Hello everyone:

I am a newer rod builder in the West Palm Beach, FL area. The first 15 rods have turned out good but did learn from my mistakes along the way (and fixed them). I am about to build my first stand up wahoo rod and I think I need to cut off some of the blank but not sure how much.

I bought a Rainshadow FSU56H blank (30-50 lb) which is 5' 6" and when I insert it into my new Aftco Unibutt #2 short which is 19 inches, the full length is 6' 10". I feel like I need to cut off 10" from the base because it looks too long. It will be a wahoo planer trolling rod and a manual deep drop rod. It will be paired with an Avet 50 if that matters.

Any suggestions of how much I should cut off?

Thanks,

Kevin

I would suggest doing a mock build at full length and simulating fighting a 'hoo with the help of a friend. Just because it looks too long, doesn't equate to being wrong. If it is too long, go with a shorter blank.

FYI, Long range anglers fishing off Baja routinely use 6 1/2 to 8 ft rods to cast heavy metal jigs for wahoo. An Avet 50 represents a significant cost, so I get the double duty as a deep drop reel as well. The reel seems a bit overkill, but so be it. You may just want a shorter blank to start off with. Or uses bent butt handle. That may prove to be a better option. Especially if the rod is, as you say, going to be a stand-up style rod.

Hello Kevin.

That Avet is a 80-130# class reel, you said you had a FSU56H 30-50# class rod.
6'10" on a 30-50# rod is a little long but not to bad, but on a 80-130#, that's almost 60# drag a 6'10" lever might pull you overboard, (how big are you?)

I think the 50 is overkill, but if you insist on using it I would get a shorter rod or cut that one(or maybe don't use the Aftco).


Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

What are the desired qualities of a "Wahoo Rod"? How do they differ from, say, a "Dorado Rod"? Length? Flexibility? Diameter?

Don't cut it down. Wahoo can swim 60 mph and the more bend along with leverage you can get in the rod the better chance of landing it. If you were doing a high speed troll (15 to 20 knts) you would want a 7' or 8' rod using 60# to 80# line (of which your reel is capable of).

Did you ever follow through with this build? Curious how you like this blank for that job? Also, if so, how big of a planer can you run on that blank? I recently moved to South Florida and there is not a whole lot of rod building info available out there for the specific SE Florida fisheries that I have found yet.

This is a lot heavier stuff than I used for Wahoo in North Miami going out of Haulover Cut in the 80's, 30 and 40 lb mono worked fine depending on the rod/reel. My Dorado rods were 15 lb. class rods and all I needed. My throwback rod when they missed was a 6 1/2 ft. IM700 Med Hvy casting bass blank made spinning.

I agree. We typically use 40-60lb leader, but I was looking for feedback on the original post about a rod that trolls the planers well. There are few blanks I’m considering but since I moved from CA I just don’t have a good feel for what worsts best out here. My gut says build an 84xh out for trolling planers and I’m sure they will get it done, but just curious how the locals do it.

Haven’t fished wahoo in a few years. My old rod was a Connely and it was 7’. Tip was fairly sensitive and I believe it was an 80lb rod for planers. Ended up selling it so I can’t get the specs from the label.

10” is too much to cut off on that length rod, IMO. I wouldn’t cut off any more than 6 if it were me.