Rob, since you mentioned that you may look at the 765, I went down and put my SW 765 Delta on my CCS jig. The numbers I got for the bare blank are as follows. IP 1,218 grams, AA 62.7

Russell ....... nice to see you back and posting. I hope life is treating you well ......

I fished the rod I built on the SW 764 Delta blank today. I didn't catch a single fish on it while fishing a glide bait. Saw a few fish following the baits, and I was actually able to get two of the followers to hit the bait. But they more kind of nipped at it. One of the followers that I got to hit the bait was a nice one, but I only had it on for a couple of seconds. That one was my fault because I did the cardinal sin of setting the hook to quickly. I saw the fish come for the bait and I didn't give it time to eat it. Oh well.

As far as how the rod itself performed? I am really happy with it. It cast every bait beautifully. Even the Arashi Glide I have which weighs 3 1/8 oz. The blank has a 3/8 - 2 1/4 oz rating and it cast the Arashi, pretty much effortlessly. I went with a 10 5/8" rear grip which works perfectly for my stature, and how I palm the reel. It goes right to outside of my elbow and rests nicely along side my rib cage. I fished various glide baits for at least 4 hours before I decided to give a chatterbait a try. I caught a couple of fish pretty quick on a chatterbait, so I decided to tie a chatterbait on the new rod. The rod has been christened. I only caught two fish with it, and the biggest one was only about 2 lbs, but I was right in what I said earlier. If someone is looking for a blank to build a higher powered chatterbait rod on, the SW 764 deserves consideration.

I will say this though, it is a tip heavy rod. I watch pitching a chatterbait to downed trees and weed patches, and man ...... if you did that all day, you'd have some sore wrists and forearms lol It's not bad when casting, and retrieving with the tip down makes the tip heaviness pretty much a non factor.

I felt a few bumps on glide baits today, and more than a few on chatterbaits. The bass are just coming off the beds on the lake I fished, and the bluegill are on the beds. I really figured I'd have a decent day on glide baits, But no such luck. But I do love the way the new rod fishes.

David,
Any take on the 764 vs the Neo? Looks like a power lighter?

Tim, I don't have any experience with the NEO. Looking at the blank deflection pictures on NFC's web site, the NEO has a lot faster action. Looking at the Rodbuilding.org data bank, The NEO has a lot higher AA, and it looks like you're spot on with saying it looks like a power lighter. Going by the IPs on the Rodbuilding.org data bank, the NEO has an IP anywhere from 76 - 137 grams less powerful than the numbers I came up with for my SW 764 Delta.

Sorry I can't help further.

I wonder which NEO he was referring to. For swimbaits, I would assume he meant the Xray Neo MB808. I havent found any CCS data on that blank (but would run it when I get some time later). The 808 is a heavy hitter for sure. As with any composite rod, the tip is light, but it has soke serious power deep in the blank.

Most reviews I found online for it say it is great for 2-6oz baits. I'm sure the AA is very high on it but thats a bit misleading.when comparing it to a graphite/carbon fiber blank as the glass tip on the NEO reacts differently. It fishes as a very powerful moderate action blank when hooked up.