I just finished an SB724 yesterday and plan to fish it later this week - I liked the SB722 so much that I got the 724 to handle lures on the heavier end of what I use. The SB722 is very sensitive and light weight (although that is the only "good" spinning rod I've ever used, have only had cheap BPS rods and Lightning rods before). I'm wondering if the "extra fast action" of t
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Would like your impression, particularly if you use it for river fishing. I fish a variety of baits, flukes, jigs, inline spinners, senkos, etc. I use 1 rod as an all-purpose since I wade fish rivers and can't carry multiple rods. Thanks in advance for your responses.
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Gary - I've been rigging the hellgramites with a Lazer/eagle claw EWG 1/0 or 2/0 hook as this guy does at the 5 minute mark of this you tube video: . I've also had good luck with the wacky rigged senko/yum dinger - try those too. The SB722 has worked well with both those lures and is sensitive dead drifting them.
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Gary - The SB blanks come in shorter lengths and I went back and forth on getting one in the 6'6" range but ultimately went with the longer because I'm pretty well stocked up on shorter, lighter rods. Regarding helgrammites - I use the plastic ones from BPS and for me they work some days and other days fish won't have them. Yesterday I cycled through Twister tail grubs, helgrammites, tiny
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Ray Lee - great to deal with and beautiful seats.
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Hi, This is a follow up after a summer of fishing this rod. I used Fuji KL H guides and placed them as per the AR guide calculator. I did add an extra running guide after testing the bend profile with guides on - so a total of 9 guides. I used a VSS seat with cork grip and hidden threaded hood at the front of the grip. I fish the rod with a 2500 reel - shimano sahara - and use 6 and 8 lb P li
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I just used the glue stick for a hot glue gun and it worked - use only a tiny amount and have a steady hand getting it into the correct position ASAP
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Appreciate if anyone has experience with this rod/blank. 7', 1/8 - 1/2 oz, 10-12# mono/fluoro. Z-bone model. Seems like it might meet my needs. Thank you
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Alex Weissman Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Ed, IMO the best blanks are to be used for bottom > contact baits. Worms, jigs, etc. Thank you Alex. I have been a fly fisherman all of my life and only getting serious about spin fishing recently. I agree w you and am learning about how different spinning/casting rods are used for different purposes.
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I recently made my first spinning rod on an NFC x ray blank. Cost me approximately $150 in parts with Fuji alconite guides and fuji reel seat. I have not fished with it seriously yet. However, for the type of spin fishing I do (river smallmouth fishing cranking in twister and paddletail plastics, small spinner and buzz baits, small crankbaits)I'm not sure I will be able to tell the difference
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Hi - usually the diameter of the cutout/recess in the grip is provided in the description, or you can provide the shop with your desired diameter to match your reel seat and they will cut it to your spec. Likewise the diameter of the insert on the reel seat should be provided and can be compared to the grip cutout. If this is uncertain you can always call Mudhole and ask them if the parts you s
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Folks - since I am relatively inexperienced in this please help with terminology. Inside of the curve is concave side and outside is convex side for reference. Spinning rod guides go on which side? convex? I lack the baseline understanding regarding "belly, spine, etc" Concave and convex help me more. BTW - I have now built on 5 NFC fly blanks (classic/moderate) and 1 SB-722 blan
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Fly shops generally have demo lines that you can try. Try them out and pick the one that works best for the flies you use
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John Nesse Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I am a fan of the NFC P703-1 and P704-1 blanks for > smallies. I'd call the P-703 is a medium-light > moderate-fast action with good power. The 704 has > more power - I'd call it a medium moderate-fast > again with excellent power. I tend to reach for > the 703 when I'm on the Mississippi and t
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I recently used size 100 silk on my first bamboo fly rod build - the wraps are beautiful - like colored epoxy. Just be sure to have good magnifier glasses - the cross wraps can be hard to see!!
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I'm going to listen to you guys on this one and stick with the SB 722 for a few months to get a good feel for it. Maybe once I get use to these modern actions I will prefer them. I think you guys are correct in that I will need some backbone for fish in moving water. I have done OK with ML cheap rods so far but they also stock trout in one of the rivers and I did get some nice ones, including a
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Matt Ruggie Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > > im actually surprised to hear ya say its too stiff > from what ive read on that blank between here and > other forums. heard some guys like it as finesse > casting rods too. even read its similar to the > xray SJ703 which ill be building shortly and > flexing that blank it should ma
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Does anyone like the North fork FW-702 for smallmouth in rivers/streams? I Just made an SB 722 and it is a bit stiff for my uses/lighter lures. Thinking the FW-702 would be about right. thanks
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Thanks for all the info supplied in this thread. Great to hear from techs who actually work on these things. I was debating the Shimano - Daiwa decision on a new spin reel and this thread helped me decide. BTW the new shimano Sahara does have an anti-reverse lever - just got one., the first new spinning reel in about 30 yrs - quite smooth actually. I am mainly a fly fisherman with a few spinn
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Thanks again folks. Spencer - what do you mean by "lockup" ? Also are you saying the Loomis rods have not been winners? Right now looking at the P700, CB701, and APFG710.
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Thanks folks, appreciate the replies. I guess what I really want to do with this rod is fish treble hook type lures(rooster tails, rapalas, small crank baits/rebel crawdads) using a casting reel to eliminate line twist as seen with a spinning reel. I have been using a swivel about 3 ft up for my spinning rods in the past and it works OK. Just exploring the idea of lightweight rod/reel with ca
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Hi all, After just completing my first spinning rod (NFC SB 722 blank, VSS seat, and KL-H alconite guides) I am interested in trying the BFS setup for next year using a lightweight casting reel to throw small crankbaits, buzzbaits, rapalas and in line spinners, primarily for river smallmouth. Have any of you built a rod for this purpose? Any building/component tips and blank suggestions would b
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Thanks guys for the quick replies - in addition to the NFCG608C01 grip, I have the NFCG647C01 hood in my cart. In your experience will this hood just slip on over the SK2 hidden thread hood or does it require any fitting? Also do these NFC parts listed need trim rings/winding checks or are they ready for use without any trim? hard to tell from the pictures what the ends look like. Also this
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Hi All, I'm putting a VSS 17 grip on my NFC SB 722 blank. I have a cork grip for it now but it seems carbon grips have some advantages. Is there a source/brand of carbon grips that you like for the VSS seat? BTW it will have a hidden hood SK2 lock nut. Thanks
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Hi - I think the first thing I would do would be to determine the line weight you need to cast the flies/lures you are using. When you say floating I presume you're talking large size foam and hair flies like poppers, frogs, etc on large hooks like size 2 and bigger? If so I'd want to use a 6, 7 or 8 weight line, favoring the 7 and 8. Then you can choose a rod blank based on line weight. I ha
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Matt Ruggie Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > cool keep us informed when ya get it. > > i ordered the XRAY SJ703 and the SB684. I will > also be building on an Immortal IMMS68ML. these 3 > should take care of alot of my smallmouth > finesse needs. Will do. There was also a comment on this forum from Aleks Maslov last year that i
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Well, for better or worse I went with the SB722 - similar flex profile to the sj703 but a couple inches longer. NFC describes it as being good for "Finesse / Tubes / Small Crankbaits & Stick Baits / Spy Baits". If it works out great, if not I'll build up something else like the 703. Thanks again for all your comments.
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Chris Catignani Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I agree with David on needing "..extra power and > slower action". You will be able to throw a wide > gambit of lures with a rod like that. > The only thing else to consider is the length. I > waded rivers for many years and have always > preferred a shorter rod. Thanks - I do ha
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Thanks for the thoughtful replies folks. Based on your comments and experiences I am going to go with either the SJ703 or SB722 - similar flex profile (as per rodhouse comparator), the SB722 provides an additional 2" of length which is unlikely to really matter. I appreciate the comments on extra power and slower action - on my waters a 2 lb fish is a pretty good one with about 1 - 1.5 lb
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Tom Kirkman Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I'm going to stop short of recommending any > specific blank but offer some suggestions on what > to look for overall. I've done a lot of river wade > fishing for smallmouths and my tackle evolved over > time as I found certain things that helped me hook > and land more fish. The first is to empl
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