I've got a guy wanting two crappie rods, one a 6' 1 piece rod for 1/16 oz jigs, and the other rod a 2 piece 11' rod 1/16 oz jigs. Still new to rod building, I don't know what blanks to recommend to him. I've built on batson's and american tackles blanks in the past and liked those for ultralights. Does anyone that builds a lot of crappie rods have any suggestions?
Thanks

Jeremy W. Reed

I'd suggest the MHX SJ720 for the 6' rod. With a lure weight range of 1/32 - 1/4 ounce, this should be about all you'd need.
I'll have to do some checking on a 2 pc 11' though.

I appreciate it. I've got a handful of guys that work at the plant with my dad that are wanting 10'-11' 2 piece crappie rods for KY lake, so any suggestions are much appreciated.

Jeremy,
When folks use 10-11 foot rods, they tend to do a dabble technique. i.e. they tend to use the rods length to drop jigs into brush piles etc.
So, the key thing with a rod like this one is its length, a softer tip and mid and butt area blank strength.

So, for these longer rods, I like to use 2 piece steel head blanks. They are about as good as they come for this application.

You could of course, just pick up one of the inexpensive Uncle Bucks 2- piece 11 foot crappie rods from Bass Pro for about

[www.basspro.com]

You could always pick up a completed rod like this to get the blank and then rebuild it the way that you would like.

Much of crappie fishing is a visual, rather than a tactile fishing method. So, the softness of the tip is generally more important than absolute light weight and or "sensitivity".

But, make your own choices.

If I were doing it, as I pointed out earlier, I would likely go with one of the MHX steel head blanks.
[www.mudhole.com]



Be safe
Roger

Also take a look at fly blanks 5 -6 wt should do it

Bill - willierods.com

Jeremy,
Like Matthew suggested the SJ720 should work very well. While we don't have an 11' model that would work for this there is an excellent 10'6" model and a 12' Steelhead blank that work excellent for this application. The 10'6" model "ST1262-MHX" and the 12' model "ST1442-MHX" can be found in the MHX section of our catalog or online:
[www.mudhole.com]

Regards,
Todd Vivian
Mud Hole Custom Tackle

todd@mudhole.com

I have built several 9' & 10' " dablin rods" over the years and I use steelhead rods with a fast action tip and line 2- 6 lb. test.

Can't go wrong with a Steelhead blank for the long rods. I build all my 1/16 and 1/8 oz jig rods on a 7 ft Popping blank. You can also cast live minnows into stake beds without throwing the bait off during the cast. Popping blanks have a more moderate action than a Spin Jig blank,thus the ability to cast minnows and it really loads good when casting a small jig. I like the 7' blank for the casting range.

J.B.Hunt
Bowling Green, KY

Batson XST 1263 for the long rod and a PacBay TSJ 721 cut down to 6 ft for the short rod. Two very nice blanks for your intended application. My bad, the PacBay blank was cut to 5' 6" for my granddaughter. I used the Batson 840 Poopping blank cut to 6' for Grandma. They both toss 1/16 Oz. jigs very nicely. I use the St Croix ultra lites for my personal builds and they are nice blanks also.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/22/2011 06:20AM by Terry Kirk.

I use 9' 6 wt fly rod blanks and love them for this application. I control the boat :-) so I let the guy in the back worry about handling a 11 - 14 foot limp noodle all day. After reading this post I think I will try the steel head blanks also.