I'm new to rod building (still on my first one) and would like to build a Rod for Flats fishing. I wade and fish from a conoe. It needs to be in the 8-10 lb. class and I'm casting live shrimp. I would like a spin rod 8' to 8'6" and I'll be using braid. I'm looking for distance Any suggestions on blanks and guides? Thanks Keith

The steelhead blanks in your line weight would do well here as they are designed to throw soft baits very similar or a bit more tender than your shrimp. An 8 to 12 lb blank probably would be ok.

Contact Jim Gamble on here. He does a lot of these types of rods.

A good choice for casting live shrimp would be the Batson Rainshadow IP963F. I prefer Fuji reel seats and Fuji Alconite guides. Keep the running guides and tip as small as practical.

BTW, this IS a two-piece rod and I highly recommend that you don't go with a one-piece. You will appreciate the ease of transporting it AND the rod will mostly likely live a much longer life because of it.

A very special Texas secret is now out with the release of the eight foot Castaway XP3 Popping Blanks. These blanks are some of the lightest weight blanks on the market. They match up very well with the micro guide system. With these blanks it is now possible to build an eight foot popping rod with a total weight of the completed rod under three ounces. The blanks are available in 2, 3, 4 and five power. One person who post on this board regularly is using these blanks to build cranking blank for use in the large Texas reservoirs.

This blank could be used to wade into the West Coast of Florida waters up to waste deep and throw all the way to Corpus to steal a Texican' sow trout!

Due to high priced shipping charges of the eight foot tubes these blanks are not listed on the Swampland site.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/17/2008 03:56PM by Bill Stevens.