spinning rod suggestions?

When production rods are not enough, it's time to go custom. Come share your experiences building and/or ordering a custom rod and tell us if you'll ever go back to off the shelf.
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Jason Penn
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spinning rod suggestions?

Post by Jason Penn » Mon Sep 16, 2019 9:41 am

i'm planning a good spinning rod as my next major purchase. i was thinking the 7' m steez ags, but then it occured to me that all builders have access to the reel seat daiwa uses on spinning, just not the airbeam casting seats. i'm pretty much stuck buying daiwa for casting rods.

i'm pretty sure i can pick up the steez for around $400. anyone have a suggestion for what may possibly be a better rod? i would kinda like to have it actually a 6'9 or 6'10 m power fast action rod.

i have no builders in my area and i still haven't tried my hand at it, although i do have some equipment. i have these big plans on starting, then i remember i'm not very good at tedious things.

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Re: spinning rod suggestions?

Post by ogrich31 » Mon Sep 16, 2019 7:23 pm

Rodshop.pl has Daiwa casting reel seats.

Also, there are many high end blanks you can choose from: Point Blank, Phenix K2, NFC X-ray. What are you using the rod for? What line type and size?

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Re: spinning rod suggestions?

Post by Jason Penn » Tue Sep 17, 2019 7:11 am

thanks for the heads up on the reel seats. i wish they had the airbeam, but they just have the squid.

this rod will be used for 1/8-1/4 jigheads, either w a finesse worm or small swimbait, and also some dropshot with probably 1/4 or 3/8oz weights. i've got an old ml daiwa fuego that works well for all the lighter stuff. line will be 6#-8# straight fc

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Re: spinning rod suggestions?

Post by edwelch1 » Tue Sep 17, 2019 8:26 am

I would also add in St. Croix SCV blanks and Rainshadow Eternity blanks to that mix for top-end performance, based on what I've read of them around here and other places; pretty much any of those blank manufacturers will give you a high-end build in regards to the blank compared to the Steez. The power/action/length is your personal preference, and any of those manufacturers should have something that will fit the bill.

I'm just getting into custom building, and it's so that I can build something that fits my preferences exactly. If you don't have anything that you would change about the Steez you're looking at, and you're worried about your ability to build effectively, then I would just go for that, because when you're looking at that level of manufactured rods, you're not really going to be able to build a much "better" rod for the price of $400, unless your personal preferences for things like reel seat, handle shape/material, or color aren't met by any manufacturer.

I put better in quotes, because you can't really get objectively better components than a Steez uses for the price of $400, you'd just be building something comparable but different than what is offered by manufacturers when you get to that level of cost. For example, I really like how the St. Croix Legend X Spinning 6'10" ML XF feels in regard to the rod itself, and it costs $435. It uses top end guides (titanium torzites), the handle materials are nice, and the rods are constructed well. However, it's not the type of reel seat that I personally would prefer, and I'm not a huge fan of the color. So I'm looking to pick up the same blank from Rod Geeks in a different color for $185, put the same titanium torzite guides on it for another ~$200, and the handle/reel seat materials I would use are another $50-60, so I'd be right in the same ballpark of price (not counting the rod building equipment I've bought, because that will be spread out over however many rods I build for family and friends). I'm not building to save money, I'll be building to make exactly what I want, otherwise I'd just buy the one that's already made by St. Croix, because the price for the manufactured rod is right on par with what I could build it for myself.

If there are things that you would change about the Steez, or you just can't find exactly what you're looking for from any manufacturer, then maybe custom building is right for you. In that case, I would just buy a cheap blank and cheap components to practice on first; you can get everything you need to build a complete rod to practice for like $40 if you already have supplies like thread and epoxy. I'll be "practicing" on a few ice rods that I'll be custom building for my dad and myself before I take on my high-end build. Guide wrapping is easy to practice over and over, handle/reel seat installation is the only real challenging bit in my opinion, because once you glue it up it's not like you can take it apart and redo-it like you can with a guide, but you could still practice it a couple of times fairly cheaply if you really wanted.

Only other consideration would be that you can't get the AGS guides individually (pretty please Daiwa??? [-o< ) to build with if you really want those. However, there are plenty of other high end guides available like titanium torzite or titanium SiC guides.
www.blindjumperoutdoors.com

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Re: spinning rod suggestions?

Post by toddmc » Thu Sep 19, 2019 11:51 am

The Fuji VSS with the nut down is my spinning seat choice. The good thing about custom is that you can go minimalist (my preference), or you can add all of the Matagi bling and fancy wraps to get your rod to Megabass style. Make sure that you have a builder near you if you decide not to do it yourself because shipping gets very expensive when you have to do it twice.

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Re: spinning rod suggestions?

Post by Hogsticker2 » Thu Sep 19, 2019 7:22 pm

Point Blank 691 mlxf would be my 1st choice. Incredible blank, my favorite of the series so far. It will work for your intended purposes like a charm.

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Re: spinning rod suggestions?

Post by Hogsticker2 » Thu Sep 19, 2019 7:27 pm

ogrich31 wrote:
Mon Sep 16, 2019 7:23 pm
Rodshop.pl has Daiwa casting reel seats.

Also, there are many high end blanks you can choose from: Point Blank, Phenix K2, NFC X-ray. What are you using the rod for? What line type and size?
Are you located in the States? Have you ordered from them before? Does the Daiwa reel seat come with a hood or lock down nut of any kind? Do you know which other hoods and nuts fit the reel seat? Sorry for all the questions. You got me kinda fired up.

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Re: spinning rod suggestions?

Post by ogrich31 » Fri Sep 20, 2019 7:56 am

Hogsticker2 wrote:
Thu Sep 19, 2019 7:27 pm
ogrich31 wrote:
Mon Sep 16, 2019 7:23 pm
Rodshop.pl has Daiwa casting reel seats.

Also, there are many high end blanks you can choose from: Point Blank, Phenix K2, NFC X-ray. What are you using the rod for? What line type and size?
Are you located in the States? Have you ordered from them before? Does the Daiwa reel seat come with a hood or lock down nut of any kind? Do you know which other hoods and nuts fit the reel seat? Sorry for all the questions. You got me kinda fired up.
I'm in California. Haven't ordered from them before, but I read that others have ordered from them with no problems. I have no clue what fits or is included with that reel seat, but it's not cheap, I'll tell you that lol.

If you have a broken daiwa rod with that same reel seat, you can always try to fit different hoods/nuts on it. But who knows if they're the same size as well.

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Re: spinning rod suggestions?

Post by Hogsticker2 » Fri Sep 20, 2019 6:30 pm

ogrich31 wrote:
Fri Sep 20, 2019 7:56 am
Hogsticker2 wrote:
Thu Sep 19, 2019 7:27 pm
ogrich31 wrote:
Mon Sep 16, 2019 7:23 pm
Rodshop.pl has Daiwa casting reel seats.

Also, there are many high end blanks you can choose from: Point Blank, Phenix K2, NFC X-ray. What are you using the rod for? What line type and size?
Are you located in the States? Have you ordered from them before? Does the Daiwa reel seat come with a hood or lock down nut of any kind? Do you know which other hoods and nuts fit the reel seat? Sorry for all the questions. You got me kinda fired up.
I'm in California. Haven't ordered from them before, but I read that others have ordered from them with no problems. I have no clue what fits or is included with that reel seat, but it's not cheap, I'll tell you that lol.

If you have a broken daiwa rod with that same reel seat, you can always try to fit different hoods/nuts on it. But who knows if they're the same size as well.
Okay, thanks. 50 bucks is a bit steep for a reel seat, but I'd like to grab one anyways.

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Jason Penn
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Re: spinning rod suggestions?

Post by Jason Penn » Sat Sep 21, 2019 6:34 am

toddmc wrote:
Thu Sep 19, 2019 11:51 am
The Fuji VSS with the nut down is my spinning seat choice. The good thing about custom is that you can go minimalist (my preference), or you can add all of the Matagi bling and fancy wraps to get your rod to Megabass style. Make sure that you have a builder near you if you decide not to do it yourself because shipping gets very expensive when you have to do it twice.
i also like the seat reverse, like daiwa does. i'm pretty much handcuffed to them for the airbeam casting seats, but in spinning i can go any direction.

i'm not sure i have any builders in my area. i probably won't take it on myself though.

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Re: spinning rod suggestions?

Post by sarcazmo » Sat Sep 21, 2019 4:32 pm

I think the seats can be purchased from aliexpress if you really want that seat...

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Re: spinning rod suggestions?

Post by spoonplugger1 » Sun Sep 22, 2019 9:59 am

Looks like Diawa took their design from the old Wiebe design, the same design still used by Edge rods

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Re: spinning rod suggestions?

Post by spoonplugger1 » Sun Sep 22, 2019 12:07 pm

I was talking about the casting reel seat.


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