Got a customer wanting a Shaky Head rod built Spinning. He will also use it for small , shallow Cranks.
I was looking through my stash of blanks and came across an ATC III IP704,med power, fast action,8-17 lb line, 3/8 - 3/4 oz lure.
Question is,,, would this make a good Shaky Head rod ?? Has anyone built a Shaky Head rod on this blank ? It seems to have a good enough tip and plenty of power for hook setting.
I think I got this blank from Scott at the ICRBE back in Feb. I have 2 of them.
Any opinions would be appreciated.

J.B.Hunt
Bowling Green, KY



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/17/2010 05:11PM by Jay Hunt.

I built a Shikari IP 704 are a drop shot rod. I got is when Mudhole liquidated the Shikari blanks about 3 years ago. This was the blank that Rich Forhan said was the best drop shot rod in his seminar at the ICRBE in 2007 or 2008. It works well as drop shot and throws small crankbaits quite well. I bought a couple of the ATC IP 704 blanks, but have not built any of them into completed rods yet.

For me IP704 is too long and too heavy as shaky head rod. I did not built it with microguides, so that might be better with micro's. It was also one of the first rods I built.
We fish a lot of docks on Lake Lanier for spotted bass, and 7' is too long for me for that style of fishing. It might be OK in open water.

For throwing jig worms (that is what we call shakey heads here), I built and use a Batson XSB-822.5. It works well, but quite honestly, for spots, it is almost too light. I have had 15” spots bend it 90 degrees. Spots are quite different than largemouth. A 15” spot fights much harder than a 3 lb largemouth. The XSB 822.5 works well on largemouth using jig worms.

My favorite jig worm rod is a Shikari SB593. It works well for skipping jig worms under docks. Has the backbone get them up from under the dock and a soft enough tip to detect the strike. Wish I could get a couple more of that blank.

Regards
Bert Nagy

Thanks Burt. This blank seems to be lighter, less powerful than a lot of the other brands of the same tip and power ratings. It has a very fast tip and shuts off way back on the blank. I guess I need to build it and see how she acts.

J.B.Hunt
Bowling Green, KY