Hey guy planning to build on a 5'4 MH blank for skipping docks etc... Was thinking of a spinning reel rather than fighting birds nets on my casting gear... Question I have is, how long of a handle from reel stem to butt would be best on this short of a rod. Would u guys use the KR Concept on this build, or does the shorter length change a potential layout.

Jay, I built a dock skipping Rod a few years back that was 5' 9". I put a 6" handle on it, as I did not want it to catch on my sleeve. It works quite well. Caught a lot of fish on it. This was before KR and Microwave, and I used the 27X method.

I am just finishing a 5 foot Batson E Glass Rod. On it I went with Microvave Guides.Just used the recommended spacing. I cast 1/16 oz jigs very well. On this Rod I put a 4" grip, as that is what my friend wanted. Hope this helps. Bert Nagy

Jay, I have a TN handle on my personal rod, that way I can position the reel where I want it. I only did that as I knew I would be upgrading the reel that I had while I was building the rod. I didn't have the new reel so I went with what I thought would be the most universal type of handle that would work for what I was wanting to do. I can honestly say that I do have many TN handles and generally like that style, my first skipping rod had a TN handle on it from St. Croix. I used a 25, 12, 6, then 3.0's out to the tip. I put the 25 at 20.5 from the top of the spool edge at it highest point in its revolution and bulls eyed the rest of the guides on the way to the 3.0's. I would say that you could easily get away with using a 20,10,5 setup depending on the line size that you choose.

My rod is is a SCIII56MF that I cut down. I absolutely love it and couldn't be happier with it. I will say that I have used the 5'10 skipper from Croix and it is nice as well but I prefer the rod that I have. This rod was built far before the KR concept was even a thought so I cannot comment on how well it would work with that layout.

Hope this helps.

Tom

I prefer around 6'3" for skipping docks. biggest problem with a short rod while skipping is the tip doesnt get close enough to the water. Taller the guy the longer the rod needs to be to get it inline with the skip. Also I prefer an extra fast tip to act like a sling shot especially on light finess type lures

I also would use a 6 inch rear grip on a rod of this length as well.

Be safe

Mocked it up going with 6 inches... Thanks for the advice guys. An running a layout of 16H, 8H and 5.5M should work perfect with lighter line...

KR will work great with the 16 stripper.

I'm with Jim, KR with 16 stripper, very nice light setup. We have a discontinued Castaway 5'9 designed for skipping. It has a purdy white finish and the price is only $24.95. SB592 [www.getbitoutdoors.com]

Tight Lines and Bull's-eyes,

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Jay some thing to consider:
If you are fishing from a bass boat where you will be standing while you're skipping or casting across/over the trolling motor?

You may be better served using a slightly longer rod then you plan on. Having to elevated the rod a bit to miss the control head on the trolling motor will bring your rod tip a little higher then you may like. Which will sharpen the angle of your cast to where your skips will bounce higher off the water. which will in many cases cause your bait to slap or catch the dock causing problems.
Just something to consider.

Using a 7 to 7'6" allows me to keep the rod tip close to the waters surface allowing the bait to maintain a low trajectory alleviating some of those problems