I have a customer who has a huge budget and is a tech freak. He wants a 6'8 to 7' casting rod for throwing 1/8th to 1/2 oz soft plastics for speckled trout and redfish from a kayak. He wants the most advanced, lightest, sensitive blank. My thoughts were the RX8+ series. Anyone else have ideas?

Kayak fishing wouldn't be the place I'd build that type of rod for. You can't move around much, are constantly moving/placing rods and gear in front and behind you, and pretty much have to take things/fish as they come. Not the best environment for a high modulus blank.
The multi modulus designs like the RX8+ though would be better here than say a GLX or similar designed blank. Durability would be important to me in a kayak.

St Croix 5C70MF, no doubt in my mind. Build it with the right components and design, he will NEVER want to fish with another rod.

Call Bob at Custom Tackle (vendor list on left). We did have two of them leftover after High Point, one Forest Green Pearl and one Blue-Green Flip. Out of 80 SC5 blanks at the show ... only 5 are left. Those blanks were smoking hot this year.

Not to be argumentative, but I have plenty of clients fishing IMX, SC4 and SC5 rods from kayaks, with very few problems. I have actually performed many more replacements of rods for traditional boaters than kayakers ... rod lockers, deck accidents, etc.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/03/2009 11:38PM by Jim Gamble.

Spencer, good point but he, like a lot of kayakers, use the yak to get to their wading spot more so than fishing from it. But again, good point. Thanks for the input too, Jim.

Clint, I have to put a plug in for CTS, in my opinion they are on the cutting edge of light weight to power in the industry. If you give us a call and tell us exactly what you are looking for I probably have 1 in stock that will suit your needs. if you can't reach us at the off ice try my cell 919-810-9650. Thanks Scott Parsons

2nd vote for CTS

The blank is not the only thing that determines weight of a task specific custom build. You can take the lightest, highest modulus blank in the world and use components and build techniques that will result in a real clunker. Consider a rod blank built for a combination of light weight and durability combined with the lightweight build techniques of split grip, no foregrip, light weight seat and the micro guides. A seven foot popping rod built on a Castaway HG40 blank was demonstrated at the ICRBE which had a total build weight of 2.35 oz.

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St Croix SCV

I agree with Bill on that one - a blank with good balance of sensitivity and durabiltiy are always my first choice. I would wow him with component choice and build style, and explain the benefits of the the enhanced durability, especially since most kayaker's don't have a rod locker full of back up rods.

A Rod Rescue device, as outlined in a recent issue of RodMaker, is a great benefit to the kayak fishermen. It's not hard to toss a rod in the drink in the small confines of a kayak. Being able to retrieve the rod with a device that is otherwise out of sight and out of mind is a good idea, not to mention a great selling point - you can't get one in any commercially made rod.

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Clint,
That is an excellent question…I’d like to know that myself. I’m afraid that a definitive answer would be hard to get. It’s kinda like asking who makes the best pickup truck. Even though everyone knows it’d be Chevy, you’d never get the Ford or Dodge guys to admit it. LOL. I think there might be a handful of people that could answer your question, but because of business related issues or commitments, they couldn’t or wouldn’t. Many others might give opinions, but they’re probably based on loyalties or some form of financial bias (business connection). (I admit it…I’m a cynic). For my own personal rods, I’ve built on several each of the hi-modulus St Coix's SC5’s, Loomis GLX/IMX’s, and Batson RX8+ blanks. I honestly couldn’t say that any one of them was the “best”. I don’t think there is that much of a spread (weight to strength) between any of the “top of the line” grade blanks. Making a choice between mid-range blanks would be much more difficult, IMO. Since most of us are “value” conscious, cost is probably a valid means of making the choice. Your customer is fortunate if cost is not an issue. He might be happiest with the Loomis GLX line, since they are probably the most expensive, though not necessarily better than St Croix or any of the other premium blanks. Many believe that you get what you pay for.
In regards to durability, I have several older, lower modulus rods that I still occasionally use. I rationalize that they play a role in my lineup because they’re more durable in given circumstances….and that may be true, but I’ve yet to break a hi-modulus rod. I do treat my rods well, since, although I can and do justify expensive components, I can’t afford to replace them because of careless handling.

Build him an B S or BC 706 or 756 S-glass Seeker and tell him they used this fiberglass on the space shuttle!! Besides their great blanks and would be great for this IMO!

John, I have a couple of old Fenwick FG blanks.....lol...not sure he'd appreciate the humor tho. Good points made by all and yes, I understand the need for appropriate components and build techniques when crafing this rod. I also know every one will have their opinion as to the most advanced blank and not any one is "right" or "wrong", but I still wanted to hear their opinions. I also understand the durability issue but he has been very sepcific in what he wants, despite my information to him about durability and cost and so on and so forth. He is a tech guy and just wants one of the most tech advanced rod blanks available. I cant fault him and lets face, he's come back to me as a loyal customer and it's my job to give him what he wants. Scott and Bill, mucho gracias on the input. Marc, thanks for the pointers. Jim, you have a great explination of things.

If the kayak use is primarily for access to wading sites there are no particular design concerns & I regard the Phenix UMBX series at right up there at the cutting edge of blanks currently available.
If the kayak use is for actually fishing from , .....highsticking is an issue as you are simply so close to the water & a blank with a soft flexible tip with an S-glass core or full s-glass tip is a desirable rod design consideration.
I don't personally fish from a Kayak ,I have in my quiver of boats a self designed,modified Glostermann dory version of a rowing scull..........the rod considerations in that are the same as a Kayak.............. I just get from A to B a lot quicker than a Kayak ...... He He
In my dotage I need all the advantages I can get to keep up with the youngsters.

Bugger off Bill Stevens, no cheeky comebacks....................you're older than I am.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/2009 04:00AM by Denis Brown.