I've been searching and looknig for the glow in the dark stuff for a catfish rod and I found that there are some folks who put LED's in the hollow glass blanks and they light up nice. I have not built any glass rods so I have no experience with them. What blanks would be able to transmit the light up the blank for it to be visible? I've seen some dark dark glass blanks, and some are black. Are there any that are opaque white or close to clear, or what have you guys seen that works well for this?

the infamous shakespeare ugly stick has a semi-transparent section of tip on the factory rods. I think you can still buy the blanks for them.

Regards,
-Justin

It's been a few years since you could buy a Shakespeare blank of any kind. Batson has the tuffstick line in a pretty good variety with a solid glass blue tip that may work. Call or e-mail them.

Andrew,

Email me about this issue. I might have a better solution for you that is cheaper and easier to make happen. I have been messing around with glowing tip sections for Great Lakes walleye and salmon rods for a couple of years now. Got a process that is working very well, and offers several color options.

Paint a section of the tip with glow in the dark paint. It works great and can be bought at Home Depot. Put on a couple coats, let dry, coat with thread finish. Read the labels carefully. Some of the paint will last for an hour, some longer. You have to re-charge it with a flashlight. White color works best.

J.B.Hunt
Bowling Green, KY

I have a question that seems to fit here here. I am planing on building a rod for surf fishing. Has any one seen thread that is reflective. I have thread on some of my out door gear that reflects light very well. I thought it would be a good idea to make some decorative wraps out of that so a little bit of light would make it shine. Not as Ideal as glowing in the dark but a quick shine from an led head lamp you could see what your rod is doing.

Glow in the dark isn't what I was looking for. I want to get a hollow glass blank that I can put a laser pointer in the butt end for night fishing. I just don't know who has a glass blank that isn't all black, clear tip or opaque white would work but I just don't have enough experience to know what I'm looking for in that department.

Andrew, order a Forecast toughstick blank and check it out. The tip is a transluscent blue, almost clear. It may work for what your talking about. They are cheap enough to order and eat if necessary. You can always use it for a gaff or diver rod later if it doesn't work for what your looking at. I don't have one laying around without UV Glow on it, but I bet if you lightly sand away the blue, the tip will be very clear. Email Batson, they should be able to tell you if it will work.