hey guys, i would like to build a crappie rod in the 7' range ultra light- light power fast action.
cant find the blank i want in the regular spinning rod blanks. i have heard of useing fly rod blanks but since i dont fly fish, im not sure what blank i want. the rod will be used for small cranks, tube jigs, and some live bait. basicaly a gen. use rod.

2S70ULF2 - St Croix SCII Ultra Light 7' 2 piece, 2-6# line, 1/32-3/16 oz lure. It will work nicely and store easily.

Also you could find a shorter spinning blank that you like and extend it.

One of my favorite Crappie rods is a St. Croix 5S59ULF that I extended to 6'3".



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Better to have and not need than to need and not have.

The rod that fits your needs will, of course, depend on the style of crappie fishing you do. I cast a float/ fixed or slip bobber a lot less than I used to, and I hardly ever cast and retrieve. Since I started vertically jigging with jigs I started to double-duty my 9 ft /7 wt St. Croix bass fly rod (the first one I ever built) for crappie. I put an underspin reel on it and it works decent. Not as balanced as those crappie rods that have the reel further away from the butt cap, but it fills the gap and works fine for me. The 7 weight rating is about right, since I have to lift them aboard and need a little stiffness to pull that off. One guy I know uses fly reel with the flyreel/floating line on it and just ties on a long mono leader. The floating line acts as a strike indicator.

For crappie is better to use one spinning rod build on fly blank 9' W5 medium fast(if you can find one blank ALL STAR AUSTIN ,you are very lucky!!!) with SIC match guides ,model "M",long leg(PACIFIC BAY).
If you use w7 blank is already to stiff.

I had a guy want the very same set up. I did find a Pioneer Series blank PUR700DS made by Hasting's Rod Manufacturing (Graphite USA). After I told him it would be $135 he said "Maybe later". LOL

I think this blank would probably do well. Even though it is a fast action I think these blanks do have a little bit softer tip than the G-USA blanks. Do wanna rip the hook out of those paper mouths.

Steve

Dave,
The discriptions of rod blanks can't be used to discribe another style blank usually. A fast spinning or casting blank has no common companion in the fly blanks. A fast fly blank is a mod to mod fast spinning/casting blank action wise. One of the lighter powered dropshot blanks as Steve mentioned may be a place to look for a fast blank. The Loomis DS blank for instance is very close to being a long SJ700 which is an outstanding ultralight mag taper blank that I think works well for crappie. I have used my IM6 version in deep water situations for many years.

David, look at the forecast blank lineup, if you want economy and a warranty, these are excellent blanks. I am giong to build three crappie blanks, this winter, all on fly rod blanks and in that 2 wt. range. Two forecast in 6'6" and one St Croix in the 7'6" 2wt. There have been many articles written on using the fly blanks for crappie.

thanks for all the info. i have been trying to sort thru it all the last couple of days. all of you have been very helpfull. one thing that i forgot to mention was i am looking for and economical blank. i have only scratch built one rod to date and refurbished two others. unfortunately st croix, g.loomis, ect are priced out of my current buget.