Follow up ended up building the K2 713 and it turned out a little stiffer than was implied on paper. I think it’s more of a ML 6-12 1/8-3/8 as it didn’t load too well to cast the 1/16 crappie jig with tiny Shad trailer. Tried it with my aldebaran 15mg7 that has hedgehog bfs bearings, and it was okay with Ned rigs, little too powerful for my liking. Did end up catching personal best Smallie of 21.5 inches(don’t have a scale). Built with American tackle full carbon Bushido rear grip, American tackle split handle with hidden thread and it turned out nice with Torzite reverse stripper down to 4.5 transition guides and last 4 were size 4s all Torzite with tip. Don’t know if it was too many, but ended up with 11 guides +tip. Crazy sensitive, perfect for me throwing 1/8 texas rigged finesse worms. I could feel the 1/10 and 1/8 Ned rigs hit rocky or mucky bottom in 15-20 ft when the wind wasn’t blowing 25. The butt was still a little large and I’m glad it is hidden by the full carbon grip so I definitely will still be looking for a blank no more than .39, .40 diameter. I guess I fish a little lighter than most, I like the rod to load with the line I plan on using so the rod does the work and protects the line. I guess I’ll be looking for a K2 682 or 712 or something similar in sensitivity. I also have a eternityswirl sanded 72m that I don’t fish too much because of how it feels when I fish it. Can’t explain it, but the larger butt diameters feel different on the water.

Sounds like a nice build, sorry it didn't work out exactly how you wanted. Although, I would say that a aldebaran is likely an overkill for an 1/8oz weight + hook + bait. That would be around 1/4oz total weight. Most recent low profile baitcasters should be able to cast that without too much of an issue. I can cast 1/8oz bullet weightwith a zoom finesse trick worm(smaller than the regular trick worm) and a 3/0 hook on my Tatula 100 without any modifications and could also cast them on a Pflueger that I used to have. But if you have the funds, no reason not to use a nice reel.

I also enjoy fishing ML for bass more than I enjoy fishing M or MH. The only time I go with a MH is for fishing Texas rigs around the weeds at the shore. I pretty much only use the Medium for hard baits like jerkbaits and crankbaits. I mostly take one or two rods out for every outing since I just bank fish a local pond.

I agree about liking lighter rod overall as well. I like the way they load up on the fish before/during the hookset and fighting fish. I tend to yank the fish out of the water when setting the hook with a MH or H rod. It's more likely that I'm gonna catch a few 1 lb or less fish rather than multiple 3+ pound fish on every outing. Setting the hook and fighting a 1 pound fish on MH rod is a bit of an overkill. The only caveat is that you might break off if you have weeds along the bank or if you have to get the fish out of whatever structure they were hugging.

I can cast 1/16 crappie jigs with little plastics,On the aldebaran, however it doesn’t handle them well without a lot of fineggling and dialing in. The plastic white brakes seem to be a lot more fussy than the brakes on my curado 71. If I can cast it 60ft in real world conditions...I am ok with that. If I have to mess with it, and keep adjusting, then it takes away some. Also my main issue with the aldebaran style is that I have to tighten the cast control to adjust braking. Fishing water that is consistently 15-30ft is irritating having to strip out line to let fall straight down. Hence grabbing the steez ct sv. Since I don’t do car audio anymore and no more mods on the vehicles, I just have fishing and my wife is okay with that. Lol. And I’m okay with her bag collecting as well. Now don’t get me wrong...the K2 713c is phenomenal and works well with how I built it, can do all the way down to the 1/10 Ned rigs comfortably, I had ordered online and the tip was little more stiff than I’d prefer. the power is right where it should be and actually makes an excellent 1/16-1/8 trig finesse setup and 3/16 finesse football and jig rod for me. The American tackle carbon fiber grip and split handle is actually impressive. If I can figure out how to upload pics I will on that build.


Since that build I’ve scoured looking for the 712 in spinning and casting and found both spinning and casting models in stock at a place I could drive to so I made sure I had my sanitizer, mask and wipes and went to feel up those 4 blanks. I ended up picking up the 682s and 712s due to the fact that both the casting version were stiff in the tip. The 712 will be a new home for the steez cr sv. And the 682s was softer and I immediately thought of my Vanquish c2000s. The 712s is spot on for what I was looking for, and has a surprising backbone on it. I believe it will be perfect borderline BFS fast action and be able to throw possibly 1/32 crappie jugs which should be interesting. Probably lightest rod I’ve ever handled.