St. croix 5s76MF custom. with fuji micro K series

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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Tokugawa
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Re: St. croix 5s76MF custom. with fuji micro K series

Post by Tokugawa » Mon Mar 21, 2011 4:18 pm

jimmyb wrote:line guide upgrade wont get me anymore performance, so i will not do it. If you can tell me there is some measurable increase in performance with a different line guide, i am all ears.

of course the drags and bearings are upgraded. I couldnt do this as a spinning rod replacement with out the stock drag from the pixy being ripped out and thrown to the bottom of the lake! i shudder to think about how much the stock drag shuddered! Remember this rod is to tame big offshore SMB, so a smooth functioning drag is essential
I use my anti-spinning rods for Erie smallies, particularly drop-shot or tubes.

The line guide upgrade certainly gets performance - especially under load...like from a big Erie smallie in 30 FOW. :big grin: Under load, the teflon bushing compresses and creates misalignment. Adding a bearing eliminates the compression and misalignment under load. The retrieve is also smoother as the teflon bushing is not as smooth as a bearing. It only takes two parts unless you want the oval lineguide from the TDZ.

Ball bearing (part 39) F05-5601 $8.00 give or take.
Worm shaft Collar G01-0701 $3.00 give or take (Daiwa has them in stock know)

Measureable? Hard to do. Noticeable. Yup!

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cuke
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Re: St. croix 5s76MF custom. with fuji micro K series

Post by cuke » Tue Mar 22, 2011 1:03 am

now i know why i don't like my pixy,s very much thanks guys. hey tok ever fish ladue thats my lake

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jimmyb
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Re: St. croix 5s76MF custom. with fuji micro K series

Post by jimmyb » Tue Mar 22, 2011 1:59 am

thanks tok, I will look into the bearing. I thought u were just talking about the oval line guide from the tdz.

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Tokugawa
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Re: St. croix 5s76MF custom. with fuji micro K series

Post by Tokugawa » Tue Mar 22, 2011 2:17 am

cuke wrote:now i know why i don't like my pixy,s very much thanks guys. hey tok ever fish ladue thats my lake
I've fished Ladue a couple of times. That is a nice fishery! NE Ohio has some awesome electric only lakes. La Due, Moggie, Nimisila, Hinckley and even Wingfoot (not electric but small enough).
jimmyb wrote:thanks tok, I will look into the bearing. I thought u were just talking about the oval line guide from the tdz.
Good luck! I think you'll like the Pixy even more with it. :big grin:

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Re: St. croix 5s76MF custom. with fuji micro K series

Post by Pmedicbm » Tue Mar 22, 2011 4:13 am

Very nice Jimmy.. Nothing I love more than taking a favorite rod tearing it down then building it to my own specs.. That Pixy though is the BOMB.. I have a couple of my old Shimanos and a Lews on my shelf in my work room with all the old battle scars from "the days". Nothing quite like a few battle scars to add character.. Like an old soldier helmet thats all beat up... Awesome...
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Re: St. croix 5s76MF custom. with fuji micro K series

Post by fish monger » Mon Mar 28, 2011 12:33 pm

I just had the insert pop out of a TKTAG guide on my flippin stick. I was fishing a tourney on Saturday and I had my flippin stick set up for throwing a c-rig, I grabbed it out of the rod locker and launched a cast and heard a weird rattling sound. It sounded like something was loose inside the rod. A quick check and I saw the loose ring. Its like the 5th one from the tip and it was bent up slightly. I was able to pop it back into the frame and it didn't come out the rest of the day. I think its a #5.

Right after I snapped it back in, I hooked up!

Anyway, this was the first rod I built with the K-series when they first came out a little over a year ago. I finished it the just before a tourney at Diamond Valley. I showed it to my fishing buddy (*cough*DREWBASS*cough*) the night before the tourney and the first thing he did was say "your guides are bent down" and proceeded to mash the hell out of one of them with his thumb to "fix it for me" (faster than I could cut off his thumb to stop him). I think it might be that guide that popped out. Probably.

I always keep my rods in stick jackets, but who knows I could have stepped on it on the deck.

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Re: St. croix 5s76MF custom. with fuji micro K series

Post by Drewbass » Mon Mar 28, 2011 1:59 pm

I don't think I remember it that way, but if it makes you feel better I will give you the $6 for a new guide. It can't take more then 10 min to replace it. My K series guides seem to be holding up well. Has anyone else had any issues with them?
fish monger wrote:I just had the insert pop out of a TKTAG guide on my flippin stick. I was fishing a tourney on Saturday and I had my flippin stick set up for throwing a c-rig, I grabbed it out of the rod locker and launched a cast and heard a weird rattling sound. It sounded like something was loose inside the rod. A quick check and I saw the loose ring. Its like the 5th one from the tip and it was bent up slightly. I was able to pop it back into the frame and it didn't come out the rest of the day. I think its a #5.

Right after I snapped it back in, I hooked up!

Anyway, this was the first rod I built with the K-series when they first came out a little over a year ago. I finished it the just before a tourney at Diamond Valley. I showed it to my fishing buddy (*cough*DREWBASS*cough*) the night before the tourney and the first thing he did was say "your guides are bent down" and proceeded to mash the hell out of one of them with his thumb to "fix it for me" (faster than I could cut off his thumb to stop him). I think it might be that guide that popped out. Probably.

I always keep my rods in stick jackets, but who knows I could have stepped on it on the deck.

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cjtoad
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Re: St. croix 5s76MF custom. with fuji micro K series

Post by cjtoad » Wed Mar 30, 2011 3:57 pm

Nice rod, what finish are you using on the guide (one coat or two.) I'd be just as proud having that pixy on my rods, that's the only way to rock the boat rash with a beautiful custom rod.

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jimmyb
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Re: St. croix 5s76MF custom. with fuji micro K series

Post by jimmyb » Thu Mar 31, 2011 1:51 am

I do 1 coat of threadmaster.


however, I do apply it in two steps. step 1 is get all the thread wet with finish on entire rod. step 2 is to go back over all the thread and add some build up of finish.

if you are after a perfect finish, u should do my above process, but wait 5-8 hours between step 1 an d 2

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Re: St. croix 5s76MF custom. with fuji micro K series

Post by EFed » Sun Apr 03, 2011 11:02 am

Nice rod, do you turn your own grips ? Was wondering where you got the butt grip from.

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jimmyb
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Re: St. croix 5s76MF custom. with fuji micro K series

Post by jimmyb » Mon Apr 04, 2011 1:00 pm

i dont turn my own grips anymore... to much hassle

these kits are close to what i use... I have been telling st croix they need to sell their split grip handles to the public, but they havent yet made them saleable. Perhaps a few phone calls from guys will make them realize there is a demand...

http://www.corkspecialties.net/cgi-bin/ ... 4-SG-2P-BG

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Re: St. croix 5s76MF custom. with fuji micro K series

Post by EFed » Mon Apr 04, 2011 2:31 pm

Those are what I do use I get mine from acidrod, from the looks of them the ones I use are a better grade cork. I was wondering about the foam end cap in particular, guess you get them from st croix.......damn !

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