I have a friend in Texas who wants me to build him a 6'6" spinning rod , 6 - 12 lb. test , stiff rod with soft tip , black in color , for his dad. Now I fish for Snook and Tarpon and use these types of rod to catch bait , can someone give me some advise on a nice blank for Bass fishing. Thanks

Try the Graphite-USA B65H or the B65M. The B65H is 8-25lb test and the B65M is 6-17lb test. I built a worm/jig rod for my, maybe in the future, father-in-law on the B65H with Fuji Concept Alconite guides. He went fishing with it and was estatic with the way it performed. He said that he could feel the lightest bit of debris, twig or stump on the bottom and the slightest hit from the tip all the way down to the handle. He was very happy with it. I believe this is probably one of the best blanks on the market. I'm also building a B70M for myself for Speckle Trout. Also, from best I can tell, they can be built as a spinning or casting rod.

Good Luck,
Steve

Bill,

One possibility, from Shikari is the CB663 composite blank.

St. Croix is to have available soon, based on the prototype, a nice graphite blank with a moderate tip and believe it may be in 6 1/2' and 7'. Should know about this one late July.

I would also suggest the faster tip actions from St. Croix such as 3S66MF... a good all around including excellent topwater. What would be the most used baits for the rod you want to build your friend? For cranking or spinnerbaiting suggest the Shikari or the SG66 (St. Croix S-Glass) to get the softer tip.

Best of luck.

Rich
www.rodreel.com

Thanks guys , He uses light spinner baits , the Alconite guides were my choice also. Are these blanks black ? I have heard of nothing but good things about Graphite USA , what do you think of (B83M) for fishing the saltwater flats ?.

Bill drop me a line,e mail need to talk to you further about weaving anyway,Stop by after calling will show you one of the GUSA blanks.
John

The blank you speak of is a glossy black or maybe grey. It's a very nice looking blank. The B83M would probably do well depending on how you plan to fish with. Like, for jigs or top water, I like to use a fast action tip for specks and reds. For cranking lures or spinner baits I'd go with a moderate to fast action and also for fishing under a cork. Can't go wrong with G-USA blanks. Contact Bob McKamey at Custom Tackle. He can set ya up!

Good Luck,
Steve

I got a lump in the throat reading this post –
Graphite USA + lighter saltwater applications = An Excellent Choice!
I personally fish with many a GUSA’s here in Florida day in & out in the “Red Fish Capital of the World” – Mosquito Lagoon area of the Indian River. Them speckled trout keep getting in the way – LOL.

Red Fish – B83L for tossing live shrimp to tailing reds when they are a county mile away and your arms are tired of trying to pole to them – with the 8’3” length, 6# line on a Shimano Sustain 4000, I can throw a live shrimp a LONG way (also an excellent set up for bone fish on the flats in the keys). B70M is a top water blank, B70LXF for gold spoons.

Speckled Trout - The B70M is a little to stiff for specks, B70L has a sweet spot at 6-8# line for spec’s (B78L also for a 7’8” version perfect for standing on the poling plat form casting). For top water spec fishing I like a shorter rod like the B65M, B65LXF for tossing shrimp to spec’s or a gold spoon.

For jigging snook the B79XF will cast across Sebastian Inlet (Snook Capital of the World) and has the power to pull snook out of the pilings. Good beach rod also for snook & smaller poons.

But this thread started with Bass fishing. GUSA new DHX series aims squarely at this target market. C703DHX for cranking, 70LMXFW for light jigging, C663DHX casting top water plugs.

The beauty of the GUSA blanks is in the patented Dual Helix construction. No other blank is made the same. The dual helix gives the GUSA a tremendous strength to weight ratio. This allows you to drive a truck over one a concrete surface and not shatter the blank (see photo’s of this on our web site). Yet the same GUSA blank weights the same or LESS than an equivalent Loomis blank. The dual helix gives them tremendous power and also allows for a very sensitive, light blank.

GUSA standard color is a glossy black finish. They are also available in dark green, cobalt blue and red. We are a fully stocking distributor of GUSA blanks, give us a call if we can help you out.

Tom McNamara
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><a href="[www.mudhole.com">];
<b>Mud Hole Custom Tackle </b> </a></body>
Phone: (407) 277-0099

Tom I got a lump in my throat when you mentioned bone fish on the flats. One of the best fishing days of my life was bone fishing in Marathon caught 4 on a half day trip largest 8 lbs. Thanks for all the info guys this helps me out alot. John I will e-mail you today, I've been jumping lightning bolt's and poons the last 2 weeks. Thanks again

Bill,

I see that most did not read your post correctly. You did say you wanted a bass fishing blank? Try a Rainshadow SJ781 or a 782 for a great economical blank. Or a Loomis GL3 SJ782 for a step up depending on your budget and needs. Both are spin Jig blanks and have a little more butt than the ordinary spin rod blanks. I know these will please him especially with the new alconite guides in a concept fashon. They will perform beyond his expectations. There is many other to chose from including St. Croix SCIII 3S66MF for 3/16 to 5/8 oz. lures and 6 to 12 lines. This is another good choice. There are many. if yu need any furter assistance drop me a email as I build many of the rods for bass fishing using any style guide arraingement to suit your needs.

Bruce Young
Landing Gear

On the Loomis front; if you can find an SB series blank, get it. They have even a little more butt than the SJ series. I think they stopped making them. I just built a pair of SB723's that I got from D&E and I really like them. The SJ's are still nice and solid in the butt. You wouldn't go wrong with one of those!

I think the Loomis SJ's are the same as the casting [C] series blanks in the under 7'6" catagoery. The SB's were different and a bit stouter in the butt as you mention. Many of those have been dropped in the last few years though.