First time posting.

I'm looking to build a 7-foot spinning rod for fishing smallmouth in small streams. Wading creeks for 12-16" and occasional 18" smallies is my idea of heaven on Earth.

I want a rod with light power but with a quick tip. Most everything I throw is pretty light, so I like the extra length of a 7'. I use 4 to 6 lb copolymer line.

I want it to be very quick for working surface poppers, and very sensitive for working small jigs.

The Avid 6'6" light power fast action rod seems (in the shop, I haven't fished with it) to have these qualities, although it seems slightly slow, and it's not 7'.

Hoping some of the experts around here can offer ideas for a blank that would satisfy me.

Thanks in advance
Steve

Try a light power spin jig blank. These blanks have a very fast action with good power in the butt section. The fast tip makes them very good for working top water lures and working jigs. A lot of brands available, depends on what you want to spend. You do not have to spend a lot of money to get an excellent blank.
Norm

Popping rod blanks often work well for this.

............

Thanks, Norman.

I'd like to keep the blank cost in the $100-$200 range.

This is my first build. I'm handy and careful and research things to death. I'll be practicing on some old rods first.

But I'd like to make this something fairly special, something I won't regret the effort on. I'm not after something pretty to look at.

Maybe as a first attempt it's better to try something in the middle of the road, so to speak, so I can base the next iteration on what I find lacking in this one?

I'd like to hear brands and models if anyone has any that come to mind. Just to know where to start looking.

Thanks!

It is hard to go wrong with an MHX blank they are an outstanding value and make into a very nice rod that you can be proud of. Their lifetime warranty is excellent with no hassles, just make sure to register the blank with MHX. [www.mudhole.com]
Norm

[rodgeeks.com]

[www.anglersworkshop.com]


PBASP873 7'3" Fast Light 1 6-15 lbs. 1/4-5/8 oz. 4 0.39 1.52 49.75

The best day to be alive is always tomorrow !!
Think out side the box when all else fails !!!
Wi.

You sound alot like me lol..

Ive built 2 rods so far, my first was a 150$ mudhole.com kit that included a wrapper and rod with split grip handle, good rod for what it is, i wish i would have gotten onto this forum and picked brains before jumping into it..

My second rod i wanted to make something a little more tailored to slinging in line spinners, i opted for MHX, blank is a reasonable price, i got the P843-2 7' popping rod.. (If you got to MHX website its under the inshore section of blanks) 6-12lb 1/4-1/2oz.. Fast action, medium power for $76.25...

It cast like a dream when used for spinners, has a little trouble casting earthworms with small splitshot any distance over 25' but honestly thats not to shabby..

Has a fairly stiff backbone in my opinion, but is one of the most sensitive rods ive ever played with..

One last thing... My second rod came out 20x better then the first.. Im still tossing the idea back and forth of redoing it..

From the Batson line up:

REVS72ML Satin Black 7'2" 1 6-12lb. 1/8-3/8oz.
IMMWS72ML Titanium Chrome 7'2" 1 6-12lb. 1/8-3/8oz.

St Croix:

4S70LXF 7'0" | 4-8 lb. | 1/16 - 1/4 oz. | Extra Fast Action | Light Power
4S70MLF 7'0" | 4-10 lb. | 1/8 - 3/8 oz. | Fast Action | Medium-Light Power

I haven't fished any of the blanks already mentioned, but I do know that the Immortal series of rod blanks from Rainshadow ("the Batson line up that Mark just mentioned) are outstanding rod blanks. Phenomenal even. I'd give the IMMWS72ML that Mark mentioned some serious consideration.

As far as offering a blank suggestion myself, you may want to look at the NFC DS6107 from the IM series. It's a drop shot blank, so it has an extremely fast tip, with a decent back bone. It's 6'10" (a little shorter than 7' may help with casting in tight spaces) with an extra fast action, rated at 1/8 - 3/8 oz weights and 4 - 8# line.

Very sensitive and an 18" smallie will feel like you've hooked a tank. lol It is a blast to fish. It's not a powerful blank, so if you're going to be fishing Texas rigged baits, or jigs with anything other than a very light weed guard, it is not the blank for you. But for light wire open hooked baits, oh yeah.

NFC is having a buy one blank get 50% off, buy two blanks get 65% off sale right now. With the sale prices the blank would come in around $90, or less.

I use a couple of Rainshadow immortal blanks for finesse bass fishing and love them. My rods are shorter than you like but are very sensitive and extra fast for 6-15 lb line.

FWIW, the CTS people had an ad in the last issue of the magazine and are now selling blanks direct from New Zealand to the U.S. for a single shipping charge of $22. Custom colors and quick delivery. No I have not tried this direct service yet but plan to in the near future. Use order code RMM0918 to save 15% on blank price.

A great blank for that kind of fishing is the American Tackle Bushido SJ72/4-8 . It was born for light line smallmouth bass fishing. I have built several rods on this blank just for Smallies in the River. It is great for throwing light jigs and small cranks for bronze backs. Another blank would be the Bushido SP68/4-8, both blanks are reasonably priced, and perform beyond their price range. Built with MicroWave Air guides, these two rods can tackle nearly anything the river can come up with. The two piece SP72/4-8 is an amazing stream trout blank and equally comfortable with Smallmouth.

My favorite stream smallie rod is none of the above, a company not mentioned much anymore. United Composites makes an XF blank, rated 2 -10 lb line, that's great for throwing the small stuff on the Umpqua River. I throw AC Shiners, jigs, finesse worms, etc on it. They make the blank 6 1/2, 7, and 7ft 8 in models, mine is the 6 1/2 ft version. UC65LXF thru 78LXF. Angler's Workshop is where I got mine.