I am not a big fan of spinning gear for bass fishing so I was thinking about building a finesse bait casting rod. I am looking for a blank in the 6'10" - 7'2" range. I will be casting mostly weightless finesse worms, 1/8 oz jigs, wacky rigs, etc... I plan to do a spiral wrap with micro guides. I have a few blanks in mind but wanted to see if you guys had any suggestions.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/13/2010 05:53PM by Joe Robertson.

One of the Batson 822.5s.

Joe

3S69MLXF built as a casting rod.

jeremy

The Batson 822.5 was one I was considering, I will take a look at the St. Croix as well. The Castaway 822 is another I was thinking about.

The 822.5 makes a GRAND casting rod!! I love mine loaded with the smallest Micro Guides on the planet :-)

This one is mine: [www.rodbuilding.org]

DR

Any of the medium light spinning blanks will make an excellent finesse casting rods, built with a casting grip and guides.

Take care
Roger

I completely agree on the Rainshadow XST822.5-TC. Spiraled mine with micros and matched it with a Liberto Pixy loaded with 6 lb., the whole outfit weigh in at 8.7 oz.

That's exactly what I was thinking Dennis. A Pixy or at the very least a Sol would be a must for this rod. I would probably go with a minima seat and very minimal cork grips.

Guess I just need to decide on whether I want to go with the RX8 or RX7.

Thanks
JR

Joe,I think you'll be happy with either blank though I'm kind of partial to the RX8 series.

Thanks for the help guys. I think I am going to go with the 822.5 in the RX8 series.

I have built 6-8 Castaway HG40 7' rods for shakey heads built as a casting rod. They are great for weightless senkos, and 5/16-3/8oz jig heads. If you want to fish 1/4oz and less I have switched over to spinning reels with 6-8# fluorocarbon line. I agree with you that I don't like spinning gear, but for light shakey heads it's worth the effort.

Todd - which model #?

_________________________________________
"Angling is extremely time consuming.
That's sort of the whole point." - Thomas McGuane

Joe;
I think your pick of the 822.5 in the RX8 series. Is the second best choice you could make.
With the RX822.5+ being the best!
It does a better job of casting lighter weightless stuff then the RX8 series, also makes a fantastic Drop-shot set up as a casting rod, and excels with lighter top water's as well (great tip action).
I've not caught any really large bass with it, but it handles 7 to 8 pounders just fine!

If you plan on fishing your Sinko's with a concealed hook you might consider stepping up the
RX8+C812 6'9" Medium Fast 8-14 1/4-5/8oz. 1.85oz. Satin Black Senko Special

It has a little more back bone for driving the hook through the worm body

Glad to hear that Steve. This rod is going to be strictly used for ultra light casting, primarily weightless finesse worms, 1/16 - 1/8 oz darter heads with grubs, light shaky heads and things of that nature. I own spinning gear, just don't like using it.

I will for sure use the smallest, sharpest hooks I can find for any t-rigged baits I might throw. I have other rods that I throw Senkos on. I don't think the RX822.5+ is in my budget at almost twice the price but I am definitely going to go for the RX8 over the RX7. I've already done some price shopping with the sponsors to the left.

My next task is deciding on a reel to match up with the rod, not a bad problem to have!

Thanks,
Joe



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/14/2010 04:23PM by Joe Robertson.

Joe,

I routinely throw 4" Zoom C Tail worms with 1/8oz. bullet weight T-rigged with 1/0 worm hooks on my RX8+822.5, and it will set the hook just fine. The key is to use light wire hooks and to rig with the hook pushed through and skin hooked in the back. I built it as a grub rod to toss 1/8-1/4oz. jig and grubs, and as Steve mentioned, I found it to be far more versatile. I found it will absolutely launch an 1/8oz. quad wing buzz bait. I think you will be more than satisfied with your choice. I still haven't gotten my hands on an RX8 blank yet, but maybe one of these days I will.

When it comes to spinning equipment, I used to feel the same way as you, until I read about Steve's handles and wrapping the reel onto the handle with thread. I used the tubing and bushings available from Batson to approximate Steve's techniques, and I now actually enjoy picking up a spinning rod once in a while. Even though, I still prefer casting gear. Get the RodMaker issues with his articles and give it a try, I think you may be pleasantly surprised.

Joe

Another option some may have not thought of for the 822.5+.....this setup makes a great rod for casting LIGHT SMALL topwaters to schooling bass where long casts are a must. Works GREAT for that as well.

DR

you should pair it with a shimano core 50mg. super light and just plain awesome!

LEGENDARY CREATIONS CUSTOM RODS
Maplewood, MN

Hello guys! First post here on this site, but this thread is of interest to me so I will add my $0.02.

I just got done with a light action casting rod built on a NFC MB662 using micro guides and it turned out pretty well. I built it for small jigs and small jerk baits. It balances perfect with a Core 50 Mg7.

Seems like a good blank for this application.

Matt

Joe,
If you want light weight, I would suggest the Castaway reelseat you can get from Swampland instead of the minima seats. These are much lighter in my opinion then the minima seats.

Really? I assumed the Minima seat with trimmed down threads would be lighter than the Castaway. I will definitely look into that. Thanks.