TackleTour

I finally got some time to mess with some carbon grips I had laying around. Turned out OK, I need to devise a better transition between the seat and the grip. The rod is built on an NFC HM MB809 blank.

Very unique and uniformed. How's the performance of the rod?

The NFC blanks are great, unfortunately this one went out as soon as it was built and never had a chance to handle it with this grip setup. This particular blank (MB809) is a tad to slow for me, none the less its a great blank and is sensitive as other higher end blanks. Hopefully the member this went to will chime in once he gets his line wet.

Why is the photos when linked from photobucket not the original size, seems to cut off 1/3 of the pic? I notice when I posted the same pic to another site, it shows the full sized photo.

Beautiful grips! Where did you get them/ how did you make them?

I'm used to the carbon fiber sleeve method...

Nice! Love the unique look. Do you have some sort of sealant or coating on the grips?

The grips are from NFC and there is no finish to them. I decided not to coat them for that textured feel.

I was the lucky recipient of the rod. I was finally able to test this rod out this past weekend. Use of this rod is primarily for jigs up to 1/2 oz with trailer, though it could handle more and frogs. Paired it with my Fuego. Overall combo was very light. Not sure on the exact weight, maybe 10z give or take an oz. Balance point was about 2 inches above the front of the reel seat/ locking mechanism. Sensitivity was great. When dragging jigs on the bottom, I was able to discern rocks from sand. Action of the blank is moderate fast as was described, but that was my intention of how I wanted the rod. Great at keeping fish pinned on the hook. Was able to hook into two fish in 6 hours of fishing.
One below is the biggest at 2.5lbs
Great rod for it's intended use for jigs. Can't wait to use it for topwater as the tip action would be great for walking frogs.
Thanks Ryan, your builds are always awesome.

I also built on this blank. I absolutely love it. It is a beast. Very sensitive and light, given its power and length.

What are the specs on this blank?

Good moving bait blank with braid?

Here are the specs directly from NFC
MB-809-1 HM
Mine is slower than what is shown due to it being cut down to 7'3"
As a moving bait rod, it seemed to handle a Koppers wakebait blue gill fine. Not sure how well it would keep the trebles in the fish's mouth though.

Kool