I have tried 30, 20, and 15 pound braid over the years on both spinning and casting rods with and without leaders. One reason I tend to stay with 30 is for simplicity, one braided line to stock that works well on all rigs that require braid. I've been a part time bass fishing guide on Lake St. Clair and Western Lake Erie for about 20 years so I have to rig for three people at a time regularly, so I like to keep it simple. The other reason is because I like the joint better between lines of similar diameters versus a really thin line joined to a line 4 times larger and that's the main reason I lean to 30 over the 20.

Makes sense!

My recommendation is to build a rod that you need in your arsenal which doesn’t really warrant being premium. What species or technique do you need a rod for, but only infrequently? There must be one where a great performance/value ratio blank like the Rainshadow Immortal series would suffice wonderfully. I used one of those for a topwater build and it works great. While I really like topwater fishing, I don’t get to do it a lot where I live. Those lures cast wonderfully, regardless of wind conditions. You don’t often need to feel extremely subtle bites, either. A high end Shimano or Daiwa reel on a blank in the range of a St. Croix SCV or NFC XRay isn’t necessary for success and enjoyment for the limited topwater window I get.

Maybe you get to fish topwater a lot, and a rod for another technique would be great for a less expensive build. My point is to use this build to cross a rod off of your needed list while not going for a highly technical one that you will use for hours at a time. I feel that finesse outfits call for more premium performance than something in the medium heavy range. Jerkbaits are demanding of rod quality while vibrating jigs are less so. Some very famous, successful fishermen employ rods across a wide range of costs based on how much they use them and what level of performance is needed. Most elite tournaments are won on popularly-priced sponsorship rods that many of us wouldn’t care to fish. Your first build can be way better than those without making you squirm over any mistakes.



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 07/27/2021 11:43PM by Kendall Cikanek.

I will go against the grain here and say build on the best quality blanks and other components you can afford, especially if you already have some experience. My thinking is why waste the money on something you don't need or intend to use. This is 2021 and there are so many resources like you tube, vendors, and this site that even a caveman can build a really good quality rod. I started with high end equipment and have no regrets.

I maintain that product pricing is NOT a reliable indicator of product performance. Physical test results DO indicate product performance. It took me way too long to arrive at this conclusion due to masterful advertising and its acceptance by suckers such as I.

Phil, the premium blank makers are providing premium blanks, blanks that in general out-perform the cheapies. Most of the builders on this forum understand that except for a few anomalies, you get what you pay for.

Michael Danek Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Phil, the premium blank makers are providing
> premium blanks, blanks that in general out-perform
> the cheapies. Most of the builders on this forum
> understand that except for a few anomalies, you
> get what you pay for.

The term “blank makers” is an important distinction to me. Most makers have meaningful information verses marketing hype that doesn’t really describe any important characteristic. They will usually list material specifications in industry standard terms. They will have information on tapers, design philosophy, and construction techniques. Usually the origin of the scrims and resins are advertised or at least readily available if you “raise the hood” a little. St. Croix and NFC are certainly real makers. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the resellers. They often use @#$%& terms that don’t definitively describe anything. I personally avoid these type of sources and won’t say here who I believe them to be. In the middle are what seems accurate to call the “outsourcers”. I’m defining these blanks as being designed and spec’ed by knowledgeable rod people with meaningful oversight of offshore production and quality control during manufacturing. I see Point Blank in this category. Fuji has more than a bit of knowledge in rod building and fishing. They have access to a huge web of expert’s around the world, including some members of this forum. They are outsourcing manufacturing in China, but they are performing quality control during manufacturing and not by simply destroying a large proportion of rods that arrive in the USA with visible faults. Rainshadow has moved in my book from being a maker to a credible outsourcer. Point Blank and Rainshadow are so much more than a couple of guys on opposites ends of the same building ordering commodities over the phone.

Premium is not determined by price. Yes, a Winston, or Sage blank is premium, at$450, and up for the blanks, CTS, and Epic are also premium, for between $200, to $300 per blank. and if you like fiberglass, Echo produces Premium for even less. Do the research on blanks that look promising. Look for reviews, both here, and on other fishing sites. Yes, you get what you pay for, but sometimes, what you are getting is the prestigious name. Now I do have to say that
I love my Winston 7 weight B3X. But I also love the CTS QuartsCrystal glass 3 weight. Both perform admirably for their designated tasks.

Tight Lies and frisky fish

RJF

Start with the blank of your choice and do your homework thoroughly before you begin. It ain't rocket science. Sounds as though you're getting off on the right foot, and I'd trust you with a good blank. Lol

Lynn,
I agree that this isn't rocket science.
Of course if one chooses the blank and guides and reel seat and grip - great.

The part of the build that really benefits from practice - is the actual wrapping of the rod and the finish application of the rod.

The blank can be great, the guides can be great, the reel seat and grip can be perfect.

But, if lack of practice and perfection occurs in the wrapping of the guides and the application of the finish - the time and money spent for everything has gone by the way side.

-----------------------------------------
So, go ahead and get your great blank and guides.

But, then also go to good will or similar and pick up a couple of old rods.

You don't have to do anything to the old rods except to wash off the rods to prep them for wrapping.

Then, go ahead and take guides of your choice and tape on and wrap a dozen of them. Insure that by the end of your practice sessions that you are getting a perfect wrap on each guide.
The idea is to take a rod that you don't care about and doing the thing that is tough for many beginners and that is to do a really nice job of wrapping the guide.

Once you have nailed this task that may take 5 guides or 500 guides - then move on to applying finish to some of the guides that you have wrapped. Practice applying finish until - when the finish is dry - the finish application has been perfect.

----------------------------
Now, if you can do a dozen perfect wraps, and if you can coat a dozen rod wraps perfectly with no flaws - go ahead and build your $400 rods and don't look back.

As the saying goes - the job is in the Detail. In this case, the heart of a good rod builder is how well the guides are wrapped and coated.

Best wishes.

Question on selecting the correct size Reel Seats and Tips - Advice needed

So my NFC XRay blanks showed up today.

The SJ736 (881 Skew #) Butt measured in at .613. The reel seat area measures .555 (14.1 mm). The tip measured .075 inches.

The MB736 (890 Skew #) Butt measured in at .550. The reel seat area measures ..550 (14.0 mm). The tip measured .080 inches.

The real seats come in 1/2 sizes (14mm, 14.5mm, 15mm, etc.... My question is: Is it best to go with the 14mm and sand lightly as needed to make it fit just snug or go with the 14.5mm and shim?

Also, what is the correct tip size for rod tips that measure .075 and .080? I'm afraid the paper chart in the catalogues may not be accurate. How snug is to snug and how loose is to loose.


Thanks Everyone, for your advise.

Tips come sized in 64ths of an inch (or metric sometimes). 5/64 = 0.078" and 5.5/64 = 0.086. I'm surprised you measured the MB as having a fatter tip. Regardless I'd get one size 5 and one size 5.5 based on your measurements. Truth be told this is a good time to decide if this hobby is for you, and if so, pick a brand/type of guide and order at least one of each size. It will come in handy when mocking up future builds. Hint, never buy guide sets as they have lots of sizes you will never use!

There are some reel seats that you must buy to fit the blank. Those are generally types that have part of the blank exposed. For a standard "pipe" style reel seat you buy what fits your hand and purchase a graphite arbor to fit the seat. You then ream the arbor to fit the blank (or you can use masking tape to make arbors).

You would never sand the blank to make a reel seat fit. Instead you would ream the seat. If there is some finish/paint (or in this case ridges) you "might" scrap/sand the tip of the blank to fit your tip guide but in general I'd avoid it.

I can handle a smaller reel seat in a bait caster, like a size 16. For spinning rods I wouldn't pick anything less than a 18 and often go bigger. This is for pipe style seats.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Leonard Bourdage Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Question on selecting the correct size Reel Seats
> and Tips - Advice needed
>
> So my NFC XRay blanks showed up today.
>
> The SJ736 (881 Skew #) Butt measured in at .613.
> The reel seat area measures .555 (14.1 mm). The
> tip measured .075 inches.
>
> The MB736 (890 Skew #) Butt measured in at .550.
> The reel seat area measures ..550 (14.0 mm). The
> tip measured .080 inches.
>

> The real seats come in 1/2 sizes (14mm, 14.5mm,
> 15mm, etc.... My question is: Is it best to go
> with the 14mm and sand lightly as needed to make
> it fit just snug or go with the 14.5mm and shim?
>
> Also, what is the correct tip size for rod tips
> that measure .075 and .080? I'm afraid the paper
> chart in the catalogues may not be accurate. How
> snug is to snug and how loose is to loose.
>
>
> Thanks Everyone, for your advise.

For the exposed seats you are using I would opt for the 14mm and ream it to fit. You want to scuff up the inside for better adhesion anyway and a single pass will likely get it.