Hey all. I recently relocated to the Tulsa area and as I really like to fish from my kickboat, I'm planning to do a lot of floating of the Upper Illinois river for smallmouth this year. I love to throw pop-r's, 1/8 oz terminator buzzbaits, and 1/8 oz. terminator spinnerbaits in these situations as well as the standard tube, grub, fluke, senko baits. Though these are light baits, I still prefer to throw them on a casting stick. Because it is a small stream and I have to handle the rod from a 9' kickboat, I am looking for something not too long and with a pretty short handle (split grip, of course). I want this rod to end up stupidly light, again because of the scenario.

Here's what I'm thinking of doing:

Mud Hole MHX blank SB811-Blend 6'9" MLXF cut down 2" to 6'7"
Batson Micro guides (thoughts on size/number here?)
Minima reel seat
Simple cork split grip with a bit of a pistol shape (love this shape for tight quarters casting

Any other suggestions for blanks, etc? This one seems nice as I could also fish a senko or a tube with it...

I would recommend any of the Batson 822.5s. Mine is the best blank I've ever seen for throwing 1/8oz. buzzbaits. It is a top notch grub rod, for my taste, and can handle everything you are asking. It is probably the most versatile blank I have, and if I go wading on the river with one rod, this is it.

Mine is an RX8+S822.5, with an Alps double foot 6mm guide, Batson single foot flies in 5, 4, 3mm to tip. It has 9 guides and is spiral wrapped. You will be hard pressed to find a better option in my opinion.

Joe

If you want an amazingly sensitive rod, that easily casts small baits, and is a stupidly light, well balanced, with crisp action and in the hands; an absolute joy to fish?

Then follow Joe’s advice on the RX+ 822.5 blank and guide train setup.

I’ve not found anything else even remotely close!

i built up a batson xsb783 for casting - micros and spiraled and it is just plain awesome! weighs in at just over 2.5oz - and that is with 4 aluminum winding checks and other bling! just imagine what it would weigh if I made it a plain Jane! this rod is paired with a core 50mg. super lightweight combo and a joy to fish ALL day!

Thanks for the replys! I wanted to clarify that I will be carrying more than 1 rod on these trips (probably 4) so this rod is primarily just for small spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, topwater. Let me know if that changes anyone's opinions. Also, will the 822.5 still be OK if I cut it down a couple inches? 7' is just a pretty long rod to handle on a small river...

Nathan,
I think your choice of the SB811-Blend is spot on. That is a fantastic blank and extremely sensitive.

Todd

Regards,
Todd Vivian
Mud Hole Custom Tackle

todd@mudhole.com

Nathan -- The SB 811 MHX would be a excellent choice for the intended application. If you wanted to shorten it by cutting some off the butt, it would be fine. Don't believe that I would remove anymore than up to 4". Until I moved to Florida, I spent my entire life chasing Smallmouth in small rivers and streams in Tennessee. We also off the DS 822 MHX if you need just a tad more power in a rod. It just don't get any better than cathcing Smallies on topwater lures and especially to have them crash a buzzbait. Lots of great fishing in Florida, but I do miss my Smallmouth fishing.

Bob McKamey
bobm@mudhole.com

A couple inches off the butt of an 822.5 shouldn't affect things too much. Let us know which way you go, and how it works out. I think you have some pretty good options on the table.

Joe

i use a rainshadow cb66m for poppers. I originally made it for very small cranks, but like it much better for throwing light popper type-baits on baitcasting gear. I can cast even the very light rebel poppers quite far on 12lb mono or 30lb braid.
It would a good and inexpensive choice for what you are doing.

Regards,
-Justin

Anybody worked with both these blanks and care to compare their relative actions for me? Thanks.

Nathan
Here are the specs on that blank. Also use mine for drop-shotting, small to med. size jerk baits, mid size crank baits and top water plugs. It’s awesome with a pop-R

As far as cutting a couple of inches off, check the specks you will see they are already gone.


RX8+S822.5
6'10"
Medium X-Fast
6-12 line
1/8-1/2oz baits
1.76oz. blank
Satin Black color

You might also consider the Cabela's IM7 or Fish Eagle 6'6" 2 piece.
Reasonable price, light tip fast action.

Eugene Moore

OK. Here's the deal. These blanks seem pretty similar in terms of speed (Batson .56 butt to a 5 tip, MHX .49 butt to a 4.5 tip), which scares me a bit, because I've heard folks say that the Batson XF blanks are similar to St. Croix's XF blanks (.4-4, .515-4.5), which I think are WAY too fast for my taste. I prefer Shimano XF and Loomis XF actions which are a bit slower than Croix. Does that change the equation on these blanks at all?

OK. I played with a 6'4" ML Quantum Tour PT casting rod today and really liked the length for small river fishing. Also liked the F action better than most EF rods I've handled. Could I just build a batson 6'6" MLF blank with 2" taken off the butt and get a close facsimile? Certainly would be light and cheap. Or would I be better off with an SC3 6'3" MLXF for more $$? Would the MHX sb811 still be a good choice with 4 inches cut off?