Hello rod builders ???? I´m a novice and hope i can get some advice here. It´s going to be a baitcasting rod, lure weight 1-5g if possible and it will be used on a larger lake with perch, rainbow salmon, trout and some pikes. Not really interested in finding pikes but sometimes they bite. I would appreciate feedback on my choices or other recommendations. Also if you have any recommendations for grips and guides as well that would be very appreciated. ???? Thanks
Blanks I’m looking at:
NFC FW 602-2im
Matagi TR69 super rozy
Matagi TR68 Big Pond
6th element stream str63xul
6th element fullerene fr70ul

Will you be bank, wade, or boat fishing? I usually prefer longer than 7’0” rods for bank and wade fishing.

It would mostly be from the bank and some boat as well, but mostly from the bank =) It would be nice to have a rod that is not too tall as sometimes i go to places where i do not have that much space to cast. =)

The choice for UL blanks seems to have narrowed a lot in recent years. Phenix seems to be offering them in more price points, lengths, and actions than anyone else. Matagi has long been an enigma to me. They offer some great looking parts in which they appear to be sole-source, some components that carry large price increases over identical CRB ones, and painted Fuji pieces at eye-watering prices. Many of the blanks I’ve seen on their site are ones they are reselling, that are sourced from a company that is only a blank reseller themselves. That is two markups on products that are built from unspecified materials from an an unknown origin, while being ultimately manufactured by an unknown company using a completely unknown design process. I see no way to really know what relative value is present in these kind of situations.

I'm with Kendall on the longer rod but have to ask what reel do you have that'll cast 1 gr or even 3 gr?

I'm with Alex ....... I seriously doubt that there is a bait casting reel that will cast 1 gr and even 3 gr. would be a stretch. If it exists it has to be a JDM reel.

Hello =)
Check out [www.youtube.com] and you will see that there are plenty of reels that can cast down to 1gr.

There is no reason why a blank that is called a "spinning" blank cannot be built and used with a casting reel.

1 gram = .04 ounces. Less than 1/16 oz. Good luck

i,msure that line diameter play a big part and it,s likely braided.

I have build a few BFS rods on Phenix MF711, TX-713ML, NFC FW-701, Rainshadow Immortal IMMP70UL-TC for trout/crappy fishing. Phenix MF711-1 and NCF FW-701 are great for atomic 1/32oz jigs, trout magnets and Notorious jigs. TX-713ML is a little stiff, so I used it for 2g to 7g spoons. I should get the TX-712 instead.

I have tried these rods with BSF reels such as Daiwa Steez Air, Daiwa GekkaBijin Air, Shimano Curado BSF and Chinese made Black Knight II, Fishband Clamber and Tsurinoya Dark Wolf II with good result. The trick is to load 6 to 10 lbs braided or 2 to 8 lbs mono or fluorocarbon line up to 45 - 50 yards or follow the reel manufacture suggested line capacity. Please remember, there is always a learning curve of using a BSF reels. but once you master it there is no going back to spinning reel. For more details on BSF reel setting, check out the YouTube videos.

The guide train for BSF rod is pretty much the same as BASS rod setup. I started with Fuji K-series RV guide size 6, about 20" to 21" from the real seat. then, Two Fuji MN guides size 8 and the rest are size 4 or size 5 running guides. I am making spiral on all my BSF rods. Total is about 10 guides excluding the tip. You can add more or remove one. Too much guide will make your rod stiff because of more epoxy coat is using. Just remember to do a static load and casting test. The import thing is you enjoy it while flighting the fish. I have seen a Shimano Engetsu saltwater jigging rod using the same setup as the BSF rod but it has total of 14 to 17 guides on a 6 1/2 or 7 ft rod. The stripping guideis about the same size as Fuji MN guide size 10. The running guide is size 5.

I am curious about these BSF reels. Specifically for video game fishing a drop shot rig. What I mean by video game fishing, is dropping vertically on a fish that I see on my electronics. Are you saying that a BFS casting reel will work for that type of fishing just as well as a spinning reel? Meaning, I wouldn't have to strip line off the spool of the casting reel to get the fast vertical fall that simply opening the bail on a spinning reel will produce?

Because I can tell you .... repeatedly stripping 20' of line off a casting reel just so you get a vertical fall, gets old very quickly.