I am looking to build my first spinning rod. I have built a couple of casting rods so far. Right now I'm looking to put together a Bushido blank with Amtac Microwave guides for shaky head and wacky worm. should I look into a mag taper our spin jig? I will be using a 2500 spinning reel with 8# test and jig head s approx 1/8-3/16 oz. also can someone recommend handle length? the blanks I'm looking at are 7'2 range.
thanks in advance
CWF

Both are very good options, as I have and use both with a 2500 series Shimao. IMO, if you're using open hook and not fishing cover the SJ is great, if you want to horse the fish outta the grass or cover the MB is a great rod. But really great for that application. Grip length about 8" will balance the rod great.

+1 what Fred said.

Spin jig may have slightly softer tip for bettery shaky head and wacky worm action.

7.5-8.5" split grip would be about right.

Chris,

I'll echo the other comments, but I wouldn't overlook the drop shot line of blanks either. I use a Batson RX8+S823 (built casting) in those applications. The drop shot type blanks have a nice combination of a soft tip with a surprisingly stout butt section, and I find these types of blanks to be incredibly versatile. I probably wouldn't go for the MB unless fishing in and around heavy cover in this application, but the average size of my local fish and the cover situation in my local lakes don't warrant the need for a heavier rod. If I were to fish a trophy bass lake with gnarly cover, then a flipping stick or punch rod may be warranted for fishing a shaky head in order to get the fish to the boat.

As far as grip length, I prefer 9.75" from the reel stem on rods with that length. With an up-locking reel seat correlates to about an 8" rear grip, and with a down-locking seat correlates to about 8.75"-9" rear grip. This is the max butt grip I can handle without it getting in the way and my preference on 6'6" or longer rods, unless I want a significantly longer butt grip to tuck against my side. Depending on how you grip your rod, you may desire a longer or shorter butt grip. I always like to know if a grip length for a spinning rod is measured with an up-locking or down-locking seat, as that extra inch or so of threads between the reel and the grip on an up-locking seat can be enough to turn a great build into a build that is nearly useless because the butt is constantly in the way while fighting fish.

Joe

Chris

I have not fished a shakey head rig but I do a lot of wacky senko worm fishing for both smallmouth and largemouth in PA rivers and lakes. Most of my personal rods are built on 7' ML spin jig blanks and they work quite well for me. I recently put a 6'10" drop shot rod into the mix and and have not used it enough to like it or dislike it yet. I did notice that the drop shot rod casts quite well with a light lure but I am not sure I like the x-fast action when fighting a heavy smallie. I also have bought a couple of mag bass blanks to try but have not built them yet.

On my 7' rods i mostly use 8" rear grips. I built a 7' rod with a longer rear grip and ended up cutting about 2-3" off of the butt of the rod because it was always poking me in the breadbasket and snagging on my shirts or jackets( I fish while sitting in a boat ).

Rog