Finesse spinning blank recommendations

[Danny_716]

Hello, 

I am thinking about putting together a simple, no bells and whistles, lightweight finesse rod to throw 1/32-1/8oz hair jigs and underspins for smallmouth. I'd also probably use it as a backup drop shot rod. I've been buying alot of mhx blanks recently, and was thinking maybe something from the spin jig series. But I'm curious what other options are available outside of the mhx family. I'd like to keep the blank under $70 ideally.

Thanks!

[fishnkamp]

Well the MHX blanks are really some of the old ( and great ) G Loomis blanks and are as good as it gets, imho, but if you are looking for something else see what Batson has in the Rainshadow series.  My rod builder Tom uses blanks from both companies and likes them equally. 

[FD.]

My personal finesse rod is built on the Rod Geeks C473MHXS.  It's a medium heavy with plenty of power for turning big fish but has an extra soft fast tip which makes casting super light baits easy.  I've built 4 duplicates for clients this year and they all love them.

[.ghoti.]

To throw 1/32oz jigs, you're talking an ultralight blank. Not at all what I would recommend for a dropshot rod. Seems to me you need two different rods.

But, take a look at Rainshadow Immortal blanks. Their popping blanks, and their walleye blanks.

The IMMSW72MLTC is one of my favorite blanks. I've built two for myself, one spinning, and one casting. And I've built three for other guys. I use the spinning rod for trout, and the casting version for BFS bass fishing. Neither species seems to care that Batson calls this a walleye blank.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

21 hours ago, FishinDaddy said:

My personal finesse rod is built on the Rod Geeks C473MHXS.  It's a medium heavy with plenty of power for turning big fish but has an extra soft fast tip which makes casting super light baits easy.  I've built 4 duplicates for clients this year and they all love them.

I have a client fishing Mexican big bass lakes with that blank. He loves it. I'd like to see a lighter power in that line. 

[sarcazmo]

5 hours ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

I have a client fishing Mexican big bass lakes with that blank. He loves it. I'd like to see a lighter power in that line. 

Same here.  I have three drop shot rods right now.  Need another like I need a hole in the head... But that blank has really caught my eye.

 

 

[MickD]

REVS68MXF-SBAll purpose bass/Freshwater

6'8"

6-14

3/16-1/2

0.455

4.5

X-Fast

1.92

M

$52.0

Rainshadow Revelation from GetBitOutdoors.com

Everyone I have heard about who has built Revelation has been pleased.

Another good option would be the Amtak  Bushido series, find one that best meets your power needs in a fast or Xfast action.  Again, very good blanks at an attractive price.

[Danny_716]

Thankyou everyone for the suggestions, I'll definetly look into them.

And you'd be suprised how well you can cast 1/32oz jigs with 6lb fluorocarbon even on a cheap med. power rod. Me and my grandpa went out inside the break walls on lake erie a few weeks ago and  the only thing smallmouth would eat was a tiny little chartreuse crappie tube on a 1/32oz underspin head. Even 2 1/2 inch tubes got ignored.

That's why I've decided I need to atleast have a small assortment of 1/32-1/8 jigs and a good rod for them when I head up to the st.lawrence river in about a month for a college tournament. 

[Danny_716]

My current (and first) dropshot rod is a "B.A.S.S. outdoor america im7 ks7-345 6'6" medium action 4-10lb 1/8-3/8oz" that is/was my dads. I can't find anything about it online, but it fishes really nicely aND doesnt apear to be that old. But I'm not sure how well it is as a dropshot rod specifically because I have no comparison.

So...should I use my current rod as my "light" rod and build a more drop shot specific rod? Or use my current as the drop rod and build a "light" rod? 

The blanks I've found in my price range are:

$52 -MHX sj841, 6-10lb, 1/16-5/16oz, fast action, light, 7'0"

$55 -MHX sj842, 6-12lb, 1/8-1/2oz, fast action, medium light, 7'0"

$67 -MHX ds820, 4-8lb, 1/32-3/16oz, mod. fast action, light, 6'10"

$69 -MHX ds821, 6-12lb, 1/8-3/8oz, extra fast action, light, 6'10"

$48 -rainshadow revelation revs68l-sb, 4-10lb, 1/16-1/4oz, fast action, light, 6'8"

$50 -rainshadow revelation revs68ml-sb, 6-12lb, 1/8-3/8oz, fast action, medium light, 6'8"

[Hogsticker]

What action do you prefer for those techniques? Take a look at the Liberty blanks Getbit sales. 

P702, SJ702, SB701, DS701 

[Danny_716]

15 hours ago, Hogsticker said:

What action do you prefer for those techniques? Take a look at the Liberty blanks Getbit sales. 

P702, SJ702, SB701, DS701 

I'm not sure, the medium action rod I have (above) is the only one I've used for dropshot so far, and I like it but don't know any better. I've caught a few fish on it but haven't set the world on fire either. Don't most people like fast or x-fast for DS? 

On a side note, we went out on erie today again and drifted tubes & DS on ledges with no luck. Went and fished largemouth and my first fish on the crankbait rod I just built was a 15" walleye on a 3-5' squarebill in 20' of water towards the end of my retrieve....figure that one out lol 

[MickD]

Most people like a fast or extra fast action for both drop shot and other finesse, like tubes, flukes, etc.  The power should be based on the weight you plan to cast and the size of the fish you want to stop.

The moderate actions are more flexible relative to easily casting various weights, and if you get a good material, like Revelation or Bushido or the higher grades of any other manufacturer (St Croix Avid or higher, or similar), it will work fine for both drop shot and finesse.  In my opinion, there is not that much difference in right rods for both.

The reason I have a dedicated drop shot rod is only that when I want to use drop shot, I don't want to have to take something else off and rig it for drop shot.  It is not because there is anything really special about drop shot requirements.

[Tim Kelly]

I use an MHX hi mod 7ft popping blank for the sort of application and really like it. It's something like 4-10lb rating and 1/16 to 3/8. It's a fast, rather than Xfast action but has some power lower down. I find the spin jig rods tend to be much less powerful and softer action, despite their similar fast rating.