Hey Guys and Gals,

I'm looking to join the Bass Fishing Tournament Circuit and have just began to building fishing rods. I would also like to plug a fellow legendary rodbuilder in my area (southern california) and that is my Sensei Doc Ski. He is the best guy you could ever learn anything regarding Rodbuilding from.

My question to you all is:

What rod blanks would you recommend for the following rods?

-Crankbait
-Spinnerbait
-Drop-Shot
-Plastics
-Flippin'
-Pitchin'
-Topwater
-Rippin'
-Reaction Baits

Thanks,

Tony

Crank=Seeker BS706S in glass, St Croix 4c70MM for little cranks
Spinner St. Croix 4c70MHM, 3C70HM for 3/4 and over
Dropshot SC4C69MLXF, Shikari P7000 if you really like it whippy and can find one
Plastics=SC5S70MLF for 4 inch wacky Senkos, 5S70MF 5 inch wackies
Flipper = Shikari FS764
pitchin=shikari pmb704, SC5C70MF a little lighter weights
topwater=pistol grip under 6'6" for spooks. I really like the St Croix 5SMLF/ MF in spinning for little stuff.
rippin=for spinners the 2 previous 5S St. Croixs. Not the SC4c70mm even with the tip cut down 2 inches.
Reaction=silver buddy Loomis IMX MB782

I second the Seeker BS706 S-Glass for medium to deep diving cranks.

TJ

Here's my 2 cents:

Crank--3C66MM for little ones; 3C70MHM for med. to large cranks
SBs--3C70MHM for 1/2 oz. or larger; 3C68MXF for 1/4 oz. to 1/2 oz.
Dropshot--3C69MLXF (as spinning)
Plastics--3C69MLXF (as spinning) for little tx. rig worms and senkos; 3C70MHXF for med. to large worms
Pitchin--3C70MHXF (but we don't have lots of cover or grass to deal with)
Topwater--3C68MXF for med. to large topwaters; 3C66MM for small topwaters

Wheew!! You guys know some STUFF! I am sure glad specks and redfish can be captured with the humble Popping Blank! if I have four guys on my bay boat each with that many tools of the trade I would not have room to haul the fish! But again that is either good or bad for a builder - think about how many could be stepped on in a day of war on the water.

Gon Fishn

Wow,
I understand and Agree St. Croix & G-Loomis make great blanks but can Rainshadow get one of them??

Bill your stuff rides in our boats catching reds and trout - IP Forever In The Marsh - so many we don't even send them back when the extras get stepped on.

Gon Fishn

The Rainshadow bass blanks are kind of rare in the Pac.NW on the blank shelves. I've tried RX8+S822.5 and the ISB822.5 both are very similar to the St Croix 68MXF and the now not available All Star Tops and Tails blanks. All are a very versatile blank that can be used for many different fish species.

Well, I gotta chime in here, too. I make just about only bass rods, and have used Rainshadow more than anything else. For dropshotting, the ISB822.5 is one of the best blanks around. I've built many of the IMB blanks for worming, flipping, etc., and no customer has ever been anything but ecstastic about the performance of their Rainshadow rods.
The rods that I build for myself and my son are all Rainshadows - the IC722, bumper wrapped, is the best rod I have ever used for topwater. I have built quite a few of the "bigger" name blanks, and they are good. But, I can't really tell much difference between them and a corresponding Rainshadow, except for price.
I have not yet tried one of the RX8 blanks, but intend to do so soon.
Steve Broadwell

I just bought 2 ea. of the Rainshadow ISB782 (feels really nice) and the CB66M crankbait rod that Karry Batson describes as "an amazing stick". I haven't built on any of these yet but the CB66M is about a 1.5 ounce blank and it sure feels pretty sweet. All these will be built as spinning rods. The prices are very nice on them. They are straight!


Chuck

Hey Tony,

I too am a rookie at this as I have only built about ten rods so far, but I am an avid tournament bass fisherman and I have had experience with several brands of rods including Loomis and St. Croix. With that being said, depending on your price range, I would highly recomend any of the blanks from Batson, or at least the ones I have built on. To date, I have built three on the IMB783 for fishing plastics. IMO it makes for a very good rod for plastics, However, I think the next one I build will be on the slightly heavier IMB784 'cause I tend to like a little stiffer rod. I have also built one each on the IMB845 and 846. The 845 will make an excellent C-RIg rod, but I purchased it for flipping jigs in the heavy stuff. If you ever fish any really dense grass, I would reccomend the 846. My only disapointment in the 846 was the weight, allthough when built with a 13" full burl grip, it actually balances out very well and is a pleasure to fish. I should also be recieving in the mail today an IMU876 musky blank for fishing the dense grass. Never tried that one, but we're gonna see how it turns out.

I'll tell you this much though. If I had a little extra money to spend I would seriously consider talking to Andy Dear about the CTS line of blanks. I haven't had the opportunity to purchase any of these, but from what I've read, I think they are probably the best high end blank available. Or, at least as good as St. Croix SC V or Loomis IMX and a little more foregiving on your pocket book. Give Andy a call and visit with him personally. Otherwise, it is hard to beat the Batson line of blanks for the money. Hope this helps.

TJ

OK - if you want to build on the new RX8 lineup then...822.5 for dropshot, s823 for topwater, c742 for rippin, c812 for senkos/plastics, c783 for pitchin, c843 for c rigs, and c865 for jigsnfrogs. Supposed to be excellent and I highly recommend them even though I haven't built on any of them yet