I build rods primarily for cobia fishermen who fish the east and west coasts of florida, and as far as abuse goes the way these men tend to fish is brutal on rods in general. Add graphite to the equation, which severely lacks the compression strength of fiberlglass and the result is multiple broken rods a year. I know for a fact that a few of them are from highstick'n fish because of where the blank failed (high and inside of the spline). but when a rod comes back with a break that starts on the back of the rod i know it is from whip casting. a handful are from jig impacts (2.5 to 5 oz jigs) but the overwhelming majority are the result of whipcasting causing extreme compression on the back of the spline. currently there are only 2 blanks that I KNOW dont fail under the conditions my customers create. Lamiglas's GSB 1081m and amtack's sw1087. (the lamiglas will break from highstick but the 1087 hasnt yet, and im sure those idiots have done it, but i still build the lamiglas because it is a very light blank)

I am a seeker nut. Always have been. A few years back i was having trouble getting a hold of the SJ100xh and called and spoke to Tom at seeker who appraised me of the construction of the super seeker line they had just released.

My question is this. Has anyone whipcasted the 9 foot hercules blanks, and does anyone know if they are constructed using the same materials as the superseekers. If they are, then compression strength will not be an issue and whipcasting wont cause failure. Also i would love to talk to someone who has heavily used the 9 footers to find out how they behave under load.

Same as the Super Seekers, but only cast 1-4oz. They will cast 5oz, but not very well, they bottom out. The GSB 1081m doesn't cast over 3oz, so I guess if you are using that already then the GTS 90H will be perfect for you. I have one in metallic Red in stock, if you wan ttoorder let me know.

4 0z is the top end of these guys. only 1 guy uses fives and he hasnt had a rod made since batson disco'd their 10ft line. but they dont ever whipcast any jig over 3. the 4's are for bombing fish that wont come in.

i will pm u a request for a quote. im gonna get one to test. I cant sell these guys something i havent had rigor'd myself.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2011 01:26AM by Daniel Glenn Eason.

Top end 4oz the 90H will cast no problem. A few of us spent a couple of hours test casting the prototypes when Seeker sent them to me back in October. I just put a coat of finish on a GTS 80H which I cut a coupl eoff the tip for local bottom fishing, came out really nice. And I helped design the 6 & 7's Hercules blanks and factory rods, so I know all these blanks better than anyone else, any question sfeel free to ask.

well i will have some good design feedback and crit, after my crew gives this thing the run through. first glance when i picked one up while in the mudhole showroom was that they had a light tip, and tended to bend deep into the blank at earlier pressures than i felt was normal. generally speaking i was positive it was not a 30-60. i did not however load the blank more than 20% as the sales rep was standing there.

when you were test casting the 9 were you bombing or target style whipcasting? i really cant wait to get this thing so i can deliver you feedback. 9ft and up is my rodbuilding homeworld. ive built plenty of rods for the boat but boat rods tend to be less demanding, simply because added performance from an extra foot and a half or more of rod, and a perfect guide layout, isnt critical as you can just motor just closer to the target.

you helped design the 6 and 7 footers, but who gave input on the 9's?

If you don't mind me asking
What is "whip casting"?
Sounds like it really loads the rod heavily before launch
Did a search on the net and didn't get any results
Thanks

there are two types of casting. the first and most common is what most people do when fishing from structure. i refer to it as full arc casting. this is where the rod is brought back fully and experiences the entire range of motion (arc) to generate the momentum necessary, to launch the intended projectile. (in this case a jig) the second less common type usually occurs when fisherman who have bonded to their equipment target cast. rather than utilizing an arc to reach the intended destination.

to do this the user employs greater direct velocity and direct line upon casting. this is achieved by bringing the rod half arc (around 90 degrees or vertical ) in an fast inward motion towards the upper right shoulder (left for lefties). then redirecting the projectile and rod quickly directly towards the target. the rod itself adds velocity with recoil and the blank gets stressed probably twice to three times what it does when setting the hook. it gets its name from the way the action is performed, if you have ever used a whip. then you will understand. the motion and physics of the two are nearly identical.

the problem with whip casting is that traditional graphite has much less compression strength than fiberglass although it has superior tensile strength. That is to say graphite stretches quite well exceeding fiberglass, but does not compress well, having i believe a 1 third the compression strength of fiberglass.

if you were to imagine the rod while under load, the rod creates an arc. the outside of that arc has the same amount of material as the inside. therefore when the rod bends the outside of the bend stretches. conversely the inside of the rod is compressing (squeezing together) herein lies the rub. because when failure occurs under load, the failure occurs on the INSIDE of the bend rather than the outside as one would think.

whip casting creates an extremely sharp arc for a few hundredths of a second, because of the way reversal is applied to its momentum. (imagine a plane speeding to the ground and pulling up at the last second... 5 to 11 times the force of gravity occur because of the reversal of momentum) this sharp action and reversal creates stresses that rods do not and in fact cannot achieve and experience under any other circumstances. honestly it is a normal action and it SHOULD be brought under consideration when designing these blanks, unfortunately very few fishermen employ this activity on rods larger than 7 foot. it is most commonly employed by bass fisherman who routinely utilize artificial lures and have to target destinations such as structure and the like. i would imagine blank companies would be shocked to see fishermen using rods they had intended for long distance casting to be used like a giant bass rod...

seeker however has come up with a blank that has nearly THREE times the compression strength of fiberglass. which already exceeds traditional graphite, concerning compression strength. the result is what im sure will be the first truly indestructible cobia rod. the only issue will be the rods action and behavior during fishing. jigging and casting

Daniel,
Thanks for the explanation
Are they using spinning reels or conventional gear?
If I were trying this casting technique, I can imagine the backlashes that I'd be gettin' with a conventional reel if I were going for distance

spinning reels, but it is possible to do it with a conventional setup. most notably, baitcasting reels with cast control, and level wind.

Billy Vivona Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Top end 4oz the 90H will cast no problem. A few of
> us spent a couple of hours test casting the
> prototypes when Seeker sent them to me back in
> October. I just put a coat of finish on a GTS 80H
> which I cut a coupl eoff the tip for local bottom
> fishing, came out really nice. And I helped design
> the 6 & 7's Hercules blanks and factory rods, so I
> know all these blanks better than anyone else, any
> question sfeel free to ask.

i have a few questions that have popped into my mind over the weekend. firstly, how exactly would i collect on the warranty should the need ever arise? would i send it straight back to seeker? second. how durable is the metallic red finish? lastly, did you also design the 9 foot models? or did they handle that in house? adding 2 foot of rod to an existing action doesnt seem to be seekers style, but im just curious as to what they did.

as i have not dealt with any of the hercules blanks, and wouldnt know it even if i had a gts90h in my hand, is the 90 a larger scale version of the style you designed or does it tend to have a longer action (or longer backbone).