A little out of my element on this one. A good friend asked me to build a couple of spinning rods for pier fishing Florida Spanish Mackeral. Here is what he gave me to go on. I'll have many more questions for him after I get a better feel for the techniques and information you guys give me. He said they use 4000 and 5000 series spinning reels filled with 20-30# braid. 12' - 15' blanks? My first thought was some of the Steelhead blanks we use up here. Any information that any of you down there have on this type of fishing would be great to get me going. Oh, he indicated that most of the fish are in the 3-5 lb. class. Didn't say what baits they used, but am guessing tossing live bait?

I recommend the Lamiglas Tri-Flex TF90-15 is absolutely ideal for pier fishing. It works well for a multitude of species. The blank is tough, strong and has a good action for this type of fishing. It has enough length for a good cast, yet short enough to not give away too much leverage. FYI, it is a composite blank at 7'6" with a very light, 3-3/16 ounce, blank weight. Best of all, it is very reasonably priced and Made in the USA.

Tony, I'm assuming he is fishing at the skyway piers in Tampa, fl. You are talking about a 20 ft drop just to the surface of the water. If he is mackeral fishing there, most people are throwing spoons attached with a 1oz egg sinker to fling it really far out there. Usually it puts a high amount of stress on the rod tip. Now, I'm not sure if that's what he does, or if he is tossing out cut or live greenbacks(That's what we use there) but you should definitely ask him. If you can find out a little bit more, I can try and help.

Let me help you clear the air on this. I have been pier fishing for 20 years. I have caught my fair share of spanish, blues, ect, and I have tested most rods to the core. The typ of lure is called a GOTCHA plug and typically can weigh 5/8 to 7/8 plugs. Now this is the most common used lure to catch spanish, or even a small spoon.( anything with flash) But what we look for is a rod from 7' to 7'6" and a fast action tip. The purpose of this is to create the super fast movement the jig was designed to create and to jig it really fast. The fish dont weigh much, but they put up a serious fight. So you want the rod to have some good lifting power. I hope this helps.

Hey, I used to catch spanish mackeral upwards of ten pounds off piers back in the 70's. Live bait and a few ounces of weight was the general offering. Squidders ruled and you wanted enough rod to flip them on the peir.

Times have changed:) Regardless I agree with Jim and would look towards a composite blank. Lamiglas has always been a top choice for such work.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

i agree lamiglas is my top choice too