Hi,

Looking for recommendations on a blank for a (spinning) rod for fishing the piers of Southern CA. The rod is for my adult son who is just getting into fishing. I'm a fly fisher and not sure what works best when you're 30 feet above the water level.

Thanks

Ray

I grew up fishing the piers & 1/2 day boats in So. Cal. Back then my favorite was
a Sabre 196-7. No longer made but any blank from 6 1/2 - 7ft with a 20-30lb line
rating would do well. I prefer a fast action "live bait" type outfit.

Had a blast using heavy "bass" tackle which is on the light side for inshore but
landed quite a few species up to 25ld with it and learned just how tough some
bass tackle really is!

Raymond Adams
Eventually, all things merge, and a river runs through it..

Option 1)
Rod Blank Model # SWB70ML Forecast E-Glass 12-20
Butt cap: BC19A
Front Cap:
Rear Grip: BS10-625
Handle Arbor:
Reel Seat: AGB22-B Threads down
Reel Seat Shim
Foregrip: BSF06-500
Winding Check: BH09
Hookeeper:
Tip Top BPLT08F07.5
1st guide from tip top XPBVDTLG08
2nd guide from tip top XPBVDTLG10
3rd guide from tip top XPBVDTLG12
4th guide from tip top XPBVDTLG16
5th guide from tip top: XPBVDTLG20
6th guide from tip top: XPBVDTLG25
7th guide from tip top: XPBVDTLG30
8th guide from tip top: XPBVDTLG40
9th guide from tip top:
10th guide from tip top:
11th guide from tip top:
12th guide from tip top:
13th guide from tip top:
14th guide from tip top:
15th guide from tip top:
16th guide from tip top:
Guide spacing Specs(inches from tip, center ring over mark) 4.5-9.5-15-21-28-36-45

Option 2)
Rod Blank Model # RCLB70L 15-30 Rainshadow Live Bait Graphite Glass Blend
Butt cap: BC22
Front Cap:
Rear Grip: BS10-750
Handle Arbor:
Reel Seat: AGB22-B Threads down
Reel Seat Shim
Foregrip: BSF06-625
Winding Check: BH11
Hookeeper:
Tip Top BPLT08F07.0
1st guide from tip top XPBVDTLG08
2nd guide from tip top XPBVDTLG10
3rd guide from tip top XPBVDTLG12
4th guide from tip top XPBVDTLG16
5th guide from tip top: XPBVDTLG20
6th guide from tip top: XPBVDTLG25
7th guide from tip top: XPBVDTLG30
8th guide from tip top: XPBVDTLG40
9th guide from tip top:
10th guide from tip top:
11th guide from tip top:
12th guide from tip top:
13th guide from tip top:
14th guide from tip top:
15th guide from tip top:
16th guide from tip top:
Guide spacing Specs(inches from tip, center ring over mark) 4.5-9.5-15-21-28-36-45
Butt wrap length

Karry Batson
Batson Enterprises Inc.
Ph: (877) 875-2381
Fax: (360) 683-3579
karry@batsonenterprises.com
www.batsonenterprises.com

Hi Ray,

It's tough to say exactly which rod would work best without knowing how it's intended to be fished (what for, what line size etc.) In my youth I used ot fish the piers quite a bit. I used lighter rods in the 6' range with 6-10# line for perch/sargo, spotfin, corbina, and bonito etc. (used a drop net for landing fish with the light line) I also used heavier 7' rods with 10-20# line for sand sharks and halibut (an ocassional white sea bass and bat ray). If I were going back to do it again I would use graphite rods and go longer. I think the longer grahite rods would be more efficient for casting and hook set and certainly more fun. I would look at our ATX series AXC's. A good choice for one rod would be the AXC78L 7'8" with 12-20# line or the AXC710M 7'10" 15-20# line.

Best Regards,

Darrin Heim
American Tackle Company

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. This gets me started in the right direction.

Ray

Remember that some piers do not let you overhead cast and a longer rod comes in handy for underhand casting. At the newport pier you are right at the end of the canyon and bonito, barracuda and occasionally yellowtail can be had on surface iron, but you need a long rod to get it out there casting underhand. That is unless he is proficient at underhand casting.