FS764... ah the memories.

i still have some old shikari stuff, but it is all low powered spinning stuff

do you have a link for the carbon grips???

i will say that rod manufacturers have come a long way making lighter and better factory rods at a good price. Prices that dont make rod building cost effective (if you are buying components at retail) With that said, i still plan to roll my own, but the gap between factory and custom has definitely...

Awesome! a good stout baitcaster is a way to tame some of those salmon.

I would encourage you to definitely play with a spiral wrap on at least one of your builds. You may be surprised! Spiral wrapping is very popular on custom built salt and boat rods due to fighting large fish

are you fishing in alaska??? for what? Honestly, if you are building power rods, then i would consider a spiral wrap... that is the one application where i still think a spiral makes the most sense. I also would encourage heavy duty micros for the "power" build. A spiral heavy duty micro build will ...

nice! I applaud your minimalist approach as well

I try to build "blingless". Black wraps, simple handles, least weight and all performance

on heavier power blanks, it is difficult to feel differences in power unless they are 50-100 gr, if actions are similar understood about the noodly north. Over my career, i have wavered between the low power and high power for tournament fishing. For now, i have settled on the high power for tournam...

word of caution... the "hand wiggle test" on a low power blank will be deceiving. It is amazing how much the feel of a light power blank changes when it is actually built with guides. A 200-300 gr powered blank can feel really crisp until it is built into a spinning rod... this also demonstrates why...

honestly, i think 600gr might be a bit light in power for your application, unless you are doing 100% braid.

I would be looking at something in the 800+ power range, especially if you want to throw jigs and frogs on it

i've been a proponent of doing this for years. My favorite blank is an old furnace bay extended blank that has a TA of 70 degrees and 450 power. The seeker BS706 is a TA of around 65 with a power of 400g. Most of the newer stcroix crankbait blanks are faster than their published "moderate fast" rati...

awesome to see RDA incorporated!

also pretty interesting to see the PB7101MXF cranking. I have been a proponent of XF for cranking, for a long time

angler JO gives great advice... Personally, i throw braid 99% of time, so i opt for the smaller guides in spinning. I generally like building to a version of the Rapid choke and use either Fuji K series or Kigan Z guides. If i am building micro, i pretty much stick to stainless frames, weight saving...

honestly, you are asking for an oddball length that most people dont throw. Since you cant get loomis blanks for building, that pretty much narrows you down to st croix. I would start with a 5C66MF and get it shortened and built to your specs. From there you can go up or down in power and create the...

part of my normal build is to eliminate as much exposed thread as possible. This means cutting down the threads and gluing the thread portion of the seat correctly to where the hood is fully tightened with the reel that i intend to mount on my rod. I want to make rods lighter weight, not add things ...

braid or fluoro for the mainline? IMO, that can make a big difference Personally, i would opt for a bit more power than you are looking at, especially if you are targeting bigger fish. Big SMB are notorious for being able to clamp hard on a lure and not getting hooked. I would be looking at somethin...