Anybody know a good source online for making saltwater rods or some good books specific to making saltwater rods?

Making Saltwater Rods is the Same as Freshwater, just a little bigger and stronger. If you have a style or size in mind it would make it easier to answer

Get Tom Kirkman's book , " Rod Building Guide" it covers the building of all types of rods and is available from Mud Hole Tackle and probably a number of the other sponsors on the left. Also if you are new to rodbuilding I would suggest a subscription to RodMaker Magazine also on the left toward the bottom it is a awesome magazine.

Also you can use the search function on this board and you will be amazed at the information that is available, just type in salt water rods or salt water rod building, select "all dates" and you will have a lot of reading material.,

Have fun,
Bob



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/27/2007 12:49PM by Bob Crook.

Like Jay said. A rod is a rod and the process is the same. I would strongly suggest Tom Kirkman's book "Rodbuilding Guide". It will be the best $15 that you can spend on this craft. It's available from most vendors on the left. Also, take advantage of the Library, FAQ's and Glossary pages at the top. The SEARCH function on this site will also yield a ton of info from the archives if you select ALL DATES. A subscription to Rodmaker magazine (or check ther site for specific issues detailing various saltwater rod types).
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Most importantly, ask questions, you will get a LOT of help here.

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

Oops! Bob and I must have been typing at the same time.

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

Jay,

Most of the media out there is "general" and the info will apply towards all types of rods. Like Barry said, "parts is parts". The only one I've seen that's biased towards Saltwater is Doc Ski's two DVD set. Doc covers almost three hours worth of material, in a way that's very easy to understand.

In Doc's honor (being a Vet) , if purchased on Memorial weekend, we'll pay the shipping to get it to you. Just type "Doc Sale Free Shipping" into the comments box at checkout. You can see more info on his DVD here ---> []

EDIT --> I just realized that Veterans Day would be honoring Doc. lol Okay, free shipping on any book or video on that page purchased between now and Tuesday 5/29 in honor of our Fallen Hero's.
Hopefully Doc will be around on Veterans for a good many years and we'll run that special in his honor at the end of Summer!

Mark Griffin
[]
C&M Custom Tackle
San Dimas, California



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/27/2007 04:37PM by Mark Griffin.

Mostly, like any other rod. When you get into the bigger ones, say over 30lb class, you start to see some differences like underwraps and. roller guides. You aren't going to find many people fishing the ocean who care much about a few extra ounces here or there either. They care a lot more about durability and endurance tho. E-glass (and now S-glass) is the staple material, then carbon perhaps added as a suppliment. Grips are usually hypalon or EVA, gimbals used usually, and foregrips far larger than most freshwater rods. I'm thinking boat rods here. Surf is a whole other discipline.

Think of it this way: In freshwater people go to some extremes to make it more fun to play the fish. In saltwater the fish have a good chance to play you! And between the larger fish and the salt environment, equipment is stressed much more.

I/m not obsessive about weight and I think that some get carried away with trying to save a couple grams but I do think, like Dave, that weight and balance are VERY important to the performance and sensitivity of a rod as well as the fatigue factor on the angler.

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

I agree with Mark Griffin in that the Doc Ski custom rod video is a great tool. It will take you through all of the steps needed to build a blue water rod.

I think Dave hit it on the head for what I was looking for. I did a search on Amazon and came up with a book I used to have called "How to Build Custom-Made Handcrafted Fishing Rods". It has a section geared towards making heavier saltwater rods. I came across the Rod Building Guide too, so I'll have to check that one too.

Generally the lighter weight spinning rods, virtually all inshore rods, even the lighter boat rods are pretty much the same. But Im talking 30-130lb rated boat rods, big roller guides, unibuts, bent buts, etc.

Actually my first saltwater build (Ive made a few freshwater spinning rods) is going to be a rod that is well suited to large fluke and Striped Bass. So probably looking for a straight boat rod around 5'6" to 6' rated somewhere around a 30lb test line, 2-6 oz weights. Granted this one wont be too far off from what Ive made for freshwater use, but definitely hope to be making heavier stuff in the future.

I tend to go a little longer, Jay. 6.5 to 7 foot for my boat rods. Just my preference, bred mostly from being on crowded charters and allowing me a little extra distance between my line and their tangles :-). If I had really big fish and 50lb+ thoughts, I'd probably go shorter just to take the leverage away from the fish.

If you go to mudhole.com and look at their sale rod blanks, the 20-40 ones in their value line are decent. How you gonna beat $18. Don't know if they change, but when I got mine they turned out to be American Tackel blanks. Feel like spending a bit more, the GatorGlass blanks are full of choices too. A hidden gem (to me) under the mudhole Surf Rocket sale area is the 7' 20-40. As the part number sorta tells you, it is a nice Lamiglas composite. I'd love to play with the bigger money blanks, like the new Seeker S glass models, but I have trouble putting the money into experiments that may go wrong on me. I'd have to build a whole lot of rods to get to that comfort level.

Cool, I was looking through mudhole. I was leaning towards a Lamiglass or a Gstorglass. But was possibly thinking of going cheap to try a few to "practice" on. Maybe a Batson, but with the cheap deals at Mudhole I might just try em there.

Were you disappointed they didn't have the 20-40 in pink at mudhole? :-)
That 7' Pocket rocket at mudhole IS a Lamiglas. More than the other cheap options, but cheap for what it is.
@#$%& has PacBay blanks on special at $20.
Donartrods.com has the PacBay blanks on special at $19, I am intrigued by the few composite blanks they also have on special. They even have a few Ugly Stick blanks, if not much selection left.

Gotta say it,,,,, I have more Ugly Stik rods than anything else. Some people think that's very k-mart of me, but I like them, have never broken one, and they are foregiving. Penn is apparently using the same blanks on some of their rods. At least once a year I see one of the 'high tech' graphite rods snap when fishing off the charters. Worst thing I've seen with an Ugly Stik is the rings popping out of the guides. I wish they still sold the Ugly Stik blanks in a widespread way in the US. But I guess if I really want another one, I can pick up a Tiger Stik cheap and just re-guide it.

BTW Jay, you might find yourself thinking spiral wraps with ocean rods. They go naturally with the bigger rods I think, and it is only when you start considering heavy all roller rods that it gets daunting and expensive. My own advice is to stay away from the fastest blanks for spirals tho. Fast means lots of backbone early, and that makes it difficult to get the first 180 to load up early. Being on the West Coast, where everyone seems to want the fastest live bait or tuna blank, that may be a taboo thought :-)

Jay

I have some very cheap priced blanks I can let go if your interested

Over stock saltwater blanks for a customer that never came thru

Re making saltwater rods, we have added a complete new section of FREE online rod building videos that feature building light salt water rods at:
[shop.mudhole.com]

We went to the efforts to make the FREE video available in Windows Media Player and Mac Apple formats so everyone should be able to watch it.

Also, scroll down that same page and you'll find tons of FREE info on rod building.

Regards.
Team Mud Hole Custom Tackle
Web: [www.mudhole.com]
Email: sales@mudhole.com
Toll Free Phone #: 1-866-790-RODS (7637)

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IMHO, when ever building Rods that will be exposed to any Salt water environment the Substrate material & plating of guides is very important.
I recommend using the SS316 Sustrate Material used in the Batson Ent / FORECAST guides ( X SERIES). We are the First company to utilize this substrate material and to my knowledge the only company that offers it in stock. We have done extensive testing against ALL others and it has tested the Best in the industry. Also our Double Black Chrome over SS304 tested the Best in the salt water environment to comparable guides. Give them a try, I know you will not be dissapointed- I garrantee it>>
If you ever have ANY questions in regards to the Batson Ent - Rainshadow/Forecast/ALPS products please feel free to contact us. We will be coming out with a new products catalog within a month. Everyone will be happy with the choices we have made for new products.
Thank you for the support

Bill Batson
CEO
Batson Ent.
Rainshadow/Forecast/ALPS
877-875-2381



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/29/2007 08:01AM by Tom Kirkman.

What ya got Barry? I was just getting ready to get some more blanks for myself as well.
BTW,,, your e-mail is hidden

I have Shikari made (PacBay Coastbusters Series II) in various sizes. They are discontinued blanks. Primes, not seconds or blems, factory packaged still...Super high quality and gloss black in color. Email me and I'll let you know what I can part with. I paid a fortune for these things a couple of years ago and forgot I had them...I think you know the high quality of Shikari....the last of the USA made blanks im pretty sure

OOps....forgot about the email addy...I'll change it

I think Acid rod.com still has a bunch of them too.....Check with them also, they got a lot of the last Shikari stuff for a good deal. I just bought a few in spinning rod sizes from them a week ago and they delivered like a pro !

Hi Mr Batsonl,,,,,, an aside, but as you make the guides, how difficult is it to shorten the frames in production? I've been doing it myself on turbo style guides, since no one makes short guides. Once you get into 16 or larger rings, every manufacturer raises the leg height substantially. Sorta contrary to what I want for spiral strippers and first 180's. It is something of a pain doing it myself. I chose turbo styles to work with because they are the lowest of the heavy guides overall, with a simpler frame for modification. But it is still troublesome. So I am wondering why they aren't available from anywhere. ???? Yeah, it is supply and demand, but if no one makes them how can anyone gauge demand? Chicken and egg scenario perhaps?
BTW,,,, your 316 based guides sound wonderful. Believe I am working 304 based ones.