New Rod Build

[dave]

I am having a rod built. I am not concerned about his craftmanship, as I have seen many of his rods and he has made hundreds. He is though, more of a bay type of fisherman and rod builder for stripers and the like.

We have collaborated on what I am looking for in a bass rod. He has also willing taken the advice of his supplier when he called to order supplies and communicated a lot with me. It will be a spiral wrapped rod. The supplier recommended starting with a #16 guide and ending in #6 guides, all low profile. This sounds good.

He recommended a 16MM reel seat. This is the item I need to make sure will be right. I want to make sure this is the smallest diameter seat for this rod.

Rod is 6' 10" MH pitching rod. Batson IMB 843 blank.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Most reel seats come in 16 or 17mm size. Some now in 18. The grip can be sized to fit you specifically by turning down. You may want a window seat which is measured to fit right at the spot on the blank. You said spiral wrap so this must be a casting rod. IMO 16 is WAY to big to start on a bass rod and the 6's can be cut down to 4's which many refer to as micro. They will pass a braid to leader Albright no problem. The Batson blanks are nice but weighing it down with heavier than needed guides cuts into the performance. If you stay with 6's, srping for titanium guides to save as much weight as possible.

[Hi Salenity]

I'm sorry but if you can't tell him EXACTLY what you want and he has no idea how to build a Bass rod I think you need to find another builder.

That said look at a rod building site like Mudhole and find the guides/seat you want and ask if they will work for your application.

[WoolleyBass]

Like stated above check out Mudhole. Also maybe look into building it on your own? It's not that difficult at all and quite rewarding when finished. I just finished a 7'6" 5wt fly rod yesterday and I can't wait to throw some poppers with it this summer.

Roby

[rubba bubba]

Agree 16 is too big to start with. Here's the standard numbering for Fuji's Concept system to use as a starting point (I've made many 7' rods with these numbers):

12 - 10 - 8 - 7 - 7 (fly) - 6 (fly) - 6 (fly) - 6 (fly) - 6 (fly)

As Delaware said, you can even go to the 4 fly's if you want to go micro.

I agree, though - 2 people who aren't sure how to build a bass rod isn't a good recipe for success.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

If you think about it, the first line guide is on the level wind. There's really no need to go any larger than that. The exception being if you're using a large off shore reel and need guide height to make a smooth transition and keep the line from cutting into a fore-grip. Rod building isn't rocket science, but more goes into designing a truly high performing fishing tool than just gluing up the components. You can certainly come out of your first build with a perfectly fishable rod and that is very rewarding as stated above. It depends on the goal for a specific build if the timing is right to take it on yourself.

[Chad L]

Couple questions first then I will answer.

1. Is he experienced in cutting a blank down?

2. Are you willing to lose the warranty of the rod manufacturer by doing so?

If you need to "tell" an experienced rod builder how to build the rod I would look elsewhere. As far as that blank uncut with a 9" rear grip, here is the reel seat I would go with.

GTB16C-13.5-TC, it will need to be reamed to fit snug, which give better contact top the area underneath.

Chad

[dave]

Rubba's numbers are right on according to the tech at Batson. He even mentioned the #4. I have conveyed all of this to him. I have thought about giving it a whirl myself someday.

[Diablos]

A good rod builder should be able to take the information you supply and fill in the blanks with appropriate suggestions.

Generally, a 16mm seat will be the smallest rod builders will use but the actual size of the seat will vary from company to company. If you are trying to keep the rod lightweight consider using a split seat such as a Pac Bay Minima or a Fuji SK2 type of seat.

I am now a big fan of using Fuji's "lowrider" micro stripper guides BLCAG

[dave]

I got the rod today. As far as looks and feel, fantastic. When he and I were talking about what I wanted (back and forth a lot) he sounded a bit frustrated. Then after a few calls, he admitted that he hadn't built a bass rod in years. His specialty was LTG rods for the Chesapeake Bay (which I knew, he is a well known builder for the the bay fisherman) He did his due diligence and did a lot of consultation with Batson, his supplier and some other builders. He was very happy with how it turned out, as am I. (and still makes comments every time we talk about how small the micro guides are) He feels he had added something new to his line of builds. I will be getting a LTG rod for the bay soon.