I have a buddy that wants me to make him a rod. What is throwing me off is he would like more of an all-purpose rod. A spinning rod around 7’ to use for walleye jigging in the morning, panfish with bobber in the afternoon, back to walleye with #7 Rapala crankbait at night. He is going to be using braided line. To satisfy this I am thinking a fast to extra fast action with a medium to medium light power. He understands that the rod may not be the best for everything he wants to do with it and doesn’t care. He just wants something that is good at all of it. I have 3 blanks I am current thinking might work but was wondering what ever here thought might fit the bill.

NFC P703-1 (Lambda LMX), Fuji PB701LXF or Phenix K2 Spinning Blank, 7'1", 3-10lb, TX-712L-S. These are on the high end side but they will serve his purpose.

A popping blank with a 1/8-3/8 or 1/4-5/8oz lure rating would be just about perfect. I would probably opt for the latter if walleye are the primary target. The moderate fast action is great for crank bait and live bait applications. Open hook jigs are pretty forgiving when it comes to the action of the rod used. The upper limit on the lure weight can be extended when vertical jigging, but not casting. The rod will be a bit overpowered for the panfish. Depending on the size of the float and weight used it should work just fine.

Edit: Miserable grammar on the first go.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/2021 10:47AM by Joe Vanfossen.

MHX SJ812, SJ841, SJ842. Great bang for the buck !

Rog

Michael,

American Tackle has some great options that fit those needs very well:

- The Matrix Spinning series has a 2-piece 7' blank rated for line 4-10 pounds and lures 1/8 - 3/8. While they are a Mod-Fast, they do a stellar job, I have some myself.
- The Matrix Spin-Jig series has a 1-piece 7' blank rated 8-14 and 1/4-5/8 with a Fast action, if you wanted to go a little heavier.
- In the Bushido Spinnerbait series, there is a 1-piece 6' 9" blank rated for 6-10 and 1/4-5/8 with an Extra Fast action.
- Also coming in as 6' 9" 1-piece blanks are the Bushido Drop Shot series with Extra Fast action. These are in the 4-10 and 8-15 line ranges with lure ratings of 1/8-1/2 and 1/4-5/8 respectively.
- The Bushido Spinning Series includes a 2-piece 7' 2" blank rated for 4-8 line and 1/32-5/16 ;ures. I have several of these set up for Trout fishing and they are a dream to fish with, but may be a tiny bit light for the Walleye.

Can't go wrong with any of these blanks, but for my money, I would really take a hard look at the Matrix Spinning blank.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/2021 09:19PM by Richard Bowers.

Michael,

AT have many blanks to choose from.
Is he chasing 2 or 1pc ?

Bushido Spinning 6'8 SP68/4-8
Bushido 2pc 7'2 SP72 2/4-8

MATRIX 7'0 2PC 4 -10LB - MA SP7 2/4-10
or slightly heavier
MATRIX MA SJ7/8-14. Its Fast Med-light.

Cheers
Bucky

Years ago, I had a 6'6" medium power rod that was on the light side compared to today's rods.

For many years, it was the only rod that I had and caught virtually ever species available in my part of the country. Small and large, big and small, jigging, casting, bobber fishing, trolling - the rod caught fish using all of these techniques.

Sometimes I think that we get so hung up on all of the details of a rod and power, and bend, and speed, and , and, and, and, and - that we just forget that we just need a rod go hold the line, get the line to the fish and reel in the fish.

Build what works for you and then fish it for years to catch thousands of fish. Whether you keep the fish- that is up to you.

Best wishes

Agree with Joe V on the popping rod. With cranks + braid in the mix better to go more moderate action than X-fast. I have one, 7 feet, called Mod-fast action, in the power range Joe mentions, and it's one of my favorites for cranks and snap jigging swim baits. I built one for my son and he uses it for tubes. Very versatile.

This will be a 1-piece rod.

When I posted this question, I had three blanks in mind. Only one of them turns out to be available. (Rainshadow IMMWS68MXF) Looks like I will need to do some more digging after reading over the replies. Thank you for all the suggestions and giving more to think about.

I would suggest the Rainshadow IMMWS72ML. Very similar to a St Croix 70MLF which I would have recommended back in the day. I think it would serve better for panfish than the 68MXF. Very nice tip, good backbone. The 68MXF is significantly more powerful and is a great blank for heavier jigs.

I would check out the American Tackle Bushido Spin Jig blanks. the SJ68/6-8 or the just lighter version SJ72/4-8 would be good fits

like michael if using braid, he has to get flex from the rod..i would not use a fast or extra fast taper..a longer taper will help keep fish hooked..

like michael if using braid, he has to get flex from the rod..i would not use a fast or extra fast taper..a longer taper will help keep fish hooked..