Big Bait Fishing

mudhole has phenominal customer service , very ,very helpful !!!

Abu Garcia has an outstanding customer service , they really back up their products , that said , i've said it before and i'll say it again , going with companies like Abu Garcia , St. Croix , Phenix , Lew's, etc... are such a pleasure to deal with , making me feel confident that when i invest hundreds of dollars in gear , i will be taken care of when i need their customer service ....

i was checking that stuff out , a review in another thread would be appreciated !!

i check out rods all the time at tackle shops , looking at all the details , most all factory rods are hastly made without attention to detail (with the exception of St. Croix ) , in another thread (which is now locked ) i had said i was going to take some pictures of some expensive factory rods that look they were made by somebody who would blow 1.2 on a breathalyzer !! here are the pics , check those thread wraps , embarrassing !!! those are three different rods with a retail price of $ 1750.00 !!

It's a spinning reel ..

thanks !

i'm suprised Batson didn't comment on the photo , it's a Rainshadow XMB944.5

list those 9 lines , send them in a pm

being that they are made from eva inside , you would ream them to fit your blank just like most any other handle .

I actually use a size 40 Pflueger Patriarch for finesse baits and dropshot , I absolutely love it , a lot less coils in your line and significanttly less line twist .

thank you ! i hope to have a good bass hanging off it soon , i'll post a picture of it !!

which model is it ??

new bait i made , cost about $5 in materials . i used rabbit fur and wood craft products from Michaels , stainless screw eyes from Home Depot , some 3/16 lexan , an Owner 2/0 ST-41 treble ,Owner hyper wire split ring (size 5 ), Owner CPS bait keeper , and a Zoom finnese worm in natural shad . weighs in at - 2.25 ozs. bait wakes excellent and on a medium retrieve will swim down about 10- 15 inches , gonna fish it later today ...

you measure from the back of the reel seat , right in front of that eva , to the butt of the rod .

the whole concept of custom rods is having the rod built TO YOUR LIKING AND SPECIFICATIONS !! i have the handle lengths made to what i like cause their MY RODS !!!

this is why i never fish hollow body spro style frogs !! i use buzz frogs with a single hook ( Owner un-weighted Beast hook ) and rarely ever miss a hookup . if a bass gets it in it's mouth and bites it , it's on , that hook is hooking it good and i'm reeling it to the surface and keeping it coming very quickly !!

that all depends on the flourocarbon you use , i really don't think there is a mono line that stretches less than Sunline Sniper , much less Sunline Shooter or Toray Super Hard Strong

i think your best bet is to get some eva knobs and sand them down to your liking , then maybe shrink tube them if you want that rubber/plastic feel .

Get a 30 or 35 size reel ..

you'd be better off with a Pflueger President , at about 2 oz. lighter . 9+1 bearings , about the same price ...

were the rods you sent back determined to have manufactures defects ?? if so , they should have picked up the shipping as a good will gesture regardless of what the warranty stated , that's customer service , and if they didn't , i would never be a customer of theirs .... always consider the company's warranty and reputation for handling it before investing your money in a product , there is nothing worse than bad customer service .

some people like moderate fast tapers for their swimbait rods , i'm not one of them , i like a fast tip and a LOT of backbone in my swimbait rods . once i hook into a fish i power reel it to the surface and surf it to me , avoiding thrown baits . also take into account that not every manufactures rating of fast, extra fast , moderate , moderate fast are the same . being that the rod you are interested in is a medium heavy power might make it not so fast of action with a bait towards the higher end of the lure rating .

that's a pretty short rod for throwing 4-5 oz. baits , gonna wear you out after awhile , i would look at the M1 8' swimbait rod or a Ultra 7'11'' or 8' swimbait rod , i would get a rod with alure range of 2-8 oz. so as not to overload the rod , you want a longer rod to aid in casting the bait , like a catapult , a 7'3'' rod is not the ticket . my swimbait rods are 8'6'' and 9 ' .

so very true !!! that's what i fish , a Pflueger Patriarch 40 , going from an Abu Cardinal , a world of difference !! a lot smoother drag & super smooth retrieve , i say go for what you can afford , you get what you pay for ...

i wish custom rods were not expensive but they tend to be when you want certain rod blanks that end up costing anywhere between $130-$300 plus another $60 for components , i have my rods made ( when i get a bigger place that will allow me to set up a wrapper and dryer , it will be on!! ) so figure in another $120 - $140 to get it wrapped , it adds up quick !!