Ok guys,
A friend has asked me to help him locate some blanks and so far im comming up with nothing so im turning to the exsperts "thats you guys" for help,,, looking for long light blanks for trolling for crappie , I know of some fly rods that fit the bill but most are exstreamly high dollar, so does anyone have a sorce for something like this...
any help would be apreciated...
John

"I have looked and looked, I know theres some 3 or 4 piece rod blanks out there 14ft to 20ft long for crappie fishing. Looking for something in that length but that has lots of backbone but soft tip, along with handing up to say 8 oz of weight for powder trolling."

To have something that could troll 1/2 lb of sinker weight you'd need something with the power of a salmon rod, not my pick for crappies. I'm not sure what the advantage to a very light tipped blank would be. It would break or at least bend mightily and the tip straighten to the load and be worthless as the blank locked up further back wherever it's shutoff was for the load it's subjected to.

I have used steelhead blanks for crappie fishing before but I not sure about trolling. I you want them 14 to 20 ft long you I don't know where to go, maybe CTS but you're going to pay a price.

I believe the only thing you are going to find that fits that description is a Surf blank , I have built a lot of Crappie trolling blanks on 10 ft Salmon/Steelhead blanks. That would be my choice. I have never pulled 8 oz of weight for paper mouth Crappie. Around here they only get about 3 lbs.

Jay,
Not sue why he is using so much weight , Something to do with how he is spider rigging his poles, dont think he is going to be casting that much weight,,, I havent been able to come up with anything close so I have not talked to him about it further..
Thanks for the help guys,,
John

Jay, they ONLY get to 3 pounds? Wow, next time you go fishing for those little specs give me a call.
Buzz

Hi Buzz ! They ONLY get to 3 lbs,,,,but, I only catch the ones that are about 16 inches max ! That is around 2 lbs i guess. I usually measure them, don't have to weigh them. KY Lake and Barkley Lake in TN and KY are holding plenty of 3 lb plus Crappie. Shoot me an e-mail in mid March or early April and I will put you right in the middle of them.
Don't bring an Ultra Lite !

J.B.Hunt
Bowling Green, KY

I have done a lot of crappie fishing over the years, bobber, trolling, spider rig, and I have a hard time with the 8oz weight. I have fished for walleyes in deep flowing water with a 1oz jig. Maybe 1 1/2 oz if current is stronger. 8 oz does not seem right. At least for that type rod. 20 ft, that can handle 8oz, sonds like a surf rod. But I live in Iowa, we don't have a lot of surf here!! I am just trying to imagine the rod...
I have a real good friend who lives in NW TN, on Reelfoot lake. He guides there, and fishes the crappie tourneys on the national level for crappie. There are some good uns there! He also fishes KY Lake, and Barkley. I got a friend in Paris, trying to hook up to go there soon!
Kyle Robinson

I have a friend that fishes crappie tournements and he uses the 8oz weights for spider rigging. I beleive that he said the 8oz weights were the only way he could keep the line vertical as they are trolling, I thought that he said he was using heavy steel head blanks for this application, but I'm not 100% sure. Next time I see him I'll have to ask for the specific blank that he uses.