Mike (No Slack)

[Time Out]

Mike I am thinking about wrapping a Halibit rod what blank would you use?

Glass, Composit, graphite

I am thinking Graphite 7' ?

Sounds like the squid thing is over

I drifted around the power plant out of Dana point Sunday for a few hours one short very short nothing more nice morning. It feels strange running a boat at 50 mph not use to that anymore.

Russ

[NoSlack]

I like a 7" rod for 2 reasons. I don't have a place on the boat to store an 8 footer and a long rod puts the fish farther out of gaff range when you're fishing solo.

Take a look at some of the Steelhead rods. Look for something that has a good flex in the upper third. With 3 pounds of drag the upper half of the rod need to flex on every head shake. Most of the time that #6 trap hook is just hanging in a flap of skin with 1 barb.

All three of my halibut rods are old cast off paddy rods. 7' 15-30# glass rods with a Penn 500 reel loaded with #20 line. I think Graphite would be nice if you can find a blank with a light tip.

Mike

EDIT: Beware of rod ratings. The two 15-40# rods in the photo have the weakest backbone and the 12-20# is the stiffest. Pull on a blank with 2-3 pounds on it before you decide to buy it.

Here is a side by side flex test for the 4 rods I fish. All the rods have 2 pounds of pull on them and would need to load up 1 more pound before the drag will slip.

The closest rod is a Fenwick Pacific Stick PS870, 7' rated at 15-40#. No way this rod would fish #40 and 10 pounds of drag. (20 years old)

The second rod in a Penn Power Stick PC3721M, 7' rated at 15-40#. This rod works the best for me and has a little more lift power than the Fenwick.(20+ years old)

The 3rd rod in is something I bought at K-Mart 25-30 years ago and has a rating of 15-30#. This rod would be my second choice to fish.

The forth rod in is my only light graphite stick. It's a Seeker Black Steel G196-8' cork wrapped. This rod has almost the same action as the cheap K-Mart rod but it's a foot to long for getting the fish in gaff range. It's rated for 12-20#

[NoSlack]

Take a look at Clark Baits site http://www.charkbait.com/cs/csrodsSKRBLANKS.htm

The blank Seeker used on my cork wrap stick comes in 7' CLB704. The next lighter graphite 7' blank would be the CLB702.

[Time Out]

Thanks Mike

I will check out the site. I know what you mean about the eight foot being to long I have trouble enough with seven foot. I think I will go Graphite 7 foot just need to pull on a few more before I deside.

Thanks again

Russ

[DOGHOUSE26]

What pound test are you guys fishing? I tend to stay 20# and under with 15# on a Ambassador 6500 on a light 7-7'6" bass rod although it's alot of work at depths below 60-100'; seems like alot of large fish are snagged with 10# and alot more bites with lighter line.

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Jeff

I`m looking to build a rod thats in the 15 to 30 pound class 7 foot like you I fish with liter line than Mike I think. Of course he catches bigger fish than I do.
I would hate to try to get a 30lbs halibut off the bottom with 15 pound test I think you would loose a few so maybe a good 20lb would be the set up ??

Russ

[yellowfin1]

This is what I love about this site. Where else can you go to get this kind of info without paying for a seminar? Thanks for contributing the time and effort to demonstrating the rod differences.

[NoSlack]

I don't think you'll have a problem lifting a #40 off the bottom with 15 pound test. With 3 pounds of drag you right at the ideal 20% rating of the line with your drag.

It Might take a minute to lift her chin out of the sand, but once she's got her chin pointed up, every kick of the tail move her one step closer to the BBQ.

Mike

[NoSlack]

Found this write up while surfing the net tonight.

Basic Rod Building

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This is a photo of my work bench I have a dvd that show detailed steps for rod building Im on my fourth rod now and having lots of fun.

Russ