Anyone have both care to comment on how the blanks fish next to each other. Or have CCS #'s for the IS703? Looking for a blank for throwing 1/16 - 1/8 oz hair jigs to redfish in the marsh. Thank you

I am also interested in this. And the IS693 as well. I asked a little while back but didn’t get an answer. I am about to build a couple SJ703s for inshore soft plastics (generally on 1/8oz jig head).

I have built the SJ703, IS693 and IS694. I built the SJ703 as a spiral wrap and the other two I built conventional casting rods. Unfortunately I have not had a lot of time to fish them but have used all 3 at least once.

I generally fish weightless, 1/16 or 1/8 jigheads with a 4-5" soft plastic. Shallow water, no reefs or structure, mostly grass and sand flats of south Texas. I used fuji guides for all three.

I have fished the IS693 most recently and was very impressed by its ability to handle large upper slot and oversized redfish. Grass was bad so I was throwing a weedless/weightless rig and catching 29-31" reds. The rod cast great and I was able to land the fish no problem.

I have only caught small trout on the SJ703. It cast great but I have not put it to the test fighting a good fish. I did let a friend test it for me and he caught trout to 5 lbs on it and said it performed great throwing top water and corkies.

The IS694 i have only fished once and I really liked it. That day I was only throwing 1/8 jigheads with a 5" soft plastic down wind in waist deep water (winter time trout). It had a good feel and cast great. I haven't put a big fish on this rod yet but I know it wouldn't have a problem with a big red.

I have 2 more IS693 blanks and intend to build a spinning setup on one of them for sight casting on very windy days

I have built the IS 693 and it’s my “go to” for light jig fishing. I fish for walleyes and live up north, but it handles light jigs well. Depending on the size of fish you are after, it might be a bit light for handling big fish well. I’ve caught walleyes between 5 and 10 lbs on it and I would imagine anything much bigger would be difficult to handle with this blank. It’s very light in weight which I like. My total build weight came in at 2.82 oz.

Thanks for the feedback Eric and Todd.

Todd,

You mentioned on my thread that you might be able to take CCS measurements. Would you be able to do that? It’s not too hard to do.

I have a casting IS703 and both spinning and casting SJ703. The SJ703 is noticeably faster. I prefer it for sight fishing. I use the IS703 as a treble hook and jerk bait rod. Both handle redfish in Florida slot just fine. Both would work great, but for your application and most customer builds I do, I recommend the SJ703. That’s exactly what I use this rod for along side ned rigs. It just feels better if that makes any sense.

Been a long time reader but first time posting. The SJ-703 and IS703 are very different. When NFC first released the IS xrays I bought all models. The IS 703 has a thin butt with very little taper going to the tip. I do not like it. It is much more parabolic than the SJ-703. The IS 702 and IS 662 are just like the IS 703 just less power.

The IS 694 feels identical to the SB684. Besides the extra inch, there was no difference to me.

I do have the CCS numbers wrote down somewhere.

Erik Tuss Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The IS 694 feels identical to the SB684. Besides
> the extra inch, there was no difference to me.
>
> I do have the CCS numbers wrote down somewhere.

They use the same deflection image on NFCs website but the IS694 feels (and measures) much faster than the SB684. Power wise they are nearly identical

IS 694: IP 430, AA 78
SB 684: IP 450, AA 69

I use the IS 694 for small walking baits and 110jr and smaller jerkbaits. The SB 684 is great for poppers (not walking the popper, just popping/chugging it) and makes a great finesse lipless rod. Basically the same size class baits for both rods, but i use the IS when i need to impart action.

Patrick Coco Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Erik Tuss Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The IS 694 feels identical to the SB684.
> Besides
> > the extra inch, there was no difference to me.
> >
> > I do have the CCS numbers wrote down somewhere.
>
> They use the same deflection image on NFCs website
> but the IS694 feels (and measures) much faster
> than the SB684. Power wise they are nearly
> identical
>
> IS 694: IP 430, AA 78
> SB 684: IP 450, AA 69
>
> I use the IS 694 for small walking baits and 110jr
> and smaller jerkbaits. The SB 684 is great for
> poppers (not walking the popper, just
> popping/chugging it) and makes a great finesse
> lipless rod. Basically the same size class baits
> for both rods, but i use the IS when i need to
> impart action.


I'm unsure where you got those CCS numbers but the IS 694 is incorrect. The 2 I just measured, both have an AA=69. This matches with my previous number. This also makes the IS 694 and SB 684 virtually identical. My previous test show the SB684 with an IP of 430 and the two IS 694 I just tested with an IP of 425.

My IS 694 has an IP of 440 grams, and an AA of 76.5

There's either massive variation in blanks or something isn't right. The AA on any of the IS694 I've tested is nowhere near that fast. NFC also has these blanks listed as 8854 for the IS (all IS rods get an extra 8 in the front) and the SB is 854. The picture they use for the 2 rods is the same pic. They have the same butt diameter and tip. I do not see much, or any difference between the two.

For that, either one the OP choose would be good.

I don't know Eric ..... what do you use to check your AA angle? And do you tape on the wire pointer, or just go off the angle of the blank tip itself? I tape on the pointer per CCS, and use a bubble level app on my phone to get the angle of the pointer. I've checked the app against some rather expensive construction levels I have, and the app is dead on with my levels in both the vertical, and horizontal planes.

And I hadn't noticed until you mentioned it, that the SB 684 and IS 694 use the same deflection picture. Right down to the pattern number hand written at the bottom. The only difference I can see is that the IS 694 being 1 inch longer, has an advertised weight that is .10 oz less.

I go per ccs and add a wire to the tip and a digital level. After the last post I tested and retested. My numbers and method is consistent over a total sampling of 3 IS694 blanks. If we are to belive the manufacturers photos and data, this supports my statement about the blanks being nearly identical.

It doesn't really matter though. The OP has moved on.

Edited to add that the 1 inch in length diffence likely accounts for .10 weight diffence. Not trying to argue or dispute your ability to gather data. I was just trying to add value to a conversation. Having built and tested both these rods multiple times I am very confident in my numbers and statements.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/25/2024 10:50PM by Erik Tuss.

So, after this conversation we have found that the SJ acts like they always have, and the IS acts like popping rods also.

Spencer Phipps Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So, after this conversation we have found that the
> SJ acts like they always have, and the IS acts
> like popping rods also.


Lol, basically. What I'd throw out there is the IS line is made from SBs, SJs, Ps, or other just relabelled and possibly tweaked ever so slightly. Which is great since recently the IS line was $55 for any of them.

So, in the future if some random person reads this while NFC is having a sale and only has $55 they can buy a IS694 when their life depends on getting an SB684 and rest easy....