LDC XH vs. NFC SWB 808

[LugiAustria1]

Hi,

my name is Christian and I am from Vienna (Austria). Its my first post so I thought I introduce myself a little.

I am looking for a new all purpose pike rod in the 3 to 8 oz category.

I had some st. croix musky sticks in that 3 to 8 oz range but I did not like them. They were all broomsticks and after a short time I sold them all. You just dont need that kind of backbone for pike fishing except you are fishing the real big soft plastics. But thats not my intention with this rod.

Baits I wanna fish with this rod gonna be:

Smaller paddle tail swimbaits with jighooks (from 6-10 inch, 3 to 5 oz max, jighook only)
Glidebaits (deps 175 to deps 250)
Multi Jointed Baits ( 3-7 oz range)
Crankbaits (6-10 inch shallow runners, smaller deep runners)

At the moment I narrowed my choice down to those two rods.

LDC Custom XH 8 foot, mod-fast

NFC Swimbait Blank 808 from a local custom rod builder

For a european it is very hard to get one of those rods in your hand so all I can do is ask other people what their thinking.

Maybe somebody had the chance to fish both rods, or blanks.

Thanks

[TommyG]

Greets Lugi, Welcome!! Beware! These guys can spend your Euro faster then your wife!!
Hard to go wrong with a NFC blank.

[LugiAustria1]

Thanks TommyG,

hard to get any information on the NFC Blank. The French Company (Rodhouse) sells them here in europe. They say it handles baits up to 12 oz with no problem.

Cant believe that.

Tons of information about the LDC Rods.

Both rods gonna cost a lot of money, but hey who cares.

[TommyG]

https://northforkcomposites.com/product/swb-808-1im/
12 oz. sounds a bit much, these new blanks are supposed to be really nice.
It is a lot of money to spend on an experiment. "choose well grasshopper"

[LugiAustria1]

Hi,

a friend of mine build a rod on the NFC SBB (Salmon Back Bounce) blank. Its also rated from 2 to 8 oz but when I fish it, it feels more like a 2 to 5 oz rod in my opinion.

https://northforkcomposites.com/product/bb-809-1-im/ Thats the blank I mean.

So thats a thing I wanna avoid, when I fish the deps 250 at 6.5 oz the rod should not feel overpowered. It should be its sweet spot.

[Cracker]

LugiAustria1

You probably might not like that blank, if the other one felt 3 ounces lower in your hands.

Have you considered Okuma, 13 Fishing swimbait rods, they are relatively speaking inexpensive and have good reviews.
Or you are looking for custom only built rods?

[TommyG]

viewtopic.php?f=57&t=74897#p598835
Hey Lugi, maybe you should check this guy.

[LugiAustria1]

Hi Cracker,

I am sure there are a lot of good other swimbait sticks around but there are two reasons I want to got custom:

1. Realseat

After I use the new Palm Support real seats I dont want anything else. It fits perfect for my style of holding the reel. Most rods use the conventional style which I dont like.

2. Rear Grip

I like longer rear grips. 16 or 17 inch is perfect for me. Most Rear grips are shorter.

@TommyG

Thanks man. Looks like he knows what he is doing. Will ask him.