I have someone that is interested in a rod that he can use as an all around bass rod. I was thinking of suggesting the St. Croix 3C66MF. He wants 6' 6". Has anyone built on this blank or does anyone have a better choice to consider?

Boy - Boy what a loaded question - I wish I had a customer who wanted one of those! My bassers want crankbait, worm, spinnerbait, flippin sticks, frogging cranes, Mag, Super featherweight, noodles, drop shot, ultralight and a 1,000 other combinations. If you figure out if there is one rod that will satisfy ANY "bass fisherman" please let me know! I guess the starting point would be where, how deep, what kind of reel, what kind of boat, size of fish, bait type, line type, and line strength. I have intentionally left price out of this initial salvo!! If you can keep the price out of the conversation until the Need He Has Is Satisfied your chances of selling a rod will be greatly improved.

When all this is straight ask the question that will sell a rod. Look squarely in the eye and ask him what he would consider would make the rod special to him. If he looks at you with a blank stare here are a few questions.

Do you have a particular color in mind?

Would you like your name or business name on the rod?

What kind of grip would you prefer?

Do you have a completion date in mind?

Do you have any quality of blank or components in mind? If this is a freebee you determine the quality level of blank and components!

Would you like more than one rod considering the types available?

Now that we have reached agreement on all of the items needed I will immediately start getting everthing together for delivery of your rods on (date).

This will require a deposit of (1/2) price for me to order the required supplies. If you can pull this off without ever ever quoting the total sales price by using the logic of letting him know that half price - let him figure out in his head how much the total price comes too!

Here is my business card and I hope you will pass it out to some of your friends or relatives!

Sorry putting you through this ordeal but there are a lot of details to getting the right rod for each particular customer!.

Please doing business with you!

Now beat the delivery date you gave him by three days!!

It will not be the last custom rod you sell him!

Gon Fishn



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/06/2006 09:19AM by Bill Stevens.

I know it's loaded. I am a bass guy and I am very specific when it comes to a specific rod for each application. This guy is not real serious, he just wants a rod that he can use for a few different things. Price is not really an issue. I will build it with a split grip, no foregrip and probably spiral wrap guides. Guides will probably be Alconites.

Mid range 2 or three power -

Lamiglas Competitor Series
Rainshadow Mag Bass Rx7

The Alconites and sprial go hand in hand!

Good rods excellent value - all a part timer could wish for!

all around blank - SC 68mxf or Rainshadow 822.5

Don,

That is a great blank. It's heavy enough to use for worms and spinnerbaits and light enough to use flukes, senkos, topwaters and other stuff. All the SCIII blanks i have used have been great. Pretty light, sensitive and durable...

There are other good "all around" blanks out there but you can not go wrong with your selection.

I built two of the Rainshadow ISB 822.5 s for a local tournament fisherman. I actually had built one into a spinning rod, for myself to use dropshotting. He liked it so much that I sold it to him before I ever got to use it. Then, he came back and had me build the same blank into a casting rod. I still haven't been able to make one for myself, but it is a great feeling blank.
I just sold a Rainshadow and a "name brand" blank to a guy. For my money, the RS is just as good as the much more expensive brand.
Steve Broadwell

You won't go wrong with the 3C66MF. That used to be my "all-around bass rod" selection. It does all things well, and I still build them often.

However, more recently, the 3C68MXF took the slot as the best "all-around bass rod" selection. That XF tip is just really impressive. And it too, does all things well.

The one place where the 3C66MF might be better is if the guy spends most of his time worming. The butt seems a little stouter than the 3C68MXF. But, if he fishes moving baits more often, then the 3C68MXF will likely make him happier.

Either way, he's likely moving up from mediocre factory equipment, so this rod (whichever one you choose) will impress him immensely.

The 3C66MF would be a fine general purpose rod. People usually start out and have their best sucess with worms, jigs and spinnerbaits. This blank will do them all.

I have a rod on the 3S66MLF for an experienced bass fisherman. He was very happy with the result. He uses it for both Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass. He mostly fishes with Yamamoto Tubes but he likes the way the rod works across the board. I would expect the Casting version to have a slightly faster action and every bit as good for all around Bass fishing as the spinning model; perhaps even better. The SC III's are great blanks for the buck. If he is willing to up in price the SC5's are spectacular and I would expect the CTS entries are as well.

Good luck with the client and the build.

Thanks to everyone for all the input!