I received a call the other day to build a "gift rod" for a neighborhood friend.
I asked what the rod would be used for, and what style rod it should be.
The answer was this:

It is to be a spinning rod to catch bass.
There will be no more information about the rod.

For other folks who fish a lot of bass - if you could choose one - spinning rod blank to fish for bass - what would it be?

Yes, I know that you can use a rod from ultra light to extra heavy - short, medium or long.
But, unfortunately, I will not have that information.

So, based on the very limited amount of information available - what would you choose to build?


My initial guess would be a 6'6" medium action blank rated for 10-12 lb line with a fast tip.


I would appreciate any better guesses for a spinning rod to be used for bass fishing with no more information available.

Roger

I'd do an SJ843 from your favorite blank maker. They typically are a fast action medium heavy powered do everything rod. They generally have a slightly softer tip than a Mag Bass rod of the same power and are versatile enough to throw just about anything you might want to throw with a spinning rod for bass. I don't build many of them as spinning rods, but I do build a bunch of them. They work great for tubes, Senkos, smaller jigs, Tx rigs, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and could even be used for frogs or treble hook baits in a pinch.

TC

Thomas Cayman - AKA Robert Russell

ROBERT M. RUSSELL
KYLE TX 78640



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/27/2011 08:47PM by Moderator.

Yep ... 7", Medium Power, Fast Action. Rainshadow IMB843, St Croix 3S70MF, Seeker BS705, etc.

Give Lance and Bill at Swampland a call and see if they can hook you up with a MB783 or as previously suggested check out the SJ783 for whatever manufacturer that you like... Not sure what budget you are looking at but you have a TON of great options from Batson, Swampland, MHX, St. Croix, Lamiglass and if you have the $$ North Fork.

Tom

Yes, some version of a SJ843 would be my choice for an all around bass spinning rod, not many people want to fish with a 6’6” rod anymore.

7'. 1/4 - 3/4 ounce power rating. Fast action.




................................

Better to have and not need than to need and not have.

Batson 7' 822.5 RX6, excellent power, speed, and toughness for bass fishermen.

Roger,

Since the person giving the gift doesn't seem to know what style of fishing to request that the rod be built for, could you maybe get a look at the gift recipient's tackle boxes, rods and reels, etc? That would help narrow down what their preferences appear to be so that you can build something to complement what they currently have for the style of fishing that they do.

My vote for a bass spinning rod would be one of the 6'8" MXF blanks from Batson's or St. Croix. A little longer than a 6'6" but not as long as a 7' and I like the XF action for fishing jigs and plastics, and they make a good general duty spinning rod.

Dan

I like Talon's B099 and 098 blanks but all the suggestions above are good as well.

I use spinning gear a lot. I am 6'6" tall and prefer 7' rods. If the individual the rod is for is under 6' tall, there is a chance they may feel a 7' rod is a tad long. With that said one of the favorite spinning rods I have is the Batson ISB822.5 Matte Clear 6'10"


So the SB822.5 or ISB822.5 Matte Clear 6'10" or SB843 or ISB843 Matte Clear 7'0" would be my first choices. For a shorter individual dropping back to ISB782 Matte Clear 6'6" or ISB802.75 Matte Clear 6'8" would be my picks.

Thanks for all of the updates. Your comments have pretty well confirmed my initial thoughts, except for a slightly longer blank.
I will go with the SJ843 and I expect that it will work just fine.

Take care and thanks again.

Roger