Building a Custom Long Range Casting Rod

[Bowhuntin_Toona]

Another nice build. Mind listing your equipment (I need to know what to buy)?

[Poco]

Nice build amigo.

Ray

[AtTheWall]

Thanks guys!

Ken here's my order list from MudHole Tackle. Make sure you take a set of digital calipers and MIC size the area where you want to place your reel seat. It should work with a size 16mm inside diameter but mic it to be sure.

I'm not sure you want a casting blank and or spinning blank. My guide list is casting blank only. My stripper guide is a size 12, some prefer a size 16 for their stripper but, I'm using low profile reels on this stick. If you are using an ABU 6500 series and or Shimano Calcutta style round reel for your casting reel, then the 16 may be your better stripper guide size?

You really want that stripper guide to fit the line coming off the reel where the line simply routes through the ring without touching. This adds distance to the cast - less friction. The more rings you can run your line through, without touching the inside rings the better!

My main guides are AMERICAN TACKLE TITAN Titanium guides with their NANOLITE Rings. Nanolite is American Tackles version of Fuji SIC guide rings. I've been happy as heck with my American Tackle Titans..using them on a bunch of sticks which include offshore and surf rods. Tough and light and I've loaded them up with some serious big fish (100 + lbs) on heavy drag using braid = no issue and no ring and or line failures.

American Tackle doesn't offer a Titanium Nanolite ring tip guide, so I lean on Fuji TI-SICs for my tops.


The stripper guide is NIRLC size 12 (one)

Three guides up from the stripper are NIRLC size 10 (three)

The last guides to the tip are NIRLC size 8 (five)

The tip guide is a Fuji Ti SIC size 6.5 mm (blank diameter) with a size 8 SIC ring

The reel seat is a spinning style, which means it doesn't have a trigger grip. It's the Mudhole Project x Two tone in 16mm size.

The camo grip came as a single solid 15" length grip. I cut mine down into 3 pieces, measuring each at 3.5" in length.

The fighting butt is an option, if that is what you want. You can also opt to use any butt style on the market and remember, the EVA grips are pretty wide, so the butt's outside diameter can be fairly wide, if that is the look you're wanting.

Here's my MudHole Tackle invoice with pricing. These Titanium guides are not cheap but, they are super strong and light. If you're gonna build a custom rod, don't skimp on your hardware. Take it over the top!

NIRLC-12 1 ATC Ring Lock Titanium/Nanolite Guide 7.93 7.93
NIRLC-10 3 ATC Ring Lock Titanium/Nanolite Guide 5.74 17.22
NIRLC-8 5 ATC Ring Lock Titanium/Nanolite Guide 4.54 22.70
TMNST-8-6.5 1 Fuji Titanium Concept SiC Tops 16.79 16.79
XRS-16IG 1 Project X Two-Tone Spinning Seat - #16 Imperial Gold 18.95
CVA-LG-12 1 1 Camo EVA Grips - Light Green - 15.75" x 12 mm 11.05
PBAF2-G 1 PB Heavy Duty Alum. Fighting Butt - Gold 9.50 9.50

[AtTheWall]

I'll do some test cast numbers this weekend. Looking forward to seeing what she's capable of launching. I'll match it against one of my custom 7ft trout blanks, using the same line & reel for comparison.

It should be pretty interesting to see the casting performance jump.

[Bowhuntin_Toona]

Thanks Rob! Looking forward to hearing how she performs.

[AtTheWall]

I finally finished my cast test numbers. This new 9' Salmon blank, casting 1 ounce lead with 12 lb. fluorocarbon hit 110 yards - over and over and over. I used my Daiwa Lexa 300 reel, which has magnetic cast control and I dialed the mags in to a point, I never thumbed the spool till the weight hit the ground. Reel was set at 4 clicks above no magnetic at all.

My counter test 7ft rod, with the same reel, was my 1/2 - 1 ounce stick, built like a tank with IM7 graphite, single blank and basically is overkill for trout and or redfish due to it's super fast taper and way over the top heavy power rating. It was the only blank I felt, that has the spine and action to hold it's own casting literally out of my flip-flops, to pound out the yards. It's a blank I use when power and stump puling action is the only requirement. This particular blank cannot cast 1/2 weights easily...it's a 3/4 to 1 ounce stick - plain and simple. I've caught some serious fish on this stick but it's a brute with a ton of power.

My casting test was only based on 1 ounce of weight. A 1-ounce plug, spoon and or jig our small inshore lure for the surf. In the Laguna and expansive inshore bay systems of Texas, it's probably a 1/4 ounce heavier than most will cast on their top end lure offering.

The 7ft power blank, rated for 10 - 20 lb. test line hit 91 yards with 1 ounce of lead. 91 YARDS is nothing to sneeze at but this rod was bowed up as far as she would take it, and I had to hit the release dead on with my timing and step one step forward at release to zing this over the top cast to hit this distance. Using a traditional inshore bay style cast, serious cast that has zip on the release but, running at around 75% power - the usual hour after hour flats casting rhythm, I hit 70 yards.


Stepping into my new MHX 9' Salmon blank, using the same Daiwa Lexa 300 reel, I hit 110 yards easily with 1 ounce of lead. Over and over I loaded this blank up at the same level as the 7ft stick and she spanked 100+ each time with an ounce of lead. I then reduced my power zone to around 50% and found I could hit 70 - 80 yards with literally an easy and controlled cast - one of those "PACE YOURSELF - ALL DAY RHYTHMS," that easily popped numbers that I would hit on the extreme end of my other less stout, 7ft inshore bay wading rods.

In other words.....this 9ft blank can flat out STOMP any 7ft wading and or inshore blank, I don't care who builds it, and or the action range, it's not going to come close to holding it's own against this stick. I have 7ft custom blanks that can flat out cast, any factory stick on the market, in the 7ft class range. None of my best customs can come close to this build period! High end blanks, high end guides..the best money can buy - none of them can hang with this stick.

So I decided to go with Texas hard core wade fishing reel....THE CURADO 200 E7. This E7 has been super tuned and it has 7 ABEC ceramic bearings with Rocket Fuel RED on this particular test. This reel and I have been through several years of tuning, using a heated ultrasonic cleaner to strip all bearings down to an no oil condition, oiling this reel using synthetic as well as high end reel oils (used in distance casting contests) to bring this Shimano reel series to performance levels way over stock reels.

Using the Curado E7 200, I hit 108 - 110 yards on my best I could cast. I had only 1 friction block on this reel to control over run. I literally loaded the blank up as hard as I could take it, 1 ounce of lead, and let it sail with the optimum 30-35 degree launch angle, and let the reel un-wide well over 25,000 plus RPM as the weight sailed dozens upon dozens of yards. With the Curado E7 200, I never had to touch the spool to control overrun....she flat out zinged way out there in a super controlled fashion. The problem with Shimano Curado reels using a rod like this.......you feel that break block holding the last 30 yards of the cast back due to it's friction effect and you can't reduce it's drag effect at the later part of the cast. Magnetic cast control reels allow you to back the magnets down at the last 1/3 level of the cast by simply turning the mags off in flight. A Shimano, you have to open the reel up to adjust the mechanical drags....impossible to do in a cast.

One major drawback to casting a Curado 200 on a stick this tuned for super long distance casting is……you have no line on the reel spool at the end of the cast. So once you hit 100 plus yards in the cast, your liability is having literally 10 - 25 yards of backing left on the reel to cover hard slamming fish that rip yards of drag the moment they hook up. In the bays of Texas, I can probably get away with slot reds and even trout that hit the 28 inch plus range but, it’s very dicey to go here. In the surf, it’s absolute suicide to have less than 100 yards of line to back up the first strike…and 100 yards is the bottom end of what I would be wiling to gamble with.

Here’s some images of the tests. Note the Curado before and after spool images. I literally casted every darn yard of line off this reel using this stick which would put this rod and reel setup into an irresponsible fishing configuration. Big fish will flat out make you pay spooling everything you have.

Image 1 is my stoutest 7ft casting blank - overkill for most finesse style lure deliveries. She's an awesome stick but, she's on the hard core side of the spectrum. Daiwa Lexa 300 hit 91 yards with 1 ounce weight.

Image 2 is the 9ft casting blank with the Daiwa Lexa 300. This blank hit 110 yards at full load - no tuning from the 7ft blank, casting as is from the reel setup - mags and drag - all even. What this 9ft blank delivers, with less than out of the flip-flop casts is, 70 - 80 yard casts that feel like you are lobbing the casts easily overhead. I could literally just swing the blank on an arc and cast, and the darn weight would zing out there 50 + yards with no effort at all. Side arm, overhead.......spinning the blank tip like a bass fisherman jigging docks....all forms of casting styles flat out zingged the 1 ounce weight out there well over the average 7ft trout'\redfish blank - you pick the rod manufacturers = any of them = SPANK!

Here's my stoutest 7ft single piece casting blank Note the butt thickness - she's a power blank and most typically would never fish her on a daily dose of lure casting. She's built for power with a hard core spine - about as long as a 7ft blank can cast, with serious effort.



Same Daiwa Lexa 300 on the thinner and longer, way lighter salmon series MHX High Modulus graphite 9ft stick.



For a reel comparison, one of the most used Texas wade fishing reels on the planet. Shimano E7 Curado 200......tuned beyond stock with ceramic bearings and hyper tuning with reel lubes. Full of line before the cast....more line than most who fish these reels use - PACKED!



After the 1 ounce payload hit 110 yards....not much left on this Shimano.....maybe 15 yards at best?


Both reels hit super high RPMs casting off this 9ft blank. Probably well over 28,000 RPM and beyond. Very noticeable and at the limits of these smaller reels performance zone.

I'm very impressed and this build and it's well over my casting performance expectations! A lure casting rod, that can rip off football field bombs, is a very important tool in the lure casting arsenal!

[marcuspoff]

pretty work

[bassmatt72]

Dang!!! Sweet!!!

[Thumper07]

now that is cool

[stickman]

That is awesome work Rob! Thanks for bringing us along on this build.

[Bowhuntin_Toona]

I need to get my 10 footers built and see what they do with the Shimano Revo and 50 pound braided line and an ounce weight.

[GatorBait]

I am going to try and build my wife a fishing rod, depending the results it may or may not get posted lol

[AtTheWall]

Thanks guys! I'm happy with this build and chomping to get "Angie" out on the water for a fish!

[Rubi513]

Very nice!

[AtTheWall]

The Lexa 400 ended up at the front-door step yesterday afternoon.

Spooled with 40lb braid and a healthy top-shot of 17lb fluorocarbon to cover the cast (around 120 yards or so).


Left Daiwa Lexa 400, middle Shimano Curado 200 E7 and right Daiwa Lexa 300.

The Daiwa 400 is basically a super sized palming reel - packing 25lbs of drag pressure with a spool sized to pack on yards of backing. There's more OOMPH in this reel than an old School Penn 4/0 - and it can cast a mile too!