I've been hearing alot of great things on this board regarding CTS blanks plus a local and an East Coast rodbuilder referred me to build on them.

I would like to know what is your opinions for CTS rod blank suggestions on the following applications:

Dropshot
Crankbait
Topwater
Frog
Pitchin'
Flippin'
Wormin'
Shakey Head
Darter Head
Spinnerbait
Swimbait (small)
Swimbait (medium)
Swimbait (large)
Jerkbait
Senko


Thank you to all for your assistance,

Tony

This is the same question you asked about Shikarii in May, then G-USA in July. You might want to take those answers and look at the CTS listings and find your own blanks.

We all have to do a little looking and thinking in this hobby. What is great for one person may not be for the next.

Rolly Beenen
Rovic Custom Rods

I swore I answerred this question a week ago. It's stuff lie this which makes knowledgeable people lurk and never give an answer.

[www.rodbuilding.org]
[www.rodbuilding.org]

everyone expects something for nothing. Learning through trying is one of the best things about building rods.

And often the plethora of new rod "types" can seem overwhelming for the beginner. Which is why they ask.

Tony,

You might want to call one of the CTS distributors and ask for their recommendations. They'll know which models they tend to sell the most of for each application.

In the Volume 10 #5 issue of RodMaker, will be starting a series of articles that details the specifics of selection blanks and building for these technique specific tasks.

..................

TOm, I understand why they ask - but it's frustrating giving an answer and knowing that person didn't even use the info to build a rod.

Would someone, seriouly build fifteen rods to go bass fishing? If I have a drop shot rigged then thats my drop shot rod or if I have a popper rigged the thats my popper rod, etc.

If you are financially prepared to make a commitment for four of each I would think that a personal sales call could be easily arranged from Texas or New Zealand. Just be sure you do not sell the finesse trick worm rod to the customer who wants a large swim bait rod!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/02/2007 09:49AM by Bill Stevens.

Tim;
The answer to your question is ABSOLUTELY.
I have 50+ functional rods specifically for bass fishing and some spares I keep for back up. I routinely carry 15 to 17 on each trip and switch them around depending on which type of lake and time of year I'm fishing.
I have been known to carry as many as 22 at a time for extended trips.

Tim, I have often wondered the same thing and have to laugh at myself just as much as I'm tempted to laugh at others. I usually bank fish or wade or fish from a canoe. I suppose if you have a large bass boat with lots of storage you can take a lot of outfits with you and many bass fisherman do exactly that.

I don't think it's just sour grapes over not owning a bass boat, but I think I actually like the idea of keeping it simple which is why I do almost all of my fishing with two types of rods: a 6-7' fast action medium light spin-jig type rod for spinning and a fast action 8-9' 4/5wt. fly rod for fly fishing. From bluegills up through small muskies, I can effectively and enjoyably fish for anything that swims in the creeks, rivers, ponds, and lakes where I fish. Choosing the lures/flies and what habitat to fish is the more challenging part.

The thing is, many tournament and even weekend bass fisherman are using different rods for different baits and techiques. Some of the tackle that has been developed for them in the last few years requires remarkably different rods. The rod you throw a spinnerbait on is not going to cut it for throwing and retrieving swimbaits.

I keep my fishing fairly simple too, but many others take a far more specialized approach. Anyone that builds custom rods for the bass crowd should study up on the various lures and techniques and be ready to offer a specialty rod for each, and one that works like the angler suspects.

................

I agree and don't mean to put down guys who own and fish 100 rods. To each his own. Plus, I recognize that if you are fishing for money, you will want to have every advantage possible whereas I'm just out there to have fun and avoid mowing the lawn.

The bassers I work with normally carry a selection of 10 rods for a day on a specific water and weather pattern. Most will carry spares of their favorite three "go to rods". That leaves four more rods for task specific techniques available on deck for the day. Many of these guys will have over forty different types to choose from for the day. Many bass fishermen now realize that the rod is just as important to placing high on the board as the high speed reel, speed of the boat and the bait style and color. Cross over rods from power style to finesse are in high demand. Build a trick worm rod on a casting platform that will throw small baits can get a lot of attention! What I like about the present trend is that the price of quality technique specific rods is headed UP!

And it should be Bill.
If we as builders are going to put the time, effort, pay for the learning curve and investment of parts, into building rods that out perform any thing on the market. That out perform and out cast what the majority of the competition are using. That our client can take and use to make that one specific bait perform like it was built for that rod instead of the other way around. And it consequently put money in has pocket. Then we should make top dollar for doing so.

When you are Bass fishing tournaments,as a lot of us do. Time is money. I carry about 12 rigs, each one built for a specific bait. Each one has it's specific bait tied on when I get on the water. Even though I can quickly tie a Palomar in the dark. I will not take the time to tie on a different bait every time I need to change. If I am fishing in the day time, I will do a lot of sight fishing. All I have to do is reach down and pick up the rod that has the bait on it I want to fish. I like very simple and fast.

The beauty of building your own rods is that you can develop rods that match the type of fishing that you do . My fish of choice is white bass and after 30 years of fishing for them I have built rods for each fishing situation I may encounter. My wife thinks I am nuts when I leave for the lake with a rod locker full of gear in my boat. It gives me great joy to be able to reach for a rod that gives me the most pleasure in each application. I have rod for light jigs, medium jiggs, heavy jigs, spoons,, live bait , crankbaits, wading throwing into the wind, wading throwing with the wind, shallow water , deep water, and the list goes on and on. The main thing is that I don`t fish with a rod that isn`t an absolute pleasure to hold. I really appreciated help of any kind when I started building rods many years ago. This board can really help any builder, I know I continually am amazed at the knowledge that can be gleaned from this site. Thanks

That must be my problem, I don't have 50 bass rods in my arsenal. At 1 to 2 rods a year I will be 6' under before I become an expert at bass fishing

Mr. Kirkman, I will be looking forward to that article as I am currently a subscriber to your magazine to learn as the reason why I post on this website. I learn alot and I am an avid bass fisherman. Keep up the awesome work. You have a great magazine and very informative site.

Now that I've given my props to Tom. I would like to say somethings about some other comments from others here on this post.

As Mr. Gardner mentioned, when you are tournament bass fishing you don't have time to retie you lures to only use one rod. Plus, as Mr. Kirkman mentioned many of today techniques can not effectively be utilized from one simple rods. That's why many rodbuilders such as Mr. Gardner and many of you would understand why I post some of my questions that I do. As many of you know when starting to build rods, you did not have the ability to learn from websites such as this one or magazines to read like "RodMaker". Both of them are truely gifts to us beginners. And as many of you know that as a beginner building bass fishing rods the selection of rod blanks for a technique specific application can be overwhelming.

Right now I am in the experimenting stages of my rodbuilding to see what each rod blank feels for each application. I don't want to build the wrong rod on the wrong rod blank because of a beginner mistake. I understand that many of you in the past in your first beginnings most likely did that. But I would like to think that the reason why most of you are posting on this site is to help out beginners such as myself.

So I please ask you to forgive my questions and if they seem repetitive, I appologize. I am just a very curious beginner rodbuilder that wants to learn from the teachers of rodbuilding that roam this message board. If I am annoying you because I ask too many questions and I want to learn from expert rodbuilders that know the answers, than I appologize.

Thank you Mr. Kirkman for you awesome message board and awesome magazine. You have really helped me out alot.

Thank you Mr. Gardner for all of your help and especially for your friendship.

Tony