As of now I have never used a fiberglass or a “blend” type rod. Only graphite for me.... but I’ve been wanting to build a new cranking rod and thought of giving one of them a try. Any advice on a good blank that won’t break the bank? Will mostly be for fishing squarebills and occasional lipless cranks shallow and making accurate casts to the bank. Nothing bigger than 7 ft. Should I try a straight glass rod or a blended rod first? Thanks in advance for suggestions.

Keep in mind that what you will get here are opinions and personal preferences. While there are those that swear by straight glass, I'm not one of them. Graphite can do anything that glass can do and do it lighter. If you want to try something different I recommend a blend. Rainshadow and Amtak both offer blanks specifically designed for cranks. I'm not sure if they are graphite or blends. I have two Loomis blend rods I built when Loomis blanks were available, one a light crank rod and one a spinnerbait rod, and I find both of them excellent.

It looks like the Amtak Bushido crank blanks and the Rainshadow Revelation crank blanks are graphite, not blends. But both are excellent lines of blanks for a reasonable price. I consider them to be the "sweet spot" of high performance at reasonable price. I'm sure others will chime in with advice on blends.

Seeker BS706S, it's an S glass blank, S glass is lighter and stiffer than regular E glass. The S glass model of this blank is a bit over 3/8 of an ounce lighter. A favorite of rodbuilders for a long time. Check it out in the search function above.

Michael Danek Wrote:
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> Keep in mind that what you will get here are
> opinions and personal preferences. While there
> are those that swear by straight glass, I'm not
> one of them. Graphite can do anything that glass
> can do and do it lighter. If you want to try
> something different I recommend a blend.
> Rainshadow and Amtak both offer blanks
> specifically designed for cranks. I'm not sure if
> they are graphite or blends. I have two Loomis
> blend rods I built when Loomis blanks were
> available, one a light crank rod and one a
> spinnerbait rod, and I find both of them
> excellent.

This is 100% a “try something new” situation. I throw squarebill and light lipless baits very often and I have a variety of rods that I’ve built for this technique. I’m very happy with the Rainshadow Revelation crankbait blanks. I have built on both the REVCB70M and the REVCB70MH, as well as the 6’9 and 7’3 squarebill blanks. I’ve been wanting to give a glass or a blend rod a shot to see if it helps with keeping fish pinned.... especially if I’m burning a squarebill shallow or burning a lipless over grass.

Spencer, from what i read on Anglers Workshop the Seeker BS706S is a composite of E-Glass and graphite which they call S-Glass..it sounds like S-Glass is a by definition a composite..unless i misstood which is very possible..

The Rain Shadow blanks are all crank bait blanks that really excel at the job.

Whether, they are graphite or glass, the key is the action of the final blanks and these blanks have it for crank baits:

[www.rainshadowrodblanks.com]

Ben,
You did misunderstand; S glass is a modified version of E glass with a higher modules and hence is stiffer (more sensitive) which in turn requires less material (lighter). But, being stiffer (more brittle), it is ultimately not as tough as the original E glass. Even S glass falls short of CF with respect to modules and the inherent stiffness, sensitivity and being able to produce a lighter structure. None the less, I prefer FG over CF for the overall feel and Fish Fighting Fun Factor!

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

The Super Seeker blanks are composite as you discribed.

so S-Glass is short for Seeker-Glass..which is a sandwich of E-Glass and a graphite cloth making it a composite..there is no stand alone fiberglass called S-Glass because S-Glass is a composite..

Try the Rodgeeks SG series.. I use the 70mhm quite a bit. Very solid rod for a great price. S Glass with some graphite..

Rodgeeks FIBERGLASS SERIES - SG70MHM

MHX CB845 Blend

Ben,
Some definitions are definitely due and apparently required here. Whether E or S glass, both are GLASS, extremely similar to the glass in your home or storefronts but in fiber form rather than sheets. There are those who say E stands for Electrical and S stands for Structural but I have never found supporting evidence of such being the case. In no way, shape or form does the S stand for Seeker!!! The rod building world has basterdized and confused the term “composite”!!! In its pure and intended form, a composite structure is a fiber-reinforced-plastic (FRP) such as a fishing blank, race car tub or wind energy blade. It is simply a matrix of plastic resin (polyester, epoxy, urethane or what have you) confining the fibers from randomly moving to produce a rigid, lightweight structure. Hence, a composite may be entirely FG, CF, Aramid (Kevlar), cotton, wood or any combination of reinforcing fibers. The fishing rod/blank industry has confused the public into thinking a “composite blank” is one manufactured of BOTH FG AND CF which is certainly misleading.
To clarify, S glass is a higher modules form of E glass but, none the less, still glass (as in silica). It is certainly NOT a combination of E glass and CF!!!

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Mark, i was going on Seekers definition of S-Glass as written on Anglers Workshop site for rod blanks..please take time to read it, i,d be interested in your thoughts..it,s on the page for Seeker S-Glass bass rods..someone is full of prunes as Emory Harry used to say..lol..probably me..lol.

Mark, after looking again to remarks made by Seeker, they are talking about salt water rods and not bass rods as noted in the heading..their remarks are on the wrong page..very misleading to the slow witted..lol..so you stand correct..sorry for the confusion..

Weight difference from an E glass model and an S glass model of the same bass blanks was a bit over 3/8 oz.

so if one model is 6 ounces the other is 63/8 ounces..lol. i was probably going to put 3/8 in the butt anyway..lol.

Ben,
There is a vast difference between being misled verses being slow-witted; you were simply misled.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Christian? I'm curious as to what hooks you're running on the square bills and lip less baits that you're burning? Are they the pretty much standard light wire trebles like say an Owner ST 36? The reason I ask is I was having similar problems with losing fish when I was burning the bait. I went to a heavier wire treble hook, and it all but completely solved my problem. The reason I think it helped immensely is because the heavier wire doesn't flex like a lighter wire hook will.

When you're burning a bait the fish doesn't always get a solid shot at the bait, and if it only hits one point that point will flex with a lighter wire, and I truly believe it results in poorly hooked fish. The heavier wire hooks won't flex or won't flex nearly as much, and it sticks the fish better. I use either the Owner 3X ST-56 round bends, or the KVD Mustads, which are 2X strong and have the triple grip turned in type of hook point. I use the Owner round bends on lip less baits because I find they rip free and clear grass better than the triple grip style hooks. I fish squarebills in wood cover, so I use the triple grip style because the inwardly turned point dosen't hang up nearly as much.

If you haven't already tried a heavier wired hook, you might want to give it a try. You might find you don't need to build a new rod.

David, I have used heavier wire treble hooks in the past. I almost always upgrade my treble hooks. I personally like an EWG, so if the lure doesn’t come with EWG hooks, they get replaced. Usually to KVD triple grips.