want to build a 2 piece Crappie rod that will be 12 or 14ft long and the closest blank I can find that is not a $350 high end fly rod is made by St Croix in their SCII line at 11'6 and 13' Models and ratings are

Model Length pieces Line Lure Action Purpose Butt Tip Weight
2S116LM2 11'6 2 4-10lb. 1/16-1/2oz. L MOD. Drift/Float .455 6.5 3.1

2S130LM2 13' 2 2-6lb. 1/16-3/8oz. L MOD. Float .47 5 3.3

This will be for vertical jigging in heavy cover and the fish down here get pretty big so it needs some backbone, but a soft tip to prevent line breaks on surges.

Looking for something similar in action to the Sam Heaton's Super Sensitive made by BnM Poles if you're familiar with it.

No steelhead around these parts and I'm unfamiliar with rods for that purpose. Anybody know if the blanks above would work, or have another suggestion and or source that might have it?

Thanks.

Chris; I have the same dilemma as you. I have built Crappie rods on 8 & 9 wt fly blanks and they didn't work the way I wanted them to, not enough back bone. A Steelhead / Salmon blank is a better choice if you get one heavy enough. I built one on a Steelhead blank rated for 4 - 8 lb line, still not strong enough. I am tempted to try another Steelhead blank rated for 12 - 15 lb line. The blanks I am talking about are 9 - 10 ft long. So, with that being said, I have since built Crappie rods on 7 - 8 ft Popping blanks, 6 - 12 lb line, and use them for pitching live minnows ,using a slip float, into brush and stake beds. The stronger blank is really needed for hauling those big slabs out of Kentucky and Barkley Lake.
I wish some blank manufacturer would make a reasonably priced Crappie blank like you have just described.

J.B.Hunt
Bowling Green, KY

Jay, that would make three of us looking for an economically priced blank for Crappie fishing. I'm also disappointed with the fly blanks available. They make great fly rods, but poor Crappie rods. My Christmas wish is for a long blank that handles like the BNM’s.

Ditto! I would love one to drop tiny jigs in pencil reeds here in MN. Dropping a bobber in scares them or the line tangles in the weeds and I scare them out trying to recover it.

Mark Crouse may have a blank that will work. Many european blanks have very light tips and good backbone. I have one from years ago 12 ft 3 piece rated 2 to 8 lb (1 to 4 kg) line that would pick most crappies out of the water if needed. The first section is all light tip the rest firms up very quickly, the butt section is huge for a rod with it's rating..
The problem is they are spendy.

Yea, they can be found but they will get in your pocket up to your elbow.
Wonder who makes blanks for the Wally Marshall crappie rod ? They are not too bad , but still too wispy for my use.
I'm hauling 16 inch Crappie up through the brush on a regular basis. I got to have something with some backbone yet with a soft enough tip that wont tear the hook out.

J.B.Hunt
Bowling Green, KY

I have run into similar issues in looking for blanks to build for the coastal surfperch here in California. I was considering trying a 9' 2-piece blank with a M-F action and making a 3' spigot ferrule handle extension but that would likely just be asking for trouble.

Derek L. McMaster
Rohnert Park, CA

Born to Fish, FORCED to Work

I'm cheap(frugal?) and don't want to pay an arm and a leg for something that I'll probably break anyhow.

I make surf rods and wanted something to cast tiny jigs for Pompano. It had to be able to cast tiny jigs as well have the power to drag a fish up on the beach.

I was looking through a little Mom and Pop tackle store and saw a factory made crappie pole. It was just what I had in mind: 12 feet with a good tip. It had snake guides which casted small mono quite well and I used it that way until the guides started getting ratty. The blank was made from fiberglass but worked well.

I stripped the snakes off and bought some single footed fly rod guides. I wrapped he rod(pole) according to the NGC and it is a darling. I caught my personal best Pompano on it with no problem.

We're not there just yet: A friend of mine who also fishes UL for Pompano in the surf told me about a factory made graphite (rod this time) with ceramic guides. It was made by the same company; West Point Rod Co of West Point MS.and made specifically for hauling crappie out of bad places.

The rod is a WPCR 122; 12 feet 2 piece.

I lengthened the handle and repositioned some of the guides to suit me and it sits in the front row.

I think that these people would sell you a blank if available. They work well already but I had to fool with them.

Check them out. They're made to catch crappie.and are inexpensive . If you don't like the guide placement, strip hhem off and customize them

Sometimes, you do what you have to do. If a board sponsor offers such a rod or blank, just delete this post. C2

I build them on 11 ft. Steelhead/salmon blanks. I get IM6 blanks from a supplier who is not a sponser here. If anyone is interested you can e mail me. I tried using B&M stripped out blanks, they are heavy but do work. When I lived in Mississippi the combination of a sensitive tip and a powerful butt was needed to fish jigs in heavy cover. I believe I also have a picture of one posted in my gallery. I like to use an automatic fly reel loaded with 18-20 lb mono on this set up

I see Cabelas has a 13 ft light line european livebait rod still, the last one I messed with was over 10 years ago so they may have changed a bit, but the discriptions given in the review section sound like it may be a close match to what your looking for.

Anyone ever try the Rainshadow IST1562 or IST1384?

Hi Chris
Check out the MSC 13 ft. Match that is the style of fishing you want to do.
Mark Crouse
www.munichrodmansrodshop.com

Wow! Some great comments and feedback here. I had posted on several other fishing related boards with this same question, but without much response and very little help. It's been so long since I posted here, I completely forgot that I should go right to where the people actually know what they're talking about. LOL.

Mark Crouse, I'm sure the blank you mention would be nice, but that's a bit out of my price range. I need to bring this rod in around $100 or less finished. Most BnM, West Points and Wally Marshalls are priced around $40 - $60. There is a company called Grizzly Jig that has what appear to be fly based rods in the $50 - $80 range, but I can't attest to their weight or finish.

I called BnM (I think the same company as West Point) mentioned above) but they do not have blanks available. They said they receive them finished, I assume they are imported from China.

I talked to a couple of guys that fish Steelhead and they suggested I use the heavier rated of the two blanks I listed, the 13' 2-6lb blank. If I understood the way they fished for Steelhead, they cast very light lures and the fish average 5 to 8lbs with an occasional 10 to 12 lb fish, so the blank is designed to be very wispy to absorb the shock. From that, I'm thinking the two blanks I listed are not going to have enough backbone for my purposes.

I know I could strip and rebuild the Wally Marshalls or BnM poles, but then I'd end up with basically a better finished rod of the same weight and blank quality. I was hoping I could find something better, but I'm beginning to think it can't be done at this time.....at least not economically.

The Rainshadow blanks mentioned above look to be in the same price range as the St. Croix and similarly rated, BTW, but again are Steelhead rods, so I'm back to the same questions on whether they would work.

Glad to see others that would like to have this blank as well. I was beginning to think I was "special" LOL. Hope a sponsor reads this and will put something in the works. I may end up building on one of the steelhead blanks. If I do, I'll report how it turns out.

Thanks for the feedback and comments guys.