I've got a friend who will be taking a muskie trip to Lake Of The Woods this late summer. I offered to build him a bait casting rod Wll probabaly be tossing anything from spinner baits to top waters to suick jerk baits on the trip. I'm looking to build build him a somewhat "all around " rod for the trip. I'm looking for the best bang for the buck. He is looking to spend somewhere between $100 to $200 on components (and of course I offerd to build it for free..haha.) What are some blanks I should look into? I have previously only built fly rods and a couple of lighter spinning and castg rods. Is there anything out of the ordinary I should consider while building the larger rod? Handle sizes, thread sizes etc.?

Also found some Gloomis GL3 muskie blanks at about 40% off. Are these worth looking into? What other blanks would be worth a look?

Thanks

Larry

Either of these would work. Good enough for light lures and capable of handling anything except the specialty "POUNDER" dawgs and other 6+ ounce baits. Up there if he is trophy fishing, since it is a premier trophy lake, he may want to have a xxh rod for throwing those baits. I prefer longer rods but a 7ft will wear you out less (but more difficult for figure 8's). I have both of these blanks built on rods and either are great all around rods.

Anyways:

st.croix 2M76HF Musky-Jerkbait/SW PM76HF 7'6" H FAST 1 30-65 2-6 0.695 9.0 5.6 HKC-7 / HKC-8 $130

or

mudhole mhx MU84H-MHX 7'0" 1 20 - 50 3 - 8 Fast Heavy Spinner Bait, Bucktails 4.85 .661 9 $90.00

Dan grulke

Also longer handles with a light taper to them. Casting big lures all days fatigues your hands so it helps to mover your hands around and a slight taper also allows for tighter/looser grip thus varying the grip tension needed throughout the day. Make sure to use a reinforced tip and guides that are capatible with braid.

Dan

Larry,
If you want a really top notch Musky blank, check these out from Thorne Brothers.

These have been custom designed by some of the best Musky fishermen around and have been built by St. Croix for Thorne Brothers.
I have built quite a few Musky rods of various actions on these blanks and they are very tough to beat.

Not cheap, but really great finished rods.

Note the new trend toward 9 foot 1 piece rods for Musky fishing .

[www.thornebros.com]

Thanks guys. Although I've done more than my fair share of muskie fishing, I've lost touch a bit since I've been addicted to the fly. Keep the suggestions rolling however.....

Larry if you are looking at a great blank there is one here MN local that is an 8ft1pc 2-8oz rated but you could get away with pounders if you had to. Blank runs like 80.00 not a sponcer so I do not want to post but email me and I will be glad to give you the information.

More than you maybe want to spend but definitely worth a look. These are in the Titanium Chrome finish with slim blank diameters.

Rainshadow RX7 Multi-Purpose 1 piece
Features:

• Proprietary blend and modulus positioning of E-Glass, RX6 & RX7 graphite materials
• Great combination of strength, balance and power
• Actions cross over to many saltwater fishing applications
• Beautiful Titanium Chrome finish
• Limited lifetime warranty

Model Color Length Pcs Line Wt. Lure Wt. Butt(in) Tip Top Size Action Power Blank Wt. Application MSRP
IMU66MH TC 6'6" 1 20-50lbs 3/4-3oz 0.550 9.0 Fast MH 4.15oz All purpose musky $133.68
IMU69XH TC 6'9" 1 36-80lbs 2-8oz 0.640 9.0 Fast XH 4.86oz Jerkbaits $158.70
IMU70M TC 7'0" 1 12-25lbs 1/2-2oz 0.550 7.0 Fast M 3.98oz Small bucktails / early season finesse baits $116.58
IMU72MH TC 7'2" 1 20-50lbs 3/4-3oz 0.540 9.0 Fast MH 4.75oz Small to Medium Heavy bucktails $146.60
IMU76H TC 7'6" 1 30-65lbs 1 1/2-6oz 0.645 8.5 Fast H 5.70oz Topwaters / large bucktails $157.10
IMU76XH TC 7'6" 1 36-80lbs 2-8oz 0.665 9.0 Fast XH 6.70oz Jerkbaits / big rubber baits / large swim baits $160.83
IMU710MH TC 7'10" 1 20-50lbs 3/4-3oz 0.550 9.0 Fast MH 5.50oz Small to Medium Heavy bucktails / twitch baits $153.28
IMU80H TC 8'0" 1 30-65lbs 1 1/2-6oz 0.665 9.0 Fast H 6.68oz Topwaters / Large bucktails $144.15
IMU82MH TC 8'2" 1 20-50lbs 3/4-3oz 0.633 9.0 Fast MH 6.17oz Small to Medium Hvy bucktails / twitch baits $140.35
IMU86XH TC 8'6" 1 36-80lbs 2-8oz 0.822 9.5 Fast XH 9.03oz Jerkbaits / Big rubber baits / large swimbaits $161.85

Karry Batson
Batson Enterprises Inc.
Ph: (877) 875-2381
Fax: (360) 683-3579
karry@batsonenterprises.com
www.batsonenterprises.com

Thanks Karry...Ill take alook..