As most of the gents on the board have eluded to, I am sure that you can question many of the suppliers to the left and find a blank that will fit your needs to a "T" and save you lots of cash. I have never delt with more helpfull people than you will find to the left anywhere. Trust me they are there to help. So before you go and lay some big bucks down for a one off do some fact fi
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Jeff everyone is giving you the right advice, just to add to it Seeker also make a honey colored blank. As far as trolling goes no one makes a better blank than Calstar for that function. Tight lines, john
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Bill/Batson Team, You have done it right for the builder for many years and because of that you will continue for many more. Best wishes to you and the team for 2011, John Hernandez SoCal
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Roger, I immagine that the life of a rod is really going to be up to the user. I have rods that I built 30 years ago that are still is great condition. I have had to re-wrap the guides over the years but as far as the rest of the rod, I still have the same hypalon grips on it and the same real seat. Granted I am very anal regarding the care of my rods I always wash off after use no matter i
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Hey Kern, You are doing just fine. Just remember the sequence on the diamond is to set your center cross wrap and then alternate above and below your initial cross wrap mark. You start as explained in Toms book going toward the tip then down to the butt. Your first up and down wraps will be the center of the diamond. Using a different color thread follow the initial wrap up and down just a
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EVA for the buttgrip is going to get torn and banged up and if you have a big drum on the rod it may cause the rod to get jammed and in frustration you pull the rod out and tear up the EVA grip. I would stick with the slick butt and also go with hypalon for the foregrip strickly for grip reason only. The cork may get slippery from bait or whatever. just my two cents. tight lines, john
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Bobby, Checkout liquidprintone.com they have the digital camo you are looking for. You just need a good photo of the color the customer has on his boat. Tight lines, John
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Jay, Welcome to the world of opinions and to a hobby that keeps shrinks in business. John
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James, The Batson blank is awsome. Mike or Bill turned me on to it a few years back and it is outstanding. I have the MH and the H and have reeled in 147 pound flatty on the H and a 92 pounder on the MH. Highly reccomended. Tight Lines, John
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Every SIC guide I have used from PacBay is like all the other mfgs, black/gray in color. tight lines, john
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Justin, Just want to add my two cents. If you built the rod would you sell it? If the answer is no then why would you pay for sub-quality work? Would you reccomend this builder judging from the quality of work you have received? Plain and simple, if I build a rod for a customer I make sure it is the best work I can do period. Tight lines, John H
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Jay/Hunter As Adam stated GUSA is now United Composites USA and have made some great changes to quality control. Note the blanks only come in natural graphite gloss. Tight lines, john H
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Victor, In most cases EVA is going to be rather hard and mark and dent easily. If the handle feels spongy it is more than likely Hypalon. Hypalon is heavier but in my opinion more comfortable. EVA will be more like cork regarding feel and weight. Many of the sponsors to the left can guide you to what you want. Tight lines, John H
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Devin, I have used the ACS seats for Redfish rods and have landed plenty of 30lb plus Red's using the same seats and have never had any customers tell me that the reel seats have come lose. Just make sure you are using a quality rod bond and you should be good to go. Tight lines, John Hernandez
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Wayne, If you have a Joanne Fabrics close by they have a 40wt. Glow in the dard thread that I use for surf rods. D86 and it comes in 7 colors. Tight lines, John Hernandez
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Hi Sam, I have fished a variety of Lamiglas blanks over the last 30 years or so, and I can tell you without hesitation that I have never had a single issue with the the craftsmanship EVER!!!. I have an 844 and a 904 that are fantastic, and I use them for inshore here in california. I give them both two big thumbs up. Tight lines, John Hernandez SoCal
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I agree with Mark. Flippin in and out of heavy cover with 8 to 10# sounds like lots of lost jigs and fish. I use 30 to 65lb braid for flippin, so I would make sure on the application. Tight lines, John
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Nope, they are there to stay.
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Scott, Thats the only important reason to plug the end of the rod. Aesthetically it looks better, but more so to keep crap from building up in the rod. If you think about all the sand and dirt that over time, could get pretty heavy. Tight lines, John Hernandez
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Have used several. As Andrew stated they work very well and look great with the trim rings. tight lines, john
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As Herb stated, Sears carries easyouts of all sizes and I am sure they will have one that will fit. John
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Hi Karen, Though not in the market for blanks as I have plenty, thank you for the gesture. I was a Marine for 13 years and sincerely appreciate your thoughts. Tight lines, John Hernandez
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Richard, What is the diameter of the blank where you want the seat to sit? John H.
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Ditto........................... JH
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I agree whith all, why wait? It will take you less than an hour and then it dries overnight and done. Get it done now so there is no wondering. Tight lines, JH
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Hank, I had the same issues as Lorenzo regarding the metalics, but the NCP and nylon were as Peter said and work like a champ. Tight lines, John
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John, Bob relly nailed it in his statement about the persons size. I build a few Kayak rods out here in SoCAL and the best way to measure the comfort of the the rear grip is to have the fisherman sit in his or her kayak. As Tom stated it make a huge difference if the butt is too short . Once you have the length that fits the individual fisherman it's a wrap. Remember that when kayaking the
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Jeff, I have used C for all my heavy blue water rods. It's heavy enough for aging eye's and yet not as bulky as D. Just my preference. Tight lines, john
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Ditto on the Rod Bond. JH
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Bruce, I use a rotozip to make my rough cuts. The general purpose bits work just fine. Tight lines, JH
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