In Florida lakes and rivers are thick fields of water lilies, frequently called bonnets, holding large bream, especially blue bream (copper head) and red-ear sunfish (shellcrackers). These fish are very powerful fighters and if you wait even a second after the bite, you are entangled in vegetation. The solution is a long stiff rod and use of braded mono for quick, reliable engagement. I've been using store-bought crappie rods with underspin reels but break tip sections all too frequently, and they are just too wimpy for the job. My idea is to build a spinning rod of 10' 6", using a steelhead blank designed for 8-12 pound line, like the Lamiglass XSH 126 2M. The length is necessary to flip baits/floats up to 12 feet from the boat and then be able to leverage the fish out of the cover before entanglement. Was also thinking of using Fuji Alconite guides and tip - but what about MicroWave guides? Light weight is also important since I flip for 8 hours a day and my shoulders would fatigue with a heavy rod/reel combination, and, I want it to float with reel attached.

Would appreciate advice on components and overall design. It's been years since ive built a rod and I'm behind the curve on current technology.

Phil,
Great idea on the Steelhead blank.
Put a set of Pac Bay minima guides on it - very light weight guides - and you will be set. Since you are working in and around weeds and grass, I wouldn't be using guides that are too small. I would likely only go down to about a size 8 guide.

You aren't casting, so I see 0 advantage to use the microwave guides.

That way, if you get grass or other junk on your line, you will still be able to get your fish, without jamming the line coated with grass and weeds in a small guide.

You could almost go to a 12 foot rod with a 12 foot line on the end of it, and forget about using a reel or any guides on the rod for this type of fishing. A pretty simple basic rod for this style fishing.

Maybe you just want to use one of these inexpensive Bream Buster - fishing poles:

[www.basspro.com]

Phil if you think the bream are tough wait till you try some of the cichlids. They have really taken hold in Dade and Broward.

Given what the steelhead blanks cost I'd look for a fly rod on sale. Utmost has a ten foot five weight for 45 bucks and a nine foot ten weight (that could be extended) for 40. Really a 5 weight is plenty of rod for any bream (and a lot of bass).

Get a little creative and you could easily screw an extension into the end of the reel seat and use it as a spinning rod but still have a functional fly rod. And if you have never caught bluegills on a fly rod then you are really missing something.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Roger and Russ,

Thanks for your input. Much appreciated. Further thoughts:

I considered a bamboo pole with a fixed line, like a jigger pole, but flipping is a must since distances range from right at the boat to 12 feet or so out. Further than 12 feet and fish cannot be controlled. So I need a line take-up system (reel). Roger, you’re right, no casting.

Average size bream are ¾ to 1 pound, and when they turn sideways you have not won the contest until they swing over the gunnel. I fish Lakes Lochloosa and Orange sometimes using grass shrimp and 2 and 3 pound shellcrackers are not uncommon. So HEAVY backbone is required. I considered a fly blank – possibly a 10 or 11 weight. It would have to be a fast action, guides on the heavy side. I think length needs to be in the 10-11 foot range for leverage, remembering the fight is usually over in 10 to 15 seconds.

I’ve been using 15 pound braided mono with great success. Fishing cover mostly consists of bonnets but occasionally hard hang-ups occur. With 15 pound braided I can simply pull the line (not with the rod) until the cricket hook bends and releases. So guides need to be compatible with braided mono. Here is where I need help – guide design (single foot or braced), sizes and layout (8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 10, 10, 10, 12, etc.). Here is my guide spacing theory/practice – I tape the guides on the blank (tip is already cemented in place), mount the blank at 45 degrees with guides on the top side, anchor heavy mono on the butt end and string it through the guides and tie on a plastic one-gallon milk jug, add water until I get a “typical” working bend for the blank, and then adjust the guides until the space between the mono and the blank is the same between each guide pair. This loads the blank exactly to its spine/action. What do you think?

As for butt construction, I want the rod to float if dropped overboard so was thinking of Hypalon. Cork would be okay too.

Your opinions are appreciated. Like I said, I haven’t built a rod for a 15 years or so (started building rods when Dale Clemens held his second seminar in Allentown – I attended) and I need to catch up with current technique. Any additional design ideas are most welcome.

Phil,
To set up your guide spacing, it does not have to be complicated.

Glue the butt grip, reel seat, and fore grip in place - if using a fore grip.

Then, for a 10 foot rod, go to about a 22 inch length and tape on the first guide. Then to about 15 inches, for the 2nd guide, 12 inches for the 3rd guide etc.

As you go down the rod, just flex the rod, to see where the next guide needs to be placed.

Yes, as a final check go ahead with the milk jug and a full rod flex - and eye ball the run of the line to insure that you have the line following the loaded rod blank.

When I am in the shop, I just do it an easier way. I put the end of the line under my foot and lift the rod until the rod in nicely loaded. Check and then tweak any of the guide spacing as needed.

For this type fishing, the use of the EVA or Hypalon would certainly be a good inexpensive choice for the grip.

By the way, are you considering the use of a spinning reel, or a casting reel on this rod for a take up reel?

Actually, you could use a Bass Flipping rod for this - and it would work fine. Of course the rod would likely be quite a bit heavier than what you really need for this application.

Phil, I think you are greatly over estimating the strength of the blank needed. For example, you mention using a cricket hook. That right there sets the upper end of the maximum pressure you can put on the fish. I can usually straighten one with 4# mono and always with 6#. IMHO what you need is a blank that can dead lift 2 to 3 pounds in a high stick condition. A composite or lower modulus graphite would therefore be the better choice. Keep in mind a ten weight would be about right for a nice snook around mangroves. Also, the longer the rod the less leverage you have and the more the fish has.

Assuming a spinning reel I would look at the articles in the library on 27 and static testing. The method you have suggested is all wrong (IMHO). In a nut shell you would tie the line, attached to the milk jug, only to the tip you have glued on. Any other ways forces the blank to conform to where you have already placed the guides. Not what we want as we want to make the placement of the guides conform to the natural bend of the blank.

Fly rod guides will be plently strong enough for the rod as will single foot spinning guides for the stripper and reduction guides (BYAG and BLAG alconites for example). If they will handle dolphin/wahoo/sailfish for me I think they will handle anything you will see in fresh water.

I can't help on making the rod float. Never gave that any thought/effort. I can say hypalon weighs more than eva and cork. I have never seen hypalon used on anything but heavy class offshore rods.


Those are nice sized shellcrackers. I understand all you are saying about those bluegills. I'm a born and bred florida boy who has been fishing here for fifty+ years. However I didn't get serious about bluegill until I moved to Tenn while my GF went to college there. Doubt it is what it once was but you might want to treat yourself to a trip to reelfoot lake sometime. Don't go out with less than 10 tubes of crickets for the day and if you don't come back with at least a 100 fish you are doing something wrong.

Good luck and enjoy your new rod. If it sounds like I underestimate your needs....well understand I fish salt water and HEAVY backbone means something that can handle JAWS to me.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Hi Roger,

Good points. Agree my spacing technique is somewhat involved. I think we both have the same outcome - to load the blank according to the action. I've never had a blank failure using this loading. Now abuse is another story.....

Will use a spinning reel. Penn has a nice reel, the Battle BTL1000, 130yds/8# braid, weighing in at 7.9 oz. Sounds like a reasonable matchup. Would have to tighten the drag tight for this application.

What guides would you suggest? My first thought is single foot since the guides are on the bottom of the blank as it is fished.

I've used a Fenwick (I think it was Fenwick) FS908 blank in the past for shiner fishing for trophy bass and they work well, both as level wind and spinning rods. The 8 action would work but the 90 inches is too short. Yes, I could make a butt extension but that adds weight. Standard flipping blanks are too short - unless there is a blank out there I can't find. My idea is to have the blank run to the butt cap, thus making the rod itself as light as possible. Of course, I'm talking graphite (what ever happened to boron?).

Now a key question - is there a 10-11 foot one-piece blank out there somewhere with a .55" +/- butt and 5-6 tip? I've always liked one-piece blanks.

Phil, I have fished both lakes years ago when I lived in Gainesville and I also spent 22 years fishing in Mississippi. What I built for this purpose was a 10 foot salmon/steelhead rod with conventional ceramic eyes and a long handle with an automatic fly reel loaded with 20 lb mono. Worked great in Mississippi for pulling big crappies out of the brush.

I totally agree with Sam. I have built several rods for this type fishing and I wouldn't use anything but a Steel head blank. I built 4 of them for one guy that fishes in Miss. for Crappie just as Sam described and used 20 lb max line class blanks. He said they were the best Crappie rods in his arsenal. I think they would work perfectly for pitching to large Redear and Bluegill. I also like the idea of the automatic Fly reel.

J.B.Hunt
Bowling Green, KY