Big Bait Fishing

you measure from the rearmost part of the reel seat to the butt of the blank , i have all my rod handles long , 16'' for my spinning and casting rods , 18'' for my swimbait rods . the main reason why i first looked into custom rods was that i couldn't find a swimbait rod i liked with a long enough handle , all decent '' swimbait rods '' had short handles that wore you out throwing big baits all day ! plus the additional handle length aids in long casts and tucks under the arm comfortably !!

a good flipping stick or swimbait rod spooled with 20 lb co-poly or 50 + lb. braid and you should be fine , i was catching 15-20 lb. catfish on a rainshadow swimbait rod and 20 lb. Izorline XXX..

if you are going to order a casting reel seat , i advise you to go with a size 17

i wouldn't worry too much on subtle color differences , it's mostly action of the lure and presentation ....

get a 7' or longer heavy powered rod with a fast or extra fast tip , pretty basic , consider a frog as a top water jig , feel the bite (or see ) tension on the line , set the hook with a stout rod and pull the fish out of the slop ...

a 4oo size reel is overkill . for me , 100 yards of line wether it be 20,25, or 30 lb. , is all i need on my reel . i choose low profile reels , the Revo toro is a beast of a reel , smooth and very strong , it's line rating is 14/200 which i can spool 120 yards of 20 lb. line on it , 95-100 yards of 30 lb. , which like i said is plenty , plus the Revo toro has low gearing i like since i'm primarly throwing hudd like baits that you reel as SLOW as you can , it seems a lot of 300 size low profile reels are starting to come in 6.4:1 or 7.1:1 gears which is way too fast for my taste . i'm not a shimano guy at all but a lot of people also like the 300 size curado , round reels are just not at all to my liking , i palm my low profile reels , so those soup can reels are out , but i do hear good things about Diawa's Luna reel in the 300 size , i guess it's up to you and your tastes , good luck

same thing i do but i pause a lot longer , i try to twitch the bait , keeping it in the same spot . If i don't get bit , i'll give it a couple quick hops and twitch it again . my advice is to be patient with your retrieve , don't be afraid to lenghten your " pause" , another thing i think makes a big difference in my opinion , is to use some scent !! i apply a generous amount of Pro Cure crawdad scent on my soft plastics (not on the skirt) i fish a jig with a crawfish trailer , i don't fish swimjigs imitating bait fish ....

sounds like you need to label your tackle boxes for specific places you fish , that's what i started doing , i was finding my self bringing stuff i KNOW i wasn't going to use , bought an extra bait casket (Bas Mafia) and loaded it with just stuff i needed for this lake i'm hitting everyday in the evening . i'm just bringing a few jigs , some Red Eye Shads , and some 5'' stick baits.

Definitely keep the blank , a good builder can strip that blank and redo it !!

Definitely keep the blank , a good builder can strip that blank and redo it !!

don't be dissuaded , custom rods built to your liking are such a pleasure to fish , I'm currently been researching my next rod , an 8 ft. MH fast action blank , made by Phenix rods , and by the way , Phenix is such a pleasure to deal with , talked to them about 35 minutes and they answered all my questions and even weighed blanks for me .

been looking for a nice 8' MH blank , i think i found one that i'm going to go with , it's half the price and only .15 oz. heavier which is nothing , the blank is a Phenix PHX-C804MH-B it weighs 2.4 oz. and only $114 , almost half the cost of a NFC .

as far as Reaction Strike , they make decent musky rods but you don't hear too much about bass rods , i doubt you will , i would stick with more mainstream rod companies if i were you .

when considering a custom rod builder , ask for photos of previous rods made by him/her , check the internet on their website for a gallery of built rods , ask about warranty guidelines , etc.. you always have to do some research as you want this rod to be exactly as you envision , take the time to test fit different reel seats for asthetics , comfort , and look you want . research what guide material that would best suit your needs , what size guides (micro guides , tangle free guides , etc..) cost of guides , color guide frames (black , chrome , gunsmoke , etc..) what kind of handle you would like (eva, cork ,syncork, hypalon , carbon fiber tube , etc..) length of handle (measured from the back of reel seat to butt ), style of hook keeper ( open ended, closed loop , foldable , etc..) all these things need thought to how you want your rod , the potential builder should have knowledge of these things and help you deciding what works for you , cause when it's all said and done this rod should be a pleasure to fish and perform how you want it to . and by the way , get it right and you will never buy an off the shelf rod again ..

small philips for the nut cap retainer and then a 10 mm wrench or socket for the nut , just don't torque it down too much , be careful the threads are brass . if it's a left handed reel , the threads are left handed threads , meaning you turn them the opposite way .

it's Bulldawg as in Reaction Strike , not Bulldog as in an ugly dog ...

i guess will wait to see , just real skeptical from the look of it ...

why don't you look into a custom , there are some nice blanks out there that you can make a killer rod without breaking the bank , think about it ....

i recently tried going with weighted wacky hooks and i thought the weight killed the action of the stickbait , I'm thinking i'd have better luck with a nail weight through the middle . But for right now i'm just throwing them weightless (5'' stickbait) on an Owner wacky hook in 1/0 , i'm patient enough to let it fall on it's own . anyhow , that wacky rig looks like a washer attached to a jig head , how is that supposed to save baits ???

for musky ??

looks good , why the aluminium insert between the rear grip and the butt ??

that's my St. Croix 9' big nasty , 1 double foot stripper guide( size 5) , 11 size 4 micro guides , size 4 tip , spiral wrapped .

that's why i fish alone, i hate to hear "can we go now '' !! i like to fish how ever long i want and prefer to fish by myself , don't like people to interfere with me while i'm in the Zone ... then again , if they have their own transportation and keep quiet , it will be all good

double foot stripper guide in size 5 with micro's out to the tip with a size 4 tip top on ALL my casting rods , including a 9' swimbait rod that is a beast of a rod . double foot guides all the way to the tip ( dobyns swimbait rods ) to me kills a little bit of tip flex , plus as Mike says , makes for a tip heavy rod ! Swimbait rods in particular or any long rods benifit from single foot guides for the weight savings , i try to save as much as i can , my primary baitcaster is 7'10'' , my swimbait rods are 8'6'' &9' , that's why i use micro guides on everything , including my spinning rod .

I'm 46 and i'll never have a rod built for myself with cork , sorry