So to date, I've build 3 rods and repaired 3. All were inshore models. Now I'm looking at building my first offshore model; a 60-130#, 6.5-7ft., that will have multiple uses including trolling. I've settled on ALPS aluminum Centra-lok seat, and Fuji SIC HD guides, and am looking at Rainshadow, Phenix and Calstar blanks.Any others I should consider? What advice can you offer me in this build? Do I need to upgrade or double up on thread? Any suggestions on number of guides and sizes? Any "DON'T DO's"?

You would need to provide a lot more information.

Once you get to a certain line class you can no longer fish standing up. You move into the "chair rod" realm. Such rods built using stubby blanks and uni-butts, often with roller guides. Blank choices reflect this and 7' blanks in that line class range aren't as common.

So what type of rod are you looking to build? A chair rod? A stand up rod (which would generally be much shorter)? It would help to know what you are after, how you will fish for them, and in what waters.

Seeker, American Tackle, Pacific Bay, Black Hole, etc are names you could look at also. But first you need to identify type of rod. This multiple use idea sounds nice but doesn't work out so good.

I wish I had the opportunity to catch fish that demanded that stout of tackle. The only thing I can envision is BIG tuna.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Dennis,
Russell is precisely correct on all counts, most importantly that more information is needed. I will add my opinion that going directly from inshore fishing to a 130lb class rod may be a HUGE mistake, whether designed for a fighting chair or more so, stand-up fishing! Unless you are over 250lb and follow a strict fitness program, that line class can easily overpower an angler and put them into a very dangerous situation. I suggest you consider an 80lb first or possibly a 100lb class setup; 300lb tuna can be caught on either! There are many overlooked yet essential things to consider for these types of rods such as what type of harness will / may be used.
An invaluable source of information can be found V-21, I-3 of RodMaker magazine on “Stand-Up Rods” = just about anything and everything one needs to know. Consult the moderator here, Tom Kirkman, on how to obtain a copy. Don’t start the build without it!

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

Thanks for the advice. When I think of "stand up" tuna tackle, I tend to think of short 5-5.5 ft. rods with shorter butt sections, etc., and when I think of a true trolling rod I think 6ft. rod with rollers. Right now, I'm thinking of a build that I can use for trolling on some multi-day boats out of South Florida... mainly targeting wahoo. 6-6.5 ft. seems to work here in this application. Some locals have suggested I need a 50 sized reel as head boats will not stop during hookups. I found both the 30 and 50 sized reels to be too big, so I've opted for the 20 size with 100# spectra. This should be sufficient for this application. No? Now I may be wrong here, but that 20 size reel will also work on the LR trips out of CA, for the larger 100-150# class tuna. So I was looking at a rod that would serve double duty, hence the 6.5-7ft. Is this a big mistake? Some have suggested to simply go with 2 rods: one for trolling and one for chunking bait, etc... but I'm not sure.

Live and maybe I'll learn.

I didn't know of any multi-day head boats out of South Florida that troll. Got some boat names as I might be interested. The boats I have been out on might let you troll as they run to fishing spots but it isn't encouraged, at least not in the past. I wouldn't expect too much help from the mates on gaffing the fish either. I can't really comment on a rod for such use, in part because I see it as unrealistic but I could be wrong. I used to private charter a smaller "head boat" out of Key West many years ago and that might be the ticket for you if you want a mix of trolling and bottom fishing.

Down here there are different ways we catch them when trolling. One way is general trolling when you are mostly after dolphin and just happen to catch a wahoo. FWIW my general purpose trolling outfit is a RCLB70ML rod with virtus lite guides. I use an Avet LX reel spooled with 30# P-line. My second outfit is much lighter with a RCLB80XL rod and a Penn 525 Mag reel (17# mono).

Then you have the "high speed" trolling method. You will need stout tackle for this. Not to handle the fish but to handle the stress and strain of trolling big lures at high speeds and the sudden shock of hooking up at those speeds. You are talking bent butt rods in the 50# to 80# class range. A swivel roller top is wise. Typically 30 to 50 wide reels with 50 to 80# test line. Mostly you are going to fight the fish with the rod in it's holder or move to a chair. At the speeds you will be trolling you aren't likely to catch any other type of fish. Since there aren't a lot of wahoo expect a lot of days with no fish. It isn't my cup of tea. Tackle is total overkill and I don't find such fishing fun. I don't consider wahoo great eating so I'm more into the fight. A 20# spinning reel with 250+ yards of line and a great drag will do the job when free lining live bait. Plus you will catch a lot of other fish.

Now what we used to do is deep troll with a much smaller outfit with a narrow deep spool reel with monel wire. Downriggers have pretty much retired that style. It was effective for king mackeral as well as wahoo.

I'll leave the LR trips out of CA questions for Mark. I'd probably count on renting the heavier outfits.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Dennis,
First off, I can hardly be considered an authority on the subject but learned so much from the “Stand-Up Rods” article to have enabled me to build a few very nice stand-up rods up to 100lb. GET THE ARTICLE! Other than bragging rights, I see no need for a 130lb rod from your description of targeted species. While “rail-rods'' may becoming more popular, requiring an extra 6-12in in length, I prefer a true stand-up rod, 5.5ft - 6ft with 6.5 being the max = no need to give the fish any more leverage than needed. While line capacity is certainly a consideration, I feel the quality of the reel, most importantly the drag, to be the main concern. When one gets right down to it, most anglers cannot hang onto a fish under more than 30lb of drag for very long; I know I couldn’t. Personally, I would stick to a FG Calstar or Seeker blank, but could be considered biased since they are SoCal companies. Oh, did I mention, GET THE ARTICLE?

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

Russell,
Thank you for the confidence; I’m humbled. I always try to learn from you on how it’s done on the SoEast coast! Truth-be-told though, while I have been on numerous overnight trips to the local islands of Catalina and San Clemente and the Channel Islands off Santa Barbara, I have only been on two “extended”, 3-day trips but never a 7-day “long-range” trip. Although it happens now and then during warm water, “El Nino” years, the Wahoo typically stay in Mexican waters and have alluded my hooks. You are the first person I have heard of who does not consider Wahoo to be the best tasting fish in the ocean.
Dennis,
When attempting to produce a multi-purpose rod, all you will end-up with is a compromise which does not serve either as well as possible. We rod builders are required to make enough compromises already without diluting the final product performance any more. While surprised to see Russell suggest “I'd probably count on renting the heavier outfits”, he actually makes a good point if you do not want to build two of your own. Nonetheless, I would (now, after being able to build my own) find it difficult to rent a store-bought rod, let alone a beat-up boat rod.
You previously mentioned “Fuji SIC HD guides”. While Fuji is an extremely good choice (certainly my preference), I am unfamiliar with the “HD”; did you mean “HN” or ``HB''? Either of those two will get the job done with the HB being stouter; heck, KWs would suffice = guides are under rated for their ability to withstand line stress (but not so much with abuse / banging-around stress). The HBs would be a great choice.
Virtually all the questions you can think of are covered in the “Stand-Up Rods” article PLUS others you might have not considered = GET IT! Sorry to be so redundant but the article is THAT GOOD! I consider it to be the best article Tom has ever composed, and he has composed MANY.

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

The American Patriot(?) out of Hollywood and the Yankee Capts out of Key West both allow trolling between spots.

Would you consider a Rail rod a type of Stand up rod?

Ok looking for the article in question…

Dennis,
Personally, I prefer a 6ft, 80lb or 100lb regular stand-up rod, but I am old and hence old-school. When I first started deep sea fishing in the early 1980s, we were not allowed to rest the rod on the mahogany rail of the charter boats! I guess they charge enough these days to be able to refinish them more often. Although I am 68 years old and 160lb, I never needed to rest my rod on the rail during my 55 minute battle with a 130lb BlueFin with only a “belly-button” and not my harness. I am convinced that was partly due to the spiral wrapped guides so I did not waste energy trying to keep the rod from twisting, another suggestion to wisely consider.
There must be a Hollywood, FL because Hollywood, CA (or Hollywierd) is at least 30 miles inland of the coast.

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

Yes on Hollywood FL. I was answering Russell's reply about multi-day boats out of South Florida.
Re: Fuji guides, I was referring to the Heavy Duty guides, not particlulary the model numbers. Sorry for the confusion.

Now about the ARTICLE, I did find it and I ordered it. Now I'll wait.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/19/2021 07:28PM by Dennis Penton.

Thanks Dennis. The patriot must be a new boat but I do know Captain Ralph. Runs Sea Legs IIRC. FWIW I do much better when his son drives the boat. Yankee Capts has been at it for awhile.

You might want to consider a "private charter" with Andy Griffiths charters out of Key West. Boat will handle six guys but four is better. Price isn't that much more than other boats doing Dry Tortugas fishing trips. You get to fish how you want so you won't get stuck in 60 feet catching 2# yellowtail. I did best with Andy and avoided Eddie. Keep in mind I haven't fished with them since the 1990's so they may suck now....but I doubt it. Email me if you think you are into considering them.

If you build a rail rod you can always fish it stand up with a good harness.

I'm struggling to imagine how you could land even a moderate sized wahoo in a boat moving at 15 knots all by yourself. Even on a solid stationary platform, like a pier, it is no small feat to winch 30-50"s up. In a moving boat I don't see how it could be done. I'd love to be proven wrong mind you:)

Russ in Hollywood, FL.