This post comes for the same reason for the last thread I started. I gotta tell someone !!! lol

I fished the two rods I built on NFC MB736 X ray blanks for the first time today. They are officially the highest performing rods I have ever had the joy to fish. The sensitivity of the blank is even more incredible than what I tried to convey in my "I gotta tell someone" thread. When I mentioned casting them in my yard, I loved how well they cast. Getting out on the water really allowed me to see just how well they cast. Certainly the Curado K's had a lot to do with casting performance, but the rod still has to be "right" to really cast well. They cast unbelievably well.

As far as detecting bites, setting the hook, and fighting and landing fish goes. I caught 2 smallmouth bass. One about 2 lbs, the other about 2 1/2 lbs. They were't hammering the bait, they were barely discernible ticks. In fact I am quite certain that had I been fishing another rod, I wouldn't have felt the 2 1/2 lb fish bite. I lost one other fish that felt like a really good one. The wind was gusting and had a substantial bow in my line, and I didn't get a good hook set on it. It felt bigger than the two I landed though. The blank has more power than what I had thought it would have by me simply flexing it by pulling on the line. It's got very good power in fact. Still not a blank I would choose for horsing fish out of heavy cover, but more than enough power for pulling fish out of moderate cover. And definitely enough power to handle fish much bigger than the two I landed today.

Anyhow ........ the X ray blanks are insanely good. If anyone is familiar with the movie Con Air, one of the convicts on the plane was Garland Green, played by Steve Buscemi. He chopped up 30 some people and wore a woman's head as a mask driving across three states These X ray blanks are even more insane than Garland Green .....



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/13/2019 10:34PM by David Baylor.

NFC should be paying you lol . Now fear not other blank manufacturers on these boards and elsewhere around the world , while it's great that Mr. Baylor loves his new rods don't forget there are many others who are beyond thrilled at the performance of the new rods they built and on the blanks they chose to purchase . I can't tell you how many times i let a fellow angler check out a super high performance rod only to hand it back after a few casts and say mine costs $19.99 and can catch just as large of a fish as your much more expensive rod, yes , it appears rod performance is based on how big a fish it can land . Imo, there's no hope for those people but as they say, to each their own.

Nevertheless, it is a great thing to be blown away by a rods performance so congrats to David.

lol Herb. If they want to pay me, they can pay me by shipping the next X ray blank I order, within the 2 - 3 week window they state on their web site. Otherwise I have no problem singing the praises of the performance of the X ray blanks themselves.

Admittedly, prior to building my own rods, I didn't have a lot of experience fishing with what would be considered a truly high end factory rod. I had fished a buddies GLX for a few minutes, but other than that my experience had been limited to a G Loomis GL2, and several Shimano Crucial and Compre rods. Nice rods for their price point, but not "high end" rods. In fact, while I wouldn't say I was to the degree of the "fellow anglers" you mentioned, I did believe that the rods I was using couldn't be that much different than the high dollar boys. Fishing that GLX, even though it was ever so briefly, opened my eyes to what could be. It's one of the reasons I started building rods. I just couldn't afford to outfit myself with rods in that performance range.

Building my own rods has allowed me to fish with rods that equal, or exceed, the performance of that GLX. The Immortal blanks I have built on are every bit as good as the GLX. Particularly the IMMC72MH blank. That blank is phenomenal. The Pac Bay Quickline blanks I have built on are right up there as well. Slightly below that would be NFC IM series blanks I've built on, followed by the one NG series Hydra blank that I've built on. These X ray blanks are in a different world.

I was fishing very tough conditions yesterday. Winds 10 - 15 mph, with guts to 25, on a lake that had risen a foot and a half in the past week. Water temps ranging from 53 - 55 degrees, with visibility in the 1' range. And I was fishing for smallmouth bass. These rods allowed me to feel things I am certain I wouldn't have felt with a rod built on a lesser blank. As I mentioned in my original post, I know I wouldn't have felt the one fish bite.

I have a tournament at the same lake, next weekend. Currently the lake is still a little more than 2' below summer pool, but we have heavy rains forecast for the next day or so, and the Army Corps of Engineers web site is forecasting the lake to be a little above summer pool by the time next Saturday rolls around. Now I realize that like the "fellow anglers" mentioned above, it's the person holding the rod and not the rod itself, that catches the fish. And that under most general conditions, an extremely high performing rod isn't required to detect bites, and catch fish. But when conditions are tough, the rod in your hand can be just as important as the brain you used to find the fish in the first place.

These X ray blanks make me feel a whole lot smarter ....

hi David..just curious, are you using braided line or mono..Thanks.

Hi Ben. I use fluorocarbon for probably 90% of my fishing. I have 15# test Seaguar Tatsu on these particular rods. While braid and nylon mono certainly have their place, I only use them for very specific types of baits.

In the case of nylon mono, I use it for topwater baits because it floats, or I'll use it to affect a baits running depth. As for braided line, I use it if I am fishing extremely heavy cover, where I need it to move fish quickly. I've also taken to using it as the main line on my Carolina rig rod. Its pretty much zero stretch is a big plus when a fish hits at the end of a long cast.

Other wise it's fluorocarbon as the main line on all of my other rods. That includes my spinning rods. Seaguar Tatsu is the only fluorocarbon line I use anymore. IMO it's the X ray blank of fishing lines. Not for every situation, but when you need it, it shows up in a big way.

David, do you have any definitive ,quantified, evidence gathered by independent testing showing these blank to be more sensitive, or do you just feel they are? Seriously though, great results are great to hear about, hope you have succcess with them.

Can't agree more tested my 736 out yesterday and very impressed. Caught a 1.5 lb bucketmouth. The fish had a serious case of lockjaw yesterday.

interesting..thanks David..

LOL Lynn ..... I love it !!! LOL I can't stop laughing long enough to type ... which considering how long winded I normally am. ... is probably a good thing LOL

And Jacob .... it just nuts isn't it?

I read Lynn's post and was convinced it's Phil Ewanicki posing as Lynn , thats a Ewanicki question through and through.

Herb, you threw me under the bus!!

Need to change my reel on it. The Conquest 50 just doesn't fit the rod. Felt a little mechanical. Think if I put the Met on it I will be able to feel more. Less Gear noise in the blank. We will see. Almost as sensitive as the IM DS rod I built running the Met. It's a Mag Light-XF versus a MH-F. That kinda tells you how it compares as far as the sensitivity level. Guess I have something to try for this weekend.

Jacob, I'm curious ..... what baits have you thrown with your 736 X ray? The reason I ask is, you mention the mag light power IM DS rod you built. That would be on the DS6107 blank, correct? If it is, I built a rod on that blank last year. I built it as a spinning rod. I like it a lot, but it's quite a bit under powered for what I was hoping it to be. Anyhow .... if we are talking about the same blank, I find it interesting that you say the MB736 you built is almost as sensitive as your drop shot rod.

I've fished the rod I built on the DS 6107 IM for almost a full year, and while it has excellent sensitivity, I don't find it to have anywhere close to the sensitivity of these X ray blanks. I'm actually going to be building a new drop shot rod, mostly because I'm not happy with the back bone the DS6107 has, but also because I can't imagine there being a better blank for a drop shot rod, than one of these X ray blanks. I'm most likely going to use the SJ732, but am considering the MB733. The only thing that scares me about the 733 is the 4 -10# line rating. That's the same rating the DS6107 has.

Anyhow ............ interesting

David PM me.

Jacob, I don't know how? lol

Both of you have your emails hidden. Unhide them by clicking on your name, then control center, then edit email, and then allow your email to be seen by others.
Norm



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/15/2019 09:22PM by Norman Miller.

Thanks Norm I thought that was auto enabled. I guess I need a Forum for Dummies Book!!!

For what it’s worth, I have a MB733 x-ray blank that I haven’t built yet. Was planning on building a spinning rod for jig fishing walleye. I typically use 1/8oz to 3/8 ox and 6 lb line. This blank “feels” like it’s is more powerful and slightly stiffer then comparable St Croix MLF blanks I have built on. It does seem very crisp and sensitive as advertised but as I said, it is not complete yet
Hope this helps

David got to spend some time with the 736 this weekend and all I can say is wow. You can feel every rock and crack. It's pretty phenomenal.