A good friend recently moved to the Panhandle of Flordia. He has ask me to build him a rod for both salt and fresh water capable of landing catches in the 10-20 lb range using a spinning rig. My experience is with Bass and Crappie rods so I am having a difficult time finding a blank that would meet his needs. Can anyone more familiar with the fishing in Flordia Gulf offer some suggestions. I also know he lives on a bay and fishes mainly from his own private dock rather than from a boat. Thanks!!

Thom Cherry
Louisville, Ky

More info is needed. You would want to know what he is catching and how he is doing it.

Doubt he is catching anything 10-20 pound in freshwater. Inshore they have redfish, trout, flouder, etc. Rarely are they that big. A 3 to 4 power popping rod is a good choice for a lot ot that work. On the peirs they can get into some good sized kingfish and cobia. That would be a very different matter so lets see if that is what he is talking about first.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Batson (sponsor on left) offers a nice IP845 that is a good "all around" choice for Florida fishing. This is a good "live bait" rod for freshwater bass and inshore red drum and Spanish mackerel.

I was trying to think of a way to be more helpful without knowing the particulars. My mind went to rods I wouldn't want to be without.

1) A 7 foot medium power spin/jig blank will do a lot of things. I like the St. Croix inshore series. Light and sensitive enough for small snapper on the bottom yet strong enough to handle moderate sized pelagics. Team it up with a reel that comes with an extra spool. 200-250 yards of 8-10# mono on one and the same amount of 15# braid will let you cover a lot of ground.

2) My brother lives in Pensacola. They fish a lot of live shrimp under popping corks so I wouldn't be without a popping rod. Really I'd want two, a lighter power one for the average sized seatrout caught on bait, and then a heavier powered one, model to depend on if I intend to fish lures with treble hooks. Lamiglass and Batson are solid choices for the first rod. If I intended to use lures with treble hooks I would go with a more moderate action for the second rod. I don't do much of that so I'd ask the guys at swampland. The most common lenght is 7 foot but the last two I bought were7'6" an 8'.

3) I wouldn't be without a live bait blank in Florida. You want something strong enough to heave a decent sized bait fish.....and perhaps some weight. The batson RCLB series offer great value and the rclb80l is about the right power. The rod is probably overkill, even big gator trout. However it could also be used on the piers.

For fresh water, a mag-bass blank is a bit of a standard and works well for inshore fishing too.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

My hands down, #1 go to choice for this fish in this range (and smaller and larger too) is the Castaway SWA P905. I have made and sold a ton of rods built on this blank, and use 3 of them myself.
Flats guides love them. They make a versatile spinning rod. for reels in the 2500-4000 size. They are great with surface plugs, soft plastics, shrimp, spoons and live finger mullet. And even though the power designation is a 5, it is really a 4.

These tods have landed 48# redfish, 65# tarpon, and big trout and snook. 12" bluefish, Spanish mackerel and ladyfish are loads of fun on this blank.

Lance at Swampland stocks them, even though they might not be listed on his website. I can't say enough good things about this blank for inshore Florida fishing.

MHX Inshore series offers several models that would fit your needs - [fishmhx.com]

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Try one today and join the thousands of satisfied users that have made MHX Blanks the #1 go-to blank in the world for custom rod builders.

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