Big Bait Fishing

i do not use a foregrip on my swimbait rod !! but i use a low profile baitcaster ( a Revo Toro 51 presently , i will get a Lew's BB2 Pro soon , just haven't got around to buying one since i work 6 days a week ) i palm my reel and don't have any threads exposed so i can easily touch the rod /and or keep a finger on the line when deadsticking . for all those that use soup can baitcasters , i understand the want of a fore grip , i try to keep my rods (all of them ) very minimal . and yes , for me 8' rods don't cut it as my handle length ( measured from the back of the reel seat ) is 18'' , i feel having more than 6 1/2 ' of rod length is a good thing !! my rod has 7 1/2' as it's a 9 foot rod ...

i picked up some TW reel covers a few months ago , that fit ok . i must say that the best fitting reel covers are the Abu Garcia ones , they fit pefectly ( changed all my Abu's over to Lew's ) so if you use other than Abu reels and can get over the name on the reel cover , the Abu Garcia covers are the way to go ...

for the applications you listed , a H/F rod would work great for frogs & carolina rigs , for punching ,you would want a bit of a moderate action rod . punching is a short line technique that by using a moderate action rod you will absorb the shock of the hookset . jigs , frogs , and carolina rigs you will have line out and you don't need the shock absorbancy of the moderate rod but would benifit from the stiffer backbone of a fast action rod for hook sets , especially with a carolina rig .

to elaborate on my previous post , i throw a lot of swimbaits , mostly 5 oz - 15 oz. , the St. Croix Big Nasty 9'H/F is a big bait stick , 5 oz. Hudds barely load up , it's sweet spot is between 8 -13 oz. , but can handle baits up to 16 oz. .a lot of people think micro guides are for light baits but trust me , they can handle BIG baits ! i use the AT Artus heavy duty guides cause the have a thicker neck , making them less prone to folding up and/or breaking . they are the only micro guide i will use , for regular rods i use the size 3 guides (still with the BLCAG size 5 double foot stripper guide )

i guess there is a misunderstanding , i only use 1 double foot micro guide ( BLCAG) as the stripper guide , the rest are all size 4 single foot American Tackle Artus Heavy Duty micro guides (11 to be exact !!) and it's not a surf rod , i do not saltwater fish . that is a swimbait rod !!! as far as the single foot micro guides holding up , i throw up to 15 oz. swimbaits with that rod .......

i have a Tournament Lite also , got the Lew's 95 mm carbon fiber handle on it and Revo EVA grips on it . it weighs 5.7 oz. casts great , really smooth , and the ACB braking system is fantastic ...

i would pick up another size 6 guide and have another transition guide . so the 8 as the stripper , three 6's for the transition , 4's out to the tip top .

johnnyspond.com , don't know if it's still in business http://www.johnnyspond.com/matagi-rod-accent-products.html

if going with a jig head , try some Revenge headz ...

Owner beast hooks , either weighted or un-weighted , best hooks for paddletail plastics and buzz frogs period ..... try the 4/0 hook size .

get the size 17

if you notice , they only used 2 transition guides , i would go no less than 3

exactly what someone did , you will variences of 0 to 10 degrees on the stripper guide . i think that is due to going to much on the second guide ( past 35 degrees ) all my rods the stripper guide is at 0 degrees and i have no line stacking issues ..

actually its not , the handle length you quoted is TW's measurement , they got that measurement by measuring from the front of the foregrip , so adding in the 4'' foregrip and 4'' for the reel seat , the handle length is actually 14'' . the handle on the Citrix is about 13'' (reel seat and small fore grip subtracted from the TW measurement) both are pretty much the same ............. ------ Tack** Wareh**** measures its rod handle lengths from the butt of the rod to the top of the foregrip -----

i put Revo EVA on my Lew's reels , more slip resistant ...

maybe the OP will find out and relay the details of this mystery !!!

all that is is a painted Fuji ECS , why don't you find an airbrush person to replicate it , be about the same price ....

the reason for recommending an extra heavy rod is because Okuma swimbait rod are overated on their lure ratings , plus you can still throw the small hudd (the 6'') with it and be able to throw the 8'' hudd( or other swimbaits up to 5-6 oz.) without having to get another rod .

and they would sell quickly ....

when i'm having a custom rod built , i choose the blank, the guides , the hook keeper, reel seat , thread wrap color(s) , handle material , handle dimensions , handle length . i pick the components i want and have them assembled how i want , that's the whole reason behind having a rod built from scratch . research and explore different components (guides, blanks , handle materials, handle lengths etc..) and keep note of the brand and sizes to compile towards what you would want on your rod . a lot of people fish off the shelf rods , never feeling the need to have a custom built . for me , i couldn't find the exact rod i wanted so i researched and researched till , in my mind, i had the exact set up i wanted then conveyed them to a builder and have never bought another off the rack (factory built) rod again and never will ..

with custom rods , the customer picks the components , not the builder ... $120 , you are not gonna get a custom rod , to me , if you're gonna get a custom rod built , get a good blank (most good blanks are at least a $100 bucks and up) , good guides ( $50 and up a complete set ) and a good comfortable reel seat ($10 and up) handle materials ($7 and up ) thread wrap (choose color(s) and build price that is usually around $100 and your well past the $120 bucks you were quoted ....

another rod by Okuma is the Citrix 7'11'' xh , that rod will cover a lot of baits , to me it has better action than the Guide Select , as it is a faster action with better backbone than the more moderate action of the Guide Select , actually costs a little less , as far as reels , you could use a regular sized baitcasting reel i assume you already have . spool up some 20 lb. line and your'e good to go ..

here's the best picture of the transition guides , just remember that this is on a 9 ft. rod , so the transition is pretty slow though the picture doesn't make it appear so !!!

here's a Fuji BLCAG #5 w/Alconite ring on my St.Croix Legend 9' Big Nasty

i use them for all my micro guide rods as the stripper guide in size 5