Thread: Dual purpose rod help please?

Are you against building a rod or getting a rod built because Its hard to beat the quality and performance of a custom rod. Depending on the blank choice and other components, a rod around 200 bucks can be easily done. There also seems to be a little more satisfaction in landing a fish on a rod you built.

Originally Posted by bassbuster

Are you against building a rod or getting a rod built because Its hard to beat the quality and performance of a custom rod. Depending on the blank choice and other components, a rod around 200 bucks can be easily done. There also seems to be a little more satisfaction in landing a fish on a rod you built.

^what he said. All mine are customs that I built aside from one that I loan to friends. Knowing that I built it with my two hands and not mass produced gives me added security handling a hard fighting fish.

Originally Posted by Viking Guy

Croixs break... easy. I've seen their tips fly off in casting.

Be careful selecting those brittle blanks.

I have some, and while they're decent, they've been sitting idle for 2 years.

I beg the differ. I have a couple of st croix's and they're nowhere near brittle. The mojo is a bit on the heavy side and the purple on it is not appealing to me but I have horse a few sharks and rays in with no problem.

I'm not opposed to building my own rod, and I have been looking into it since I started this thread. But, like any new hobby I just don't have the stuff it takes to do it right now. I definitely think I'm going to give it a try the next go round.

Originally Posted by Sammy

I beg the differ. I have a couple of st croix's and they're nowhere near brittle. The mojo is a bit on the heavy side and the purple on it is not appealing to me but I have horse a few sharks and rays in with no problem.

Sammy, the croixs you have are much heavier than what he is after. I'd venture to say you've never tried the light weight ones he is after in the sub 200 price range. Yes, they are very brittle--especially the tips and guides.

Now if you step up into their more expensive and heavier versions, not so much.

Cowroy, you can build your own rod, but it is just easier to decide which blank you like on a current custom and then have one built for you. Chances are you won't get it finished in time for your visit if you go that route however. So meanwhile, finding a good candidate to match your needs will be best and then have a custom designed to your greater liking when time isn't an issue.

Depending who does your custom, it could take a week to 3 months if they are busy.

Bass pro carries the TFO rods. They are designed by Greg Loomis. 7'6" medium is awesome. I am amazed every time I chunk a bait, whether a 1/16 oz crappie jig or a gotcha or plug, it goes a long way and you can feel a fish looking at it. We all love J&M, but bass pro in Mobile has all these rods mentioned in stock for jiggling purposes. And Pier#r sometimes.

I had to laugh a little when I read "Yes, they are very brittle--especially the tips and guides."
What a gross misconception.

Please excuse as I digress...

Just last night a guy brought a broken 7'6" medium St Croix 'Mojo Inshore' into the store for replacement.
That rod is rated for 8#-17# line with a "fast action" tip.
For a 'replacement', he picked up a similar rod but I noticed it was a heavier action.
Actually a 7'6" Medium Heavy rated 10#-20# line (it costs $10 more).
His concern was the medium rod he had broken was "too light and too brittle", but that the medium heavy rod he chose to replace it might be "too heavy".
To help him find the "right rod" I picked up a new medium power rod and got into a discussion with him and asked the circumstances he fished and what line he was using.
He said it broke (two feet down from the tip) while he was casting a croaker for specks and that he used 30# braid, sometimes even for tripletail.

I showed him the slight differences in the line ratings of the rods and the fact they are both 'fast action' tips.
Then while he was holding both rods I grabbed both tips and did a 'JohnG demonstration' for him, pulling the tips almost to the floor.
Neither one broke (of course) and I explained to him that either rod had the backbone and sensitivity to do what he wanted and offered why his previous rod had broken where it did.
It was a 'clean' break on the guide side, and slightly splintered on the back side.
An obvious 'compression failure' probably brought on by a trauma to the rod slapping on the boat rail or other hard object.
This caused a ‘bruise’ in the graphite fibers which collapsed when a strain was put on it during the cast.
He was speechless.
I explained how that was affected by his style of fishing (boat in choppy waters) and which rod might be better for him.
Pointing out the medium heavy rod had a noticeably wider diameter and slightly 'heavier feel' due in part to the slightly thicker rod wall.
Those features might help it be more 'survivable' through the rigors of boat fishing.
He left smiling with the medium heavy rod, convinced he had made the “better choice” and there was nothing wrong with the quality of either product.

My point being, even these medium priced rods (around $100) are quality products built to do a job and perform well even beyond the stated parameters.
When they break it is usually (as in almost always) operator error (accident ;-)
How else could a company (like St Croix) build a solid reputation and selling them and stand behind them (with a 5-year replacement warranty), and stay in business?
Just ask Johnny DiChiara what he thinks of this line (I believe he has at least 5).

Back to topic, I often talk with folks about rod selection and many times have heard they came into this store (or one like J&M) because "there are so many options and variables available out there".
They liked the idea of being able to pick up and feel the rod in their own hands to make an informed choice, not sight unseen.

The better custom rod builders can do that with some basic questions outlining the use you have in mind for the rod.
The answers describe the rod and what you want to do with it so then they can make a professional recommendation based on that.
Beware the specific 'one size fits all' recommendations for ‘such and such’ a blank or rod as they may not properly fill your needs.

I hope this helps!

I agree with pier#er. I have broken a few rod pulling aj off the rig, everytime a rod breaks under stress it gonna break in multiple places. If its a clean break at one spot the rod was damaged during transportation.

Pier#r, you don't have to convince me. If the POS I fished with last year held up to the punishment of several sharks, a couple jacks, a nice bull red, and two kings then i'm sure anything named here would work fine for me. I try my best to take good care of my equipment. I hadn't even planned on fishing much from the pier last year till i saw a 20 some lb king decked the first evening I was there. I had to get in on the action then. Here is a pic of the outfit I had along with my first king 18# Pic courtesy of Slim. The rod is a Shakespeare of some sort. Rod is 6' and an old Zebco reel that I bought for catfish about 15 years ago from the Zebco outlet in the reconditioned bin. I actually brought two of those reels and it's a good thing cause I lost a third King cause he burned the line up into the plastic line roller he was pulling drag so fast. I had to trash that one an risk the second. One of the best weeks fishing I've ever had in my life. Is it June 21st yet? My avatar is a pic of the other king I caught. I know it looks like i'm wearing the same clothes and they are, just cleaner. I wore this same get up all week.