okay guys, i guess i'll forget about the dss1025. how's about the mhx st1024-f anybody ever build or fished one of these? or the mhx st1025-f? i'm looking at building a couple of spinning rods to cast spoons and cranks 3/8oz-3/4oz for fall chinook salmon up to 20-25lbs. i just broke a rod and need to pick something out quick. any help would be appreciated.

25 pounds of salmon is a lot of fish, so I'd use the 1025. I don't fish for kings but do fish for Coho every year which run to 16 pounds or so and the 1024 is perfect for that.

hey drew, thanks but the 25lber's is going to be few and far in between. we get them averaging in the teens so i guess the 1024 med mag should do. have you fished this blank? is it a true fast or mod fast? thanks...

I have built on both of those blanks. I have fished the 1024 and like it a lot for steelhead and cohos here in northwest Indiana. In the narrow streams here with a lot of timber in the water, It would be a huge task to land a 20 lb. king here. I have recently built another rod ( ST1025) for this purpose.

hi jim,
i remember you showing me pictures of it. i usually shop where you work with my son and spoke to you numerous times. i think i'm gonna order a couple of the 1024's and try to get them ready before the king season is over. we fish deeper water that is basically snag free so i can actually play out the fish unlike the streams. i'm worried the 1025 might be like a club.

I know that you didn't ask, but Batson ISA 1086 F is outstanding. I have landed Kings up to 42lbs with no problem. Just a suggestion.

Ron Jack
Bowdoin, Maine

I should stay out of conversations that I'm clueless about but what the heck.

I have a rainshadow HS1025-F. IIRC it is rated 12-25# but it is a hot shot blank. It would cast the lures you have listed no problem. It has a very light tip and I would call it extra fast. It has a quick lock up and once it is locked up is it a powerful blank. It could fish 20# class and certainly handle 20-30+ pelagic fish in open water. It is hardly a club and one could enjoy a smaller fish on it.

On my first outing I was amazed at how versatile it was. I caught everything from amberjack and snapper on the bottom to dolphin and tuna while trolling. I even did a little plugging for snook/tarpon....and although I didn't catch anything I can tell you that blank will cast a long ways. To me, the most amazing catch was being able to feel a small squid eat a live finger mullet in a 100 feet of water.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.