Ordering a custom five footer

[gillchaser]

I'm in the process of ordering a custom five foot moderate action ultralight spinning rod.
It'll have minima guides and be put together using a MHX blank .
I asked to keep the weight to a minimum. Want it light as possible.
Black wraps with silver accents . Dark cork with an American tackle Aero reel seat . Gillchaser

[timinmo]

Sounds like a winner. I'm sure you will love it. Can not wait for the pictures.

[gillchaser]

Here's one I had built a few years ago . Its made from a five foot moderate American Tackle Matrix UL blank .
Took it out for a little jig tossing today . Gillchaser

[gillchaser]

While I've been waiting my turn in line , my custom rod evolves . I'm looking at a 5'4" blank now , that was recommended by my builder in the beginning. Also looking at some Airwave Microwave guides instead of the Minimas . They are slightly heavier than the Minimas , but are supposed to add distance to casts . Anybody have any experience with the Airwaves?
Gillchaser

[Alphahawk]

While I've been waiting my turn in line , my custom rod evolves . I'm looking at a 5'4" blank now , that was recommended by my builder in the beginning. Also looking at some Airwave Microwave guides instead of the Minimas . They are slightly heavier than the Minimas , but are supposed to add distance to casts . Anybody have any experience with the Airwaves?
Gillchaser

Just saw this. I had a couple of rods made several years back with the MicroWave guides. They are the same as the Airwave guides. The claim is more distance.....my experience says there is not more distance with those guides. What you do get is a big reduction in line slap while casting. I gave my two rods away to a fishing foundation for kids. I fished with both of them and they fished fine...but I did not gain distance. Those guides add weight and give nothing in return except a quieter casting rod...and if I am not mistaken they cost a little more than the minima guides.


Regards

[gillchaser]

While I've been waiting my turn in line , my custom rod evolves . I'm looking at a 5'4" blank now , that was recommended by my builder in the beginning. Also looking at some Airwave Microwave guides instead of the Minimas . They are slightly heavier than the Minimas , but are supposed to add distance to casts . Anybody have any experience with the Airwaves?
Gillchaser

Just saw this. I had a couple of rods made several years back with the MicroWave guides. They are the same as the Airwave guides. The claim is more distance.....my experience says there is not more distance with those guides. What you do get is a big reduction in line slap while casting. I gave my two rods away to a fishing foundation for kids. I fished with both of them and they fished fine...but I did not gain distance. Those guides add weight and give nothing in return except a quieter casting rod...and if I am not mistaken they cost a little more than the minima guides.


Regards

Thanks for the review . I knew they were a little heavier but was willing to accept that if they helped with distance.
What do you think of Minimas vs Fuji ceramics ? The Minimas on my St. Croix panfish seem to work fine and i like the lightness . Gillchaser

[Alphahawk]

While I've been waiting my turn in line , my custom rod evolves . I'm looking at a 5'4" blank now , that was recommended by my builder in the beginning. Also looking at some Airwave Microwave guides instead of the Minimas . They are slightly heavier than the Minimas , but are supposed to add distance to casts . Anybody have any experience with the Airwaves?
Gillchaser

Just saw this. I had a couple of rods made several years back with the MicroWave guides. They are the same as the Airwave guides. The claim is more distance.....my experience says there is not more distance with those guides. What you do get is a big reduction in line slap while casting. I gave my two rods away to a fishing foundation for kids. I fished with both of them and they fished fine...but I did not gain distance. Those guides add weight and give nothing in return except a quieter casting rod...and if I am not mistaken they cost a little more than the minima guides.


Regards

Thanks for the review . I knew they were a little heavier but was willing to accept that if they helped with distance.
What do you think of Minimas vs Fuji ceramics ? The Minimas on my St. Croix panfish seem to work fine and i like the lightness . Gillchaser

I prefer Fuji Torzite with titanium frames over any other guide....although I have not yet fished a Daiwa rod with the AGS guides. I would much prefer a ceramic guide over the minima. Having said that I fished rods with minima guides a lot and never had any problems with them as far as holding up. I had a St.Croix PanFish rod and I liked it. The thing for me is that I kept stepping up in quality of rods and all of the better components tied together properly makes for a superior rod. Get into these discussions with a rod builder and I am sure it would get more interesting.....LOL. About 4 years back I took a trip out to the White River in Arkansas. I did not take my Loomis trout rod. I was fishing an ESP 7 foot Power Light rod with guides similar to minima guides. On that trip I really learned a lot about rod sensitivity. We were fishing a method I refer to as "The Arkansas Drift". I had been out before and fished this method with the Loomis and did very well. As the boat is drifting down river backwards you are basically bumping a drop shot rig.....for lack of a better term.....along the bottom at a pretty good drift rate. You get a good bump going and you know you are going to hook up....a good bump consisted of a tic...tic...tic feeling as it bumped the bottom. When the trout would hit this you would feel the head shake....a very distinctive feeling. Well with the much cheaper ESP rod I did not have a great catch rate. It was hard to detect a bite. My son had a Fenwick Elite Tech....titanium guide frames with ceramic inserts.....and caught far more fish than me. I had always wondered just how much difference there was in higher end gear. I found out that day. The guides certainly play a huge role in that sensitivity.


Regards

[gillchaser]

While I've been waiting my turn in line , my custom rod evolves . I'm looking at a 5'4" blank now , that was recommended by my builder in the beginning. Also looking at some Airwave Microwave guides instead of the Minimas . They are slightly heavier than the Minimas , but are supposed to add distance to casts . Anybody have any experience with the Airwaves?
Gillchaser

Just saw this. I had a couple of rods made several years back with the MicroWave guides. They are the same as the Airwave guides. The claim is more distance.....my experience says there is not more distance with those guides. What you do get is a big reduction in line slap while casting. I gave my two rods away to a fishing foundation for kids. I fished with both of them and they fished fine...but I did not gain distance. Those guides add weight and give nothing in return except a quieter casting rod...and if I am not mistaken they cost a little more than the minima guides.


Regards

Thanks for the review . I knew they were a little heavier but was willing to accept that if they helped with distance.
What do you think of Minimas vs Fuji ceramics ? The Minimas on my St. Croix panfish seem to work fine and i like the lightness . Gillchaser

I prefer Fuji Torzite with titanium frames over any other guide....although I have not yet fished a Daiwa rod with the AGS guides. I would much prefer a ceramic guide over the minima. Having said that I fished rods with minima guides a lot and never had any problems with them as far as holding up. I had a St.Croix PanFish rod and I liked it. The thing for me is that I kept stepping up in quality of rods and all of the better components tied together properly makes for a superior rod. Get into these discussions with a rod builder and I am sure it would get more interesting.....LOL. About 4 years back I took a trip out to the White River in Arkansas. I did not take my Loomis trout rod. I was fishing an ESP 7 foot Power Light rod with guides similar to minima guides. On that trip I really learned a lot about rod sensitivity. We were fishing a method I refer to as "The Arkansas Drift". I had been out before and fished this method with the Loomis and did very well. As the boat is drifting down river backwards you are basically bumping a drop shot rig.....for lack of a better term.....along the bottom at a pretty good drift rate. You get a good bump going and you know you are going to hook up....a good bump consisted of a tic...tic...tic feeling as it bumped the bottom. When the trout would hit this you would feel the head shake....a very distinctive feeling. Well with the much cheaper ESP rod I did not have a great catch rate. It was hard to detect a bite. My son had a Fenwick Elite Tech....titanium guide frames with ceramic inserts.....and caught far more fish than me. I had always wondered just how much difference there was in higher end gear. I found out that day. The guides certainly play a huge role in that sensitivity.


Regards

Thanks , I'll be doing some more looking around and talking with my builder . Gillchaser

[timinmo]

Custom rods are really hard. The cost of Torzites can double or triple the cost of a custom rod. Obviously the cost of guides can be much greater than the cost of the blank. As should also be obvious the weight of guides on a ultralight blank should be a big consideration. I have used minima guides several times and been completely happy. I am also a big fan of Micro guides, especially on an ultralight, I know that some do not share my love of Micro's and I am OK with that. In my mind the lighter rods almost demand lighter guides and heavier ones will kill the action. Torzites may be light but up to now I have never been able to convince myself that the cost is worth it, there are other ways to save weight. I have a Steez spinning rod with the AGS guides. It is hard to compare with anything else I have, but they are light and sensitive.

In one of the interviews with Gary Loomis, he states that weight is the enemy of performance. I for one think he knows much more about rods than most of us.

[timinmo]

So I read my above post and it sounds like a lot of disjointed babble. I'm sorry, I will try to cover the points I tried to make in a more connected manner.

I am unable to compare AGS guides to others as I only have one rod with them. It is a very good rod, but I think it would be a very good rod with regular guides.

The cost of a set of Torzites could easily total $50 to $60 where as a full set of Minimas would run $10 to $20, maybe $30 on the outside. A MHX blank could run $40 or so, even a St. Croix Avid series blank is only $75 or so. Torzites may be good but are they that good.

The lighter the power and weight of the blank, the more the weight of the guides is important. Heavy guides on a XH power 7'6" rod will not make as much difference. So when I am building an ultralight or light rod I search for ways to make it lighter.

With all that said I have two NFC blanks in the closet and one of them may very well end up with Torzites and my opinions may change.

[gillchaser]

Considering costs and weight of guides available, I've decided on black Minimas . I wanted Black tigold Minimas , but they would have to be ordered and would slow my getting the new rod. I'll save them for my next build depending on how I like this one . My goal was for a light as possible build without breaking the bank so to speak .
I spoke with my builder this afternoon and finalized the components. Should have it in a couple of weeks .
Can't wait to try it out . Gillchaser

[jigmaster5]

lots of good points in this thread, lots of stuff to consider. gillchaser's already finalized his specs, but for anyone else considering a custom rod....maybe this could be of some help?

i build my own custom rods for me and a few friends. i'd suggest it for anybody. you don't need a tremendous amount of skill to build a great rod that will beat the pants off most production rods. you can get set-up fairly cheaply, too. simple handle, simple wraps with black thread, etc.....it doesn't have to be complicated. there is a learning curve....your first rod will probably be a little rough. by the 10th rod, they will be pretty good. the really artsy guide + trim wraps - they DO require some skill and real artistry (and I'm not an artist)....but they don't effect how a rod fishes at all. if anything really excessive wraps + epoxy + handle work can ever-so slightly hinder a rods performance by adding weight (slight) and changing the way the rods flexes (very slightly).

i'm not a fan of the microwave style guides for UL fishing. they work best with a slick, thin, smooth braid that can easily be forced into a tiny profile....sort of like a rifle barrel. the reason that alot of custom builders offer rods with microwave guides is that they're often sold as a kit which costs less money than buying the components separately. anyway, i still prefer any other guide style. my personal preference for my own rods is slightly oversized guides which it seems like all production rods have gone away from (1 reason is that larger guides are more expensive than smaller guides).

the minima guides are fine. they aren't especially slick. if you've ever fished a US Daiwa Presso - they use minima guides. i like my Daiwa Presso's, but they'd be even better with better guides. to compensate for the minima guides, i use a slick braid (4 lb nanofil with a leader). i don't like using mono with minima guides (or microwave guides).

the Fuji Ti frames with torzite rings are ultra-high end guides and their price reflects that.

there's a ton of good guides in between those 2 price ranges.

[timinmo]

Just to be clear "Microwave" guides and "Micro" guides are two different things.

[gillchaser]

Just to be clear "Microwave" guides and "Micro" guides are two different things.

Yes thry are . The Microwave guides , essentially a guide inside a guide , I feel would perform better on a rod that would be using a larger reel than I would use on an UL rod. The coils coming off a 500 size reel aren't that big to begin with . That's why I decided against them .
I just couldn't justify the cost for the torzite guides on a $40 blank . Gillchaser