Custom rods and their pieces tested hard in Alaska
Posted by:
Kendall Cikanek
(---.res.spectrum.com)
Date: September 03, 2021 08:58PM
I just returned from a couple of weeks of Halibut and Salmon fishing with several rods I built. All survived and functioned very well. There were a few blanks and components that really stood out to me. I’ll start first with those of the sponsors.
The Alps Aluminum Trigger reel seat is so well designed, made, and finished. It holds reels so securely and is comfortable to use for hours. I cut down one of their triangle grips for a fore grip and it was very comfortable and offered a great hold when challenged by big bottom fish, silvers, and herring goo. Their EPDM grips are also very “grippy” and durable.
I couldn’t have been happier with the SeaGuide titanium guides that were on three rods. They landed everything from Halibut that were down over 550 feet to eighteen pound Silvers in salt currents at stream mouths. They survived TSA inspectors and novice anglers landing fish and stowing rods in a small aluminum boat. I pressed one of these rods into unintended Halibut use to let someone else use my Halibut rod. It was a “torture test” I didn’t envision. Like every other company I am mentioning, I have no affiliation or financial interest in SeaGuide.
I used a 7’6 moderate-fast action, heavy Point Blank for casting spinners to Silvers from the boat. There wasn’t room for anything longer, even though I had 9’6” rods with me. The rod was great in every respect. It cast extremely well, set hooks correctly and handled some impressive running and jumping fish. It matched wonderfully with a Bantam reel for the use. If you haven’t tried Point Blanks’ more moderate action rods, I highly encourage you to do so.
The non-sponsor item I was absolutely impressed with was a United Composites US79Mega blank. It was great for trolling and casting. It’s strength and sensitivity are impressive for it’s weight. It was the rod I mis-applied to Halibut fishing, more for its length than the size of Halibut I was expecting. I built it for lingcod and it is so versatile. This blank just has that “feel” that most of you are probably familiar with when you get a rod that has a great action and punches over it’s weight class.
