as the title suggests im having a reshuffle/ cleann out of my some of my personal rods and need to replace/ upgrade a few but my indecisions will be the death of me. so i was wondering if you could be of help and offer some suggestions and reccomendations.

i need 2 casting blanks, these need to be premo blanks so money isnt an issue, performance is the key requirement.

firstly the casting blanks, im after a light and medium light blanks witht the lighter of the two to have a sweet spot for a 1/8 baits (not 1/8 min cast rating) as this will be used for small hardbodys (small cranks, jerks and tops) up to 4 inches approx length.
second blank needs to be a slight step up, same sort of applications with a sweet spot for 1/4 baits but be able to handle a luckycraft pointer 100 xd (5/8 deep diving jerk)
both blanks need to be 6'8" or longer, fast actioned with some power down low and i would prefer either black or matte finished

i have been looking at the phenix k2 TX-683ML-C for the lighter rod and the TX-714MH-C as the step up blank, both seem to fit the bill.

also if anyone has used the elixir blanks by phenix, what are they like? fast? ssome stiffness??

thanks in advance

Hello Ben -

This is totally subjective, but since you are looking for ideas here goes. I am not familiar with those Phenix blanks so can't help you there.

When I lived in Arkansas, I spent a lot of time on Lake Ouachita. That is extremely clear water and we chased big schools of spotted bass breaking very small shad on top. Unlike the normal schooling frenzy where you just throw anything into the mix and hook up, these fish are as picky as spring creek trout. You had to make long, accurate casts with light line and very realistic, very small topwaters like Sammy 65s and Gunfish 75s. The St. Croix 3C66MM was the best blank I ever used for that application. If you want longer I would just extend it or get an MHX CB841 BLEND. That blank was not around back then but It is literally designed specifically for the application you are describing and it fits the bill. I know these are not the most expensive blanks out there but in my experience they are the best I've found.

1/8 oz is awfully light for a casting rod, What I found was that you need the right blank AND the right reel. The Scorpion 1000 and Scorpion Mg - which are light lure reels made specifically for the Japanese market - dramatically outperform anything we could find stateside. Not cheap but available if you search for them. And you will need to go down to something like 8 lb. Big Game or something possibly even smaller. I can't cast 1/8 oz on ANY rig (spinning or casting) with 12 pound mono. But that is just my personal experience.


For the slightly heavier one, hands down my choice is the MHX SB811-BLEND. That is my go to blank for hard bodied jerk baits and is also the blank I like for flukes when built as a spinning rod. I hope this helps - good luck!

Bill

Hello Ben.

I have a Phenix Elixir FX601-1-B and they are what they say they are 6' 1-6#, 1/32-1/4oz., Fast, butt .299, tip 4, blank wt. .56.
I use this rod for catching bait for large saltwater fish, and hooked into a 3# shark in 40ft. of water and spent about 15-20 min. bringing him in.
Just before catching that shark I was using a size 6 Sabiki Rig (the same one) catching silver sided sardines and could feel each bite.

I like my Phenix rods though I have not yet tried any of their larger rods I have 2 - FX601'S, 2 - MF611'S and 1 - FX701-1-B.

Tight Wraps & Tight Lines.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

I second the MHX blend blank. I find them to be among the best blanks despite the comparative low cost.

Ben,

As Bill mentioned, true 1/8oz. lures are tough to cast on casting gear, but with the right stuff can be done. I use old Curado 100b and Citica 100dsv reels for the work with 6-8lb. mono, though it would be easier with the lower capacity spools and even the magnesium spools used on some of their higher end and JDM reels.

Granted, a fast action rod in graphite is not my first choice for fishing treble hooks, I tend toward a Batson RX8+S822.5 for the lightest lures I use. The tip is really limber, with a fair amount of power in the butt section, and the high modulus graphite combined with micro guides results in a very responsive rod. It's a compromise that I'm willing to make when pushing the lower limits of casting reels. There are rods with slower actions that will load those lures well, and cast them well, but they usually lack the power in the butt for hooking and controlling fish afterwards.

For the other stuff, a Swampland RFLE 765 trimmed to whatever length you prefer will serve you well. These blanks certainly aren't the lightest, highest modulus blanks out there, but they are primo blanks when it comes to treble hook lures. I've never fished one any better, and the range of lures these blanks can handle is astounding. This blank will load great with the 1/4oz. lures, and is more than capable of handling the larger jerk baits. The compromise here is that you may wish for a bit more stiff tip with the larger jerk baits, but if they will be used only occasionally with the focus being on the lighter stuff, then you have to compromise somewhere. If I were to build myself another 765, I might consider using 6mm guides, as the extra inertia may be just enough to help load the rod for those lighter lures closer to 1/8oz., but I haven't tried yet.

Joe

I built a rod on the dropshot/ finesse rod on the 5S76MLXF, it easily throws 1/16 oz. off it's extremely limber tip, and it has surprising power in the butt, sort of like a lighter tipped, longer Shikari P7000 that was such a popular blank.. It also comes as the 3S76MLXF and both can be bought as a 2 piece if needed.
I have a bunch of light line bass anglers I hear from, though not as often now that swear by the Diawa Pixy reels for light lure/line use, exactly what they were designed for, the Presso that came later was lighter, but didn't have as nice a drag, it was a bit weaker, and it didn't cast any better. The newer versions I haven't heard about.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/2013 09:19PM by Spencer Phipps.

Thanks for the input guys,
I think i may do away with the need to cast those really light baits. The reels i have are able to cast light lures (tuned daiwa t3's) , i was getting ok distance from a custom loomis MB843 with 1/8 but really want something that handled it easy. if i have less empahsiss on 1/8 and bump the minimum up to 1/4 its a bit more realistic. That and push the larger baits (100 xd) up to my heavy setup.

I built several of the MHX blends and while ok i want to try something different and would prefer a little more stiffness. The st croixs keep getting reccomended also but the blank colour has always put me off. the blue flip may be ok for the ligher setup however (ive always tried to match my personal setups, i am aware this is picky!)

Spencer,
what would be the heaviest bait you would throw on that 5S76MLXF? i may end up trying a MLXF as it seems to fit the bill for the ligher setup and i may go with the k2 714 for the medium light setup.

Robert,
thanks for the info, i geuss im looking for an UL blank thats faster than your normal trout blank, the faster the better, for inshore plastic/drop shot style baits similiar to walleye fishing. im interested in the 701-1. might aswell get one and see how it goes

thanks all

Ben,
Haven't thrown anything over say 1/4 oz. so far, but there is more to be had, I'd say 3/8 oz. that is listed is no problem. One thing I have noticed is that the backbone of this rod feels a bit heavier than some of the drop shot and shaky worm rods I've fished with the same line and lure ratings, even the Loomis 2 power rods. Biggest bass so far was LMB 3 1/2 lbs., SMB 2 1/2 lbs., and largest steelhead a bit over 6 lbs. None were particularly stressful to the rod.