And the minions say...

[dragon1]

This is my eighth custom rod from a buddy of mine, who lives down south from me...he does this mostly for fun anymore, but his work has gotten better and better. Thanks again Andrew (Koldkut)!

My previous customs from Andrew:

- Rebuilt Shikari SHX PMB 705
- Rebuilt Abu Morrum 6'8" MHF
- Lami SJ781 extended to 6'9" spinning
- Lami LP844 extended to 7'3" spinning
- Lami XMG LC842 BC
- Seeker CSW 808 cut to 7'8"
- Seeker CBC 807F

And now this coupe de grace...Andrew had posted this rod previous in a recent "show off your swimbait combo" thead.

Hydra NG SWB955

"Oooooooo...."




First guide, Fuji double footed tangle free all the way up:


Reinforced tip...aaaaahhhh....


Paired with a "liquid polished" Z2020H


Another close up of the Chevron work...unfortunately the "metallic" in the thread/blue doesn't really show up on camera


Balance point


Ridin' high

[Dragboatdriver]

Sweet looking combo! I really like the reel seat!

Those Z's are such killer reels.

[hoohoorjoo]

That's awesome, Van! Did you remove the gold-colored accent on the cast control cap or is that a different one? Whatever, it looks great with the monochromatic theme.

[dragon1]

That's awesome, Van! Did you remove the gold-colored accent on the cast control cap or is that a different one? Whatever, it looks great with the monochromatic theme.

Tim, I believe the gold CCC on the Z is the USDM Z200 series. Mine is a JDM Z2020H.

[jpd0144]

Super sweet combo Van !

Enjoy !

[lpquick]

Awesome combo Van, thanks for sharing!

[hoohoorjoo]

That's awesome, Van! Did you remove the gold-colored accent on the cast control cap or is that a different one? Whatever, it looks great with the monochromatic theme.

Tim, I believe the gold CCC on the Z is the USDM Z200 series. Mine is a JDM Z2020H.

Gotcha! I had a Z2020SH and the CC cap had red accent ring. I assumed the H had the gold color accents also.

[dragon1]

Gotcha! I had a Z2020SH and the CC cap had red accent ring. I assumed the H had the gold color accents also.

Yep, red on the HS JDM Z.

BTW, this rod complete weighs in at 5.8oz and is ~ 8'0" in overall length...it has enough to handle a ROF12 Hudd 8 while still having a low end that will load a 1oz spinnerbait. Power is slightly less than a MB SRD, however it is longer and has a deeper loading mod-fast top half.

[Hogsticker2]

I'd like to have a build on a Hydra some day soon. What kind of inserts are those? Blue zirconium?

[dragon1]

I'd like to have a build on a Hydra some day soon. What kind of inserts are those? Blue zirconium?

SS double footed tangle-free Fuji alconites. Blue tint is likely from the light reflection off of the camera flash.

[Gblaze]

Really killer!
Love the blue

[TeamDaiwaRick]

Cool looking combo. Congrats

[Love2Grabbass]

Sharp and well executed!

[dhottle]

Sweet looking stick. I'll bet there will be some fish pics to follow.

[dragon1]

Sweet looking stick. I'll bet there will be some fish pics to follow.

Absolutely!!! Until such time...I am tossing hockey pucks!

FWIW, at max lifting load, both my Seekers - a CBC 807F and CSW 808 have more "ultimate" backbone...and I would trust the Seeker SGlass/composite blanks with heavy saltwater species more so than this Hydra or ANY graphite/composite swimbait or backbounce blank.

The main reason for this blank/rod, is the ability to use co-poly/mono, NOT braid, and have a stiff enough tip to walk wooden Lunker Punker Jrs., and set hook on big 1.5oz spinnerbaits and other big single hook swimbaits up to ~ 5oz.