 -12 lb mono line. Would a medium power rod be better than a MH? Would a conventional casting rod guide set up better than spiral wrap? A spinning rod, maybe??? Are there better guides than Alconite to use? Are there any qualities I should look for that I’ve missed?? This rod is for freshwater only[Bass]
As always I appreciate any suggestions and help
Thanks for your time
Ken Blevins

It sounds like I was thinking like you several years ago when I built a rod along almost the same criteria. I also wanted to be able to take it on business trips and I ended up building on the AllStar Titanium 845MC-3, which I think designates "mag casting". I set it up casting and used alconite guides with #6 being the smallest. I use it to fish worms and other plugs for bass. It will absolutely rocket something out there, but it is so fast I find it hard to load well with 1/4oz.

Hi Ken,
I've built similar rods like you desrcibed. I just pick a blank, most times listed as a spinning blank, like a M power M action, titanium Sic guides bumper/spiral set up casts far with lite lure , mono 6 - 10 lb. line , Don't get stuck on what the catalog lists as a casting rod, or a spinning rod, use combination spinning & fly single foot guides.

Dave von Doehren
PRRODS......If man built it , man can fix it.and if man built it man can break it !

I've had some rods built on spin jig blanks that really kicked out some line. One blank I really like for your application that also really boots out some distance in your weight range is the S Glass Seeker @#$%& 706. A fantastic crank/spinnerbait rod. The only problem now is that you'll be throwing half your spool capacity on the reel each cast. Angler's Workshop had some of those custom order Seekers (they are usually a heavier E Glass) at a great price, last time I needed one. They had a couple more on the shelf.

Say there, Mr. David von or anyone else. I rigged up an MH 6'6" with three double foot titanium and the rest single foot fly titanium guides, all Fuji SIC rings, and found a big danged issue with keeping the line off the blank, so ordered some taller casting guides. I of course wanted to use the lighter fly guides, but with anything like the suggested spacing for this blank, it will not work. Is it no big deal to use 2 more guides than anyone might suggest with something like 3" spacing at the tip to keep the line clear of the blank??? Seems it might be. You save so much weight with titanium that a few extra guides might be no big deal at all???

Ken,
Guess the filter thought I was using inappropriate language, phonically it was the " bee ess" 706 S Glass blank.

I'm in the process of trying to do the exact same thing. Here is what I've discovered in my research.

It seems to me that your best bet would be to build up a crankbait rod (i.e. mod. action), using the lightest available guides. My suggestion would be a St. Croix 3C70MHM if your baits tend to be in the 3/8 to 3/4 range. If they tend to the smaller side of your weight range, then go with the St. Croix 3C70MM. Both these blanks are phenomenal crank/topwater/SB rods. Build using a simple spiral, and SIC guides, preferably Titanium (to keep weight down). Absolutely nothing wrong with alconites, but if you're planning on squeezing every last bit of performance out of the blanks, then the Titanium guides would help a little. Test cast a lot. Test casting the rod with the guides taped on will answer all your questions about guide spacing/sizes.

Now, the next thing you need to do is to tweak your reel. That's obviously a high dollar, high performance reel. But, you could definitely super-tune it, and you might benefit from a bearing swap also. Again, the bearing swap can be kind of expensive, and definitely "over-the-top", but it could help add just a little more distance.