NEVER EVER let the fear of negativity or concern of what others might think alter your true feelings, belief's and especially your words the minute you do that you LOSE big time . People have the right to be disappointed in a blank for any reason they choose and the fact that others fish the same blank and rave about means absolutely nothing , always stand firm on what you say and believe.

That being said, Brian & Jason both made it clear they intend to keep the rod and despite the disappointment in that one area both of them love everything else about the rod , thats a win win in my book.

Brian, i tthink you started a very interesting topic, nothing to be sorry about..you mentioned a good method described by Norm to test for sensisitivty, i was wondering if you tried it also without the reel mounted on the rod and made the same test with just the rod..this will give you a good idea of how much your reel dampens vibrations..this sensitiity issue is way more than just the rod in my opoinion ..the type of line, the way you hold the rod, are your hands cold, is there a lot of wind, is your concentration good that day ..am i out of the money..if you don,t know you probably are..lol.

I agree that Brian should take time and fish the rod much more , one time is way too limited , two times should do it , i mean take as much time as you need but drawing definitive conclusions based on the tests you put the rod through in your first post is just not long enough. As i said , i have had a similar experience after one day of fishing a new rod but after i fished the rod a second time all my concerns were ill founded .


I think some of us have a tendency to think a new build will be magical and better than anything we have ever experienced previously , it takes more than one outing to find that out but if in fact we still feel disappointed even after extensive use thats OK too as intelligent people ALWAYS remember and learn from their mistakes , the non Einsteins don't learn from their mistakes and repeat them many times over , these people are the types you want to avoid.

Don't forget you have as much of a right to feel the way you do as other people have the right to feel the way they do , maybe you will decide to start over and build it a different way and there is a very good possibility that doing that may solve the sensitivity issues , many supremely experienced rod builders offered reasons and alternatives to help you resolve the issue and you should take their advice with gratitude , but never feel like you screwed up for voicing your personal opinion.

Brian when you make a post that runs to 4 pages, that makes you a hero in my book!! You certainly have nothing to be sorry about. Lotta good info in this thread!

Brian,
It sounds to me like you have done 0 wrong with your build. It also sounds to me like you have built a very excellent rod, that would be perfect for someone else. Just not for you. Sell the rod and find a blank that suits your needs better.

I would simply suggest that you check out a dozen different brands of blanks and buy another one of your choice and see how the new blank of a different brand works for you in the same application.

There are many very excellent brands of blanks on the market - all of which may be good or bad for your use - depending on your exact needs.

Check with the vendors and chat a bit with the folks who sell the particular blanks in which you are interested before you go out and spend your money on another blank.

Best wishes

Now thats a bold statement by Roger , maybe it's not the build at all which i also think is most likely the case but i believe we're in the minority . Here's something to think about , the ONLY thing that was somewhat disappointing to Brian & Jason was they thought the sensitivity would be a little better BUT everything else was fantastic & the rods are STILL a favorite with them .

The chance that you will find a rod that satisfies what you're disappointed with in this particular rod will likely not be as good as the PB in other aspects of performance , you see how this works , you just can't win . Is there any rod out there that is perfection in every aspect , most agree that rod does not exist and will likely never exist , good to keep that in mind not just with material things but with other people in your life as well .

I'd probably think it was the most sensitive rod I'd ever fished. Told ya I was cheap!

Thanks for all the positive comments! I definitely have to put the rod through more testing and I'm excited to go this weekend and fish different presentations with it as suggested above. I still have a lot to learn and experiment with to find the perfect rod build for a certain technique for me. I'd be interested in seeing what everyone's favorite rod build looks like, maybe in the other thread that Steve started.

What one persons build is like is not going to be what the next guys preferred build is like , just like one persons favorite blank will be different from the next guys and why one person will insist that a certain rod is the most sensitive while the next guy will say it's the least sensitive . Don't forget about the key word here "SUBJECTIVE" it's all nothing but personal opinion & personal preference , everyone tends to have their own .




I expect you will hear different peoples personal favorite "Blank" suggestions if they decide to chime in , i don't think you will hear people say how they built it . I'll tell you straight out that millions of builders build there rods the same way you do , millions have used tape arbors in the past and millions continue to use tape arbors today even a lot of the latest building video's show tape arbors being used and it's no different than the way you apply it i bet. I have used tape arbors and no sensitivity issues.

Just look at what you said below , a ton of builders don't even get that involved , they just slap on a Fuji DPSM seat, slap some Microwave guides on and call it a day , sounds to me you have the whole thing down pretty darn well .

" I have it built with a carbon fibre split grip, Fuji pts casting seat with the perfect fit hidden thread cover set, Fuji perfect fit carbon insert between the blank and the reel seat and Fuji fazlite casting guides kW 10 to kB 5.5, kB 5 (x2), kb and kt 4.5 the rest of the way, and fazlite tip top. I put a light coat of threadmaster high build about two inches long on the blank in front of the thread cover set to sign my name with a paint pen"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/2019 01:39AM by herb canter.

Some people are very sensitive, others aren't. It is difficult for two people to have a productive discussion assessing "sensitivity" since we all perceive things differently. That's why we have numbers, rulers, high-speed cameras, weighing devices and such. They allow us to compare apples to apples.

Phil , i think when the overwhelming majority of feedback is referencing that you must of built the rod wrong and thats why you feel it's not as sensitive as you had hoped it's not hard to see why somebody would start to think it must be their fault . The thing that turned the tide is when another member said he agrees and also finds it not as sensitive as he had hoped.

It's perfectly normal for different people to have different opinions , that should of been recognized right from the start instead of automatically assuming he screwed up the build.

herb: My apologies. I did not intend to criticize another's rod-building skills. That would be foolish, since I have not seen, let alone handled, let alone casted the rod in question. However, I can't imagine how you concluded my comment criticized the rod builder? Please explain your reasoning, if you will. In the meantime, I continue to contend that a meaningful and USEFUL comparison of blanks and rods must consist of facts, quantifiable measurements, rather than sensitivity, feelings, and emotions - but I do not begrudge people doing so if it pleases them.

Phil , i wasn't referring to you C'MON LOL . You didn't criticize anybody's build , nobody really criticized anybody's build per say but some comments can easily be misinterpreted as being overly critical to the degree that an apology is in order for even mentioning his disappointment . Thats outrageous , if he feels the way he does than thats the way it is, end of story.

Nothing i said has anything to do with you , everybody knows your harmless but can kick a_ _ if provoked.

Brian asked for direct honest feedback.
If he had not been mature enough to handle it, He would not have asked.
There are no apologies need. I respect the fact he asked.

My request is:
If I ask for advice on a build, or if I might have messed up a build because things didn't turn out the way I expected..
That builders on this site be honest in that feed back even if it hurts my feelings

No feelings hurt and I appreciate all the feedback! It helped me to improve and hopefully make a better build for next time. I fished it again yesterday in the rain, with a bucktail jigs, crankbaits and jerkbaits exclusively with another reel spooled with braid. I found the sensitivity better than the last time, but the rod is different from other rods I've fished before and just takes some getting used to. I found with crankbaits, putting the butt of the rod against my ribs transmitted more feel to me. Putting my finger touching the line was good for the bucktail jigs. Didn't hook into too many but I found the rod quite powerful for a medium power rod when bringing them in. Casting is great, far distance and effortless and the rod is lightweight.

I'll admit initially I may have had my expectations too high, and scared myself as it's one of my priciest rods. I'll continue to fish it this season and figure out how to make it work best for me. Thanks again for all the meaningful discussion and helping a newbie rod builder out!

Brian, I don't know if you know about Mr. Gardner's method of reel mounting. Assuming it is anything close to what it was a decade ago (and I'm sure it has been refined), it is a rather unique and different method.

Once you look into it (and you do want to look into it) I think you will agree that by Steve's standards everyone else in the world has compromised their rod. Remember that Mr. Kirkman would tell you the second you add anything, such as a guide to a blank, you have compromised it.

Maybe that perspective will make you feel a little better. All that said, anytime Steve is willing to share any of his knowledge I would highly advise buying the beers and taking notes.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Russ completely agree. It’s good to see Steve posting again

Brian, I'm curious if you have gone out and fished any bottom contact baits with this rod? Meaning a jig, a tube jig, or a Texas rigged soft plastic? The reason I ask is, (and I have been following this thread from its inception) ...... my feelings are that the bait's you mentioned using thus far, really aren't baits I would use to judge a rod's sensitivity.

Unless you are trying to feel a fish take the bait on a pause, a jerkbait isn't going to show you much as far as sensitivity goes. Also, unless you're making long sweeping motions with the rod to work the bait, (at that point it's just a minnow bait) they have very little built in action that one could feel. With the way a jerkbait is worked, they just aren't going to show you much.

Crankbaits are a bit of a different story. Depending on the bait you may not feel a lot of throbbing in the rod tip. With that said you should definitely be able to feel the thump of a squarebill in the tip of the rod. But the way you're working the bait can affect how much of that thump you're going to feel. If you're reeling the bait in with the rod tip pointed directly at or a just a little off from directly at the bait, you're not going to feel that hard throbbing as much. Pull it at a 90 degree angle to the bait, different story. Also, and this is me, if I am trying to feel the bait contact something hard like rocks or wood, I'm fishing the bait with the rod tip pointed at it.

In-line spinners, depending on the size of the blade and blade type, along with how you have it connected to your line, is going to make a difference in how much you feel. Add a ball bearing swivel in front of an in-line spinner, which you pretty need to do, and it's going to rob sensitivity. If the bait has a narrow willow leaf blade, not going to feel much.... etc.

Bucktail jigs .... don't you pretty much just hop them? Not going to feel a lot until the fish takes the bait, and at that point if you don't have controlled slack, not going to feel a lot.

Take it out and drag something around over a known bottom type. Use a heavy enough weight for the size line you're using (don't use an 1/8 oz sinker with 20 lb line) the depth you're fishing, and the wind or water current conditions you're facing, and have at it. My guess is you're going to be like ....... man this thing is pretty darned sensitive. Gotta be using the right kind of baits if you want to judge a rod's vibration transmitting properties.

Thanks to all who contributed to this thread. I was considering a 7'3" - 7'6" build using a Rainshadow Eternity blank, but since Batson discontinued that line, I've been looking at the Point Blank blanks. This thread has given me a boatload of info.

Thanks to all who contributed to this thread. I was considering a 7'3" - 7'6" build using a Rainshadow Eternity blank, but since Batson discontinued that line, I've been looking at the Point Blank blanks. This thread has given me a boatload of info.