I am new to the site, so I apologize for any newbie mistakes I might make. Last weekend, I dropped a favorite rod overboard. It had been made for me by "DANCO" about 8 years ago. It was a Loomis CB843 blank, cut down to 6'4" and built into a spinning rod. I loved it for 4" to 5" hard jerkbaits like a Slender Poinder 112.

Is there a blank out there that you would recommend as a replacement? As an interim measure, I bought a 6'6" Tidemaster Inshore from St. Croix that is rated for 1/4 to 5/8 oz. baits and 8 to 17 lb. line. It has a moderate action and medium power. If I really like the rod, I'll probably get the blank and have a custom rod built as well. All of my dealings with St. Croix have been great over the past decade.

Thanks in advance for any helpful suggestions.

Mike



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/03/2009 01:47PM by Michael Briglia.

Understanding that I am biased towards lighter rods, I made myself a Rainshadow IC722 for this application. It works better than anything I've ever used. It's a bit shorter than what you had, at 6', but it has a wonderful feel.

To me picking a jerk bait blank is one of the more difficult ones to chooze! Some folks want a stiff blank so the slightest tug will pop the bait and a hard jerk will really make it jump. Others want the rod to give when jerked to prevent overworking. Based on your previous rod looks like you prefer the moderate action so you might want to look at the Croix 3C66 or 70MM or the 4C66 or 70 MF. The 3's are listed as moderate and the 4C's as fast action. The next step up in the Croix blanks is a pretty big jump in power but works well with the 100 sized jerks and up. I built the 3C70MM last year and it is becomming one of my go to rods for pretty much all medium and small cranks and jerk baits. Take a couple of inches off the 66 and you will have a 6'4" blank that will come out very light and handy!