I’m new to building rods, i live in the northeast. So stripper fishing is my main go-to when I’m out. I’d like to make a rod that is good for fishing jetty’s and also bridges. If anyone could point me into the right direction of a blank that could be used for both I would appreciate it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/08/2019 01:51PM by Gerard Grohmann.

Gerard,
I also am in the northeast, and new to building. But you at the right place to learn, the guy's here are outstanding! Take a lot of notes. Now I built a rod for flounder in NJ, that will work nice with both strippers and flounder. Mudhole has a L905-MHX 7 1/2' blank, i was surprised how light weight it is. I use it with a Penn 4400ss.
Like I said take note, I'm sure a lot of guy's will be helping you! Also be ready to be addicted.

Thanks don, yeah i’ve been reading posts for the past few days. So much knowledge in a little bit of time. I live in Long Island so im right around the corner from you. I’m going to check out the blank you mentioned. Appreciate the help. Thank you again.

The choice of blanks out there available for this type of fishing is truly endless , lets clear up that we're talking about striper's not strippers , i know of no blank that works well for strippers . For fishing jetties & bridges i like rods that are medium heavy in power since keeping hooked fish away from rocks & concrete bridge walls with barnacle encrusted pilings is key to landing large fish around these types of structures .

I also prefer longer rods than most as i find anything under 7'6" in length does not cast well especially if fishing from land so 8 feet is one of my favorite lengths as it's a great compromise being easy to control while being able to cast far if necessary. The below links are the types of blanks i like for what you're doing but as said there are many more .


[rodgeeks.com]

[rodgeeks.com]

[www.rainshadowrodblanks.com]

[www.rainshadowrodblanks.com]

Thank you herb, sorry for the spelling. Appreciate the links. Like you said there are so many out there. Thank you guys for help. What would you recommend for guides? I’ve been using spinning reels my whole life. But I was thinking of try out a conventional setup.

Best to be certain about the reel and line before choosing guides , guide type , height and sizing will be based on those first two important questions. When you aren't even sure whether a conventional or spinner will be used guide choice is impossible.

Oh the HMX is an inexpensive blank with a lifetime guarantee.
That's why I built that blank. In the10 months I've been building I've built 11 rods ( mostly trout rods, 3 saltwater). Just now feeling like I'd be able to build a better blank like a St Croix etc.
I fish Point Pleasant NJ, maybe I'll see you their.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/08/2019 05:16PM by Don Mang.

I believe Don means MHX since those are the Mudhole brand NOT HMX which is a Fenwick thing but anyway MHX blanks are offered in a mind boggling amount of options and ratings , they have the super affordable all the way up to top shelf offerings used by a variety of pro anglers engaged in big money tournaments .

It appears to me that Mudhole's house brand has more application specific blanks than nearly every other manufacturer out there and are hugely popular , many choose them because they have proved to be great performing blanks NOT because of the great warranty although that is a big plus in my book .

Regardless of the product there is little correlation between the cost of a product and its performance. Try casting three or four rods of unknown name and manufacturer, rate them from best to worst, and then see the cost of each one. Bet you will be in for a surprise. I was.

MHX blanks are honestly a great bang for the buck.. Thier power runs a touch heavier then advertized.. (I know herb ;) power is subjective.. Lol) they are light weight.. I havent had a issue with one yet.. Look to the left, start clicking on sponsers.. Theres alot to choose from.. You need help with anything, post.. Trust me, these guys are a great family

As for guides, your way out of the class i fish.. Im an hour north of philly, i fish the small streams and rivers.. The Fuji KR system is unbelievable.. But, i dont know much about your type of prefered fishin'! Enjoy being an addict lol



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/09/2019 12:29PM by Anthony Unger.

Phil Ewanicki Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Regardless of the product there is little
> correlation between the cost of a product and its
> performance. Try casting three or four rods of
> unknown name and manufacturer, rate them from best
> to worst, and then see the cost of each one. Bet
> you will be in for a surprise. I was.



In many cases i would agree but i attribute that to the angler not necessarily the product . I fished what i would call " Off the shelf " fairly priced big name surf rods for years but once i decided to try a much higher priced St. Croix i had my eyes on the difference in performance completely blew me away , it was incredibly light weight , it casted considerably further with much less effort and was far more sensitive than anything i had fished previously .

Now if you're expecting noticeable differences between other rods in the same price range than i would agree you won't notice much but in the overwhelming majority of cases where an angler has fished with $50.00 rods most of his life and then tries a $250.00 rod the differences are often quite dramatic BUT only if the angler possesses the ability to squeeze the extra performance potential out of the rod and that isn't always the case.

I often hear surf anglers say " I tried a long cast reel with the much more advanced oscillation system and spool design but i'm only getting a few extra feet distance" well thats because you do not possess the casting skills necessary to notice it's much greater distance potential . When an angler cannot tell the difference between an Ugly Stik and a 90's Loomis GLX somethings really wrong with that angler NOT the rod.

herb, I agree with your observations. My building and fishing experiences have centered around fly rods and fly lines, where reels have nothing to do with casting, so rods and lines have everything to do with casting, as far as equipment is concerned. Fly casters have no need to match the reel to the rod, but for spin casters - and to a lesser degree bait casters - matching the rod to the reel is of prime importance, and high cost is not a reliable path to success. Ask the smiling surf-caster swinging the old SLOSH-30.

I understand you're, in the overwhelming majority of cases referring to fly rods when commenting but in this particular thread the topic was not about fly rods at all thats why i responded to your comment which was " Regardless of the product there is little correlation between the cost of a product and its performance" .


Now , i do agree with your comment below to an extent :

" High cost is not a reliable path to success"

While it's true that nobody needs top of the line equipment to have success, in my experience top of the line equipment makes fishing more enjoyable and often productive so while most any rod/reel can get the job done specialized high end equipment often does offer higher performance potential BUT once again , only if the angler is capable of extracting that performance potential and in my experience many are not and blame the equipment .

You can't just buy the best of everything and expect it to turn you into the ultimate angler , i know a guy who spends thousands upon thousands of dollars for rods that claim to be the ultimate distance casters , big money Century rods and in every instance he ends up selling them because they barely improve his distance and it's obviously the rods fault according to him.

He's just a mediocre at best caster thats the problem , you can't tell him that though.

I do not fly fish, nor do I surfcast, But I do agree with Phil in that there are some very reasonably priced blanks available that are light as well as very sensitive, and perform excellently. (sensitivity being subjective)

I agree with lynn.. Check batson rainshadows out.. I dont know if they make a surf style of rod, but ive heard nothing but good things about them.. The guys above seem to be getting a little off subject here.. (No offense guys) i still say MHX makes a damn good blank for the money.. For any application ive tried so far..

Ps. You guys arent wrong, but hes asking for a suggestion, not a explination :)

Hey Gerard,
Shoot me an e-mail, it's on my profile, I see yours is hidden. I'm from Philadelphia but I go to North Jersey anyway. Maybe we'll hook up.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/09/2019 04:54PM by Don Mang.

A ton of suggestions have already been provided Anthony , including the rainshadows , now when you come across a post that has a few responses but isn't getting any more responses that usually indicates the info already provided is very very good and there's really nothing else to add . On another note, discussing performance expectations based on price is extremely helpful information to a lot of people regardless of the type of fishing they do . It can help anglers make sound decisions and avoid making purchases that they end up regretting .


What have we learned , most any rod/reel will work , the overwhelming majority of anglers are best off with a mid to high level rod , anglers that are not at the top of their game should not concern themselves with the best of the best , very very few possess the skills and ability to really appreciate them and tend to end up blaming the equipment not their own deficiencies .


Lastly , and i shouldn't have to say this but it needs to be said because it's just so ridiculous , rod quality should not be based on how big a fish it can land .

Lol no you shouldnt have to say that.. For example, i know a guy who landed a 47lb cat on 4lb test.. Wasnt expecting that in a small canal..

I ment that post in the kindest of ways.. You guys are all very knowledgeable, and I'd be lost without your inputs..

For now, im gearing up to wade the river... Later fellow builders...

Well , i didn't see it on here but i have seen people say it elsewhere , my $19.99 Shakespeare landed a 42 pound striper whats the biggest fish your $200.00 rod landed i bet not even a 10 pounder , no joke . I was convinced i was hallucinating after i heard that .

Anyway i took your post the wrong way , my apologies.

herb canter Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A ton of suggestions have already been provided
> Anthony , including the rainshadows , now when
> you come across a post that has a few responses
> but isn't getting any more responses that usually
> indicates the info already provided is very very
> good and there's really nothing else to add . On
> another note, discussing performance
> expectations based on price is extremely helpful
> information to a lot of people regardless of the
> type of fishing they do . It can help anglers
> make sound decisions and avoid making purchases
> that they end up regretting

Or the post is only hours old.