I have been using a shimano compre for years it's 6'6" medium light spinning, I love the sensitivity of this blank. Looking for something of a baitcaster for the same thing. Looking at a St Croix sc4 or a point blank, also up for suggestions. I've built rods for other people on nice blanks, but now its time for me. Mine have mainly been tests, trash can blanks. I recently built a medium crankbait baitcaster from a matrix blank. I was amazed at how easy it cast. I am using Abu Garcia STX reels or MGX on that matrix blank. I do not like G Loomis so please don't suggest one. Nothing against them, just really doesn't do it for me. Plus they seem a bit overpriced, I fished with one and it didn't seem that special. It was a GL3 and the matrix blank cast better in my opinion. I met Jason at the Rod Builders convention and really like what St Croix offered, it also looks like Point Blanks have been getting really good press. Please help in my decision.

For finesse fishing I like a fast action for the fishing, but on a baitcaster , they don't cast as effortlessly as a more progressive action. You need to decide what your priorities are. I have built two Point Blanks for my son as baitcasters, and he loves them: PB691MXF. I personally like a little more progressive action for baitcasting, these are great, sensitive, light, straight, blanks, powerful for their weight.

If you find a Point Blank that fits your priorities, you will not be disappointed.

I have built 5 SCV 5 rods for spinning, and they are great rods. 7 foot medium power (actually a little more powerful than most that are called Medium) fast action. You can't go wrong with St Croix, either.

Rainshadow Immortal IMMC73ML would be my choice.

Guaranteed you would absolutely love a rod you built on the above mentioned blank. Light, very good power for a medium light rated rod, yet casts light baits (5" Kalin lunker grub on an 1/8 oz jig head) very well, and is even more sensitive than the rod I built on an Immortal IMMC72MH, which considering how sensitive the latter mentioned blank is, is saying a lot.

I have mine paired with a Curado 200 I and 12# Seaguar Tatsu.

It is one bad mammy jammy.

I use a lot of unweighted Senkos as well as craw style plastics (Chigger Craw, Hula Grub) with 1/8 oz. weight. Before I started building, I had several St Croix rods for various situations so first I tried a AVS70MF for a while because it casts the lighter weights so well. But It was hard pulling bass out of heavy cover quickly enough. So then I tried my AVS70MHF for a while which worked great for getting bass out of cover quickly, but the tip was too stiff and didn't cast well.
After I started building I got the 3S68MXF and 3C68MXF to build up for this purpose. The MXF has the light tip to make casting/pitching easy but still plenty of backbone to get fish out of cover quickly. So they've become my most used rods when bass fishing. The casting version works well with the Senko, but I don't do well with casting reels and lighter weights so the spinning version gets used for the craw type lures. I'm trying to learn how to skip under docks and overhanging trees with a casting reel without creating a mess.
I'm sure the SCIV or SCV will be excellent. I stick with the SCIII mostly because I think it's a great value and haven't been convinced that paying more for higher modulus gets me that much more performance. I know guys that are hard on their rods and have breakage issues with the high modulus, but that's unique to them.

John Shear
Chippewa Falls, WI

This is really helpfu info. I've been using spinning for years until I started bait casting and getting good at it. I can put a lure in the same spot over and over with very little effort. I have to look into the immortal blank. Also are the sc4 st croix sensitive compared to my shimano? I see the immortal is sensitive according to David, but is it durable. I've played with the st croix samples at the show and the point blanks aren't sanded smooth giving extra strength. I've owed one store bought high modulas rod and it broke three times within a month. I actually got a store credit and traded it for the shimano. If my lure or anything accidently hits part of the rod(lightly),I don't want it to break. I've broke one rod that I've built and it was my fault. All the rest no problems yet. Any other blanks for this purpose of finesse fishing I'm up for suggestions besides st croix or point blank.
Thanks

John, I'm a Shimano guy, using only Shimano reels, and other than a couple of G Loomis rods I own, all Shimano rods. I have and still use a Compre (the IM8 version) 6'6" heavy power extra fast action rod for some of my pitching. I also have and still use a Shimano Crucial (the IM9 version) 7' heavy power, fast action, or it may be an extra fast action (its in my boat right now or I'd check lol) that I use for flipping and pitching. IMO the Crucial is noticeably more sensitive than the Compre.

The flipping pitching rod I built on the Immortal IMMC72MH blank blows both of those rods away when it comes to sensitivity. As I said in my earlier post, the finesse casting rod I built on the IMMC73ML blank is noticeably more sensitive than my flipping/pitching rod built on an Immortal blank.

I also have a couple of Shimano spinning rods that I'll eventually be retiring. Both are 6'8" medium power, extra fast action. One a Compre (again the IM8 Version) which is basically already retired, and the other a Crucial (again, the IM9 version) The Crucial is more sensitive than the Compre, and the spinning rods I built to replace them are more sensitive than both Shimanos. I built the spinning rods on Pac Bay Quickline blanks. Excellent blanks. Extremely light and very sensitive.

The finesse casting rod I built on the IMMC73ML blank is more sensitive than my spinning rods. I absolutely love the rod I built on it.

As far as durability goes, I've only been fishing that flipping/pitching rod for a little more than a year, so I can't say long term durability just yet, but I will say this ..... the way the blank is constructed, the blanks wall thickness, and its dimensions as far butt diameter and tip, I have no worries about the rod being durable. As far as durability goes for the finesse casting rod ....... I've only been fishing it a little more than a month, but as with the other Immortal blank I've built on, I am not worried one bit about what it's durability will be.

Immortal blanks are phenomenal blanks.

David - Your G Loomis rods are probably Shimano rods. Loomis sold his company to Shimano in 1997.
Norm

I was reading up on the immortal blanks. Ironically the blank you mentioned is the least expensive of the bunch. I am very great up you can compare my shimano to that blank. That might be my next choice, though I don't think I'll be disappointed with any. How does titanium finish look in person? They all look grey in pictures. One other question, would you acid wrap this? I've been wanting to do an acid wrap with micro guides or even nano micro. I love my micro guides and I'm beginning to like nano guides I've put on a few rods.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/13/2016 10:10PM by John Keough.

Try one of the Bushido SJ 72/4-8. Weightless flukes, and wacky worms fly from these blanks, they are sensitive enough that you will feel the slightest tap, yet load deep with a hook set. I have never felt out gunned using mine on Smallmouth and Largemouth, pan fish and Pike.. Straight, strong and tough blanks to build on. The finish is mat black.

Norman .... while I can't remember the year I bought the Loomis rods I have, I do know it was prior to the company being sold to Shimano. They're both GL2's with the goldish finished blanks. The poor things are showing signs of age that's for sure. Yellowed epoxy on the wraps and over the decal. Still fish very well though.

John, I love the color of the titanium finish. And while you're right as far as what it looks like in pictures, it's more of a silver grey. And really pops in sunlight with a hint of metallic. I used the same guide and wrap color combinations on both of my rods built on them. Fuji CLNAG and CLAG (polished stainless steel frames) guides, black thread for the wraps, with a 3 turn metallic silver trim band on the ends of the wraps, and a single metallic gold thread inlay in the middle of the wrap. Although on the last rod I used 2 turns of gold for the inlay.

Both are split rear grips using black EVA foam. I really need to post some pictures of them in the picture forum. I'm very proud of them, especially since they're only the 5th and 6th rods I've built. I have an Alps MVT reel seat on the latest build. Man I love that reel seat. Very comfortable, and sensitive to be sure.

Anyhow..... as far as the acid wrap. I'm older so I'm pretty conventional. There may well be benefits to a spiral wrap, but they aren't for me. I used 4.5's for running guides on both the Immortal blank rods, and I feel no hint of rod twist with guides that are that low to the blank. They may cause the tip to twist some, but it's not something I'm concerned about.

And finally, since I boat flip pretty much any fish 3 lbs and under, I went with some advice given to me by Tom Kirkman, and I installed more running guides than probably most people do. He mentioned it would keep the line following the curve of the blank more closely and not allow line to go below the blank. He said it could help with boat flipping fish. {Edit: I don't boat flip 3 lb fish with the ML blank rod. Just my flipping/pitching rod} I have 11 guides plus the tip top on both of the rods I built on the Immortal blanks.

Yeah, that may be more guides than most others would put on a rod, but those extra guides give me confidence, and they add power. Both good things in my book.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/14/2016 08:12AM by David Baylor.

Dave,
Your IM9 rod is a lower modulus blank than your IM8 rod. Rod construction may have more to do with the lighter weight and sensitivity than the blank's modulus. A bit of info found on this site years ago.

Spencer, Wow ..... I had no idea. Of course I assumed that the higher number meant it was a higher modulus. You're right about the IM9 rod, the Crucials in the cases I mentioned, being lighter.

The difference in sensitivity is noticeable. I do know that

Thanks for that bit of information. That's why I love this site ..... I'm always learning something.

Thanks again!

Addition: Spencer, I did a search and found a thread, possibly the one, or one of the ones if there are more, that you referenced. It was started by a member by the name of Andy Dear.

Very interesting, and definitely enlightening. Neat stuff.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/15/2016 02:04PM by David Baylor.

Every blank manufacturer makes a good weightless plastics blank. How much money do you want to spend? What type of cover if any will you be fishing around? Braid or fluorocarbon? If sensitivity is important to you, there are blanks out there that will blow that Shimano out of the water. Some people prefer an extra fast action where the blank shuts off real quick like, others like a more progressive taper with a fast tip. I fall into the latter category.

Just ordered my new blank. I'm going with the IMMC73ML. Thanks again for the input from everyone

John, I for one think you have made an excellent choice! You are going to absolutely love that blank and the rod you build on it.

David Baylor Wrote:
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> John, I for one think you have made an excellent
> choice! You are going to absolutely love that
> blank and the rod you build on it.


My three primary spinning rods are Imm models. For bottom contact baits they cant be beat.