Rail Rodding Spinners West Coast style

[fishordie]

Okay,

So once again I travel into another dimension to boldly go where no man has gone before. Yeah I know crazy but sometimes you just have to say why not.

I call it my Thunder Down Under... No relation to the male strip revue.
It is designed for all the spinner folks who want to catch very big fish without killing themselves on spinners. Spinning reels have come a long way over the last many years with drag levels that are out of sight. Unfortunately, once you put a bend in the rod and have to lift, it kicks your butt. I have always pointed my rod at the fish but that kind of defeats the purpose and makes the landing of the fish take that much longer.

Now, the angler can rail rod the Spinning Rod and get the same leverage as the conventional reel/rod folks.

I have always sung the praises of the spinners for finesse type fishing. Getting the bait into the zone with less damage is where the spinners have the advantage. Many folks like to yoyo with the Spinners but have had to either use a shoulder harness, which does not compare with the conventional bucket type harness, or just hold or pump and wind. Very exhausting for most folks.

None the less here is the Prototype. Its all 6061-T6 Aluminum and weighs about 16 ounces with most of the weight up tight to the rod
in the area of the clamps. Since I just finished it and am going on the Bob Sands Tackle 5 day on Thursday fishing the Shogun, the guys at the shop put a layer of cork tape and shrink wrap on the foot for protection. I am not convinced it is necessary as the width of the foot is 1.5 inches and should not dig into any boats rail as it is totally stable and does not try to twist out but I figured Bruce and Norm might not be too happy if I am wrong. As it is I will undoubtedly be getting some strange looks when I put this thing to use.

The gear is an Accurate 12 spinner and a Calstar700XH blank. If this works I will probably make one for someones giant spinner who is looking to catch cows or other giants on a spinner. I believe this will make it way easier for those looking to accomplish this task.
The pics will show putting max pressure on the fish is exactly the same as rail rodding a conventional.

It appears as if the rod balances very well with the device attached but we will see if casting is affected at all or the device gets in the way but so far it seems to not be a problem.

Jamie

[ksong]

Jamie,
You are really crazy.
When you can come over to NJ, let me know. Bluefin tuna jigging is hot now as it can be. Bring your rail rodding spinners with you.

[d-a]

How much does it weigh?

d-a

[BretABaker]

thats pretty cool.

i used my arms for the rail on the big e. is obviously isn't as relieving as with a conventional, but i just put my forearm on the rail and went from there. it was actually pretty easy

[Bret]

Wow, that is cool!! I have often wondered how to accomplish that with a spinner..

[fonz]

Thats a mean looking Rod. Bad Arse

[MrBill]

That's very nice. I also like the machine shop in the background. You've obviously spent some time on your project. It shows that you are serious about your device. That's a good thing. From what I see in the pictures, it should work fine. Very well constructed. I like it.

I've made a couple myself with another guy. Our first attempt was a failure because we used a round aluminum rod on the bottom. It rolled to much. Next try had a flat bottom like yours. That was a vast improvement. We were also to hung up on making it a quick release device. Another problem is that neither one of us has any spare time and very seldom fish on a boat that has a rail. I've tried getting on my knees and using the gunnel on private boats, but that just plain sucks. The fiberglass decks will burn your knees if you don't use knee pads. Your toes will also get red from the hot deck and being bent trying to dig down. We more or less have put our project to sleep. After seeing yours, I'm getting fired up again.

Once again, nice job and good luck on your 5 day trip. One question for you. Is the line wrapped around the orange pipe for any reason? I'm trying to figure out why the line isn't running straight through your two aluminum rings before it contacts the first guide.

[feeder]

Nice! It looks like you're planning on jigging with that setup but have you tried casting with it to see how it does? Just curious to see if you could get a popper out to the fish in case of a wide open bite.

[ichibahn]

Cool looking gadget !

[fishordie]

To answer all the questions so far,

As noted it weighs just over 16 ounces with the majority of weight in the clamp sections as I could not pocket mill the section as it has threads.

The reason the line is just sagging is I had my guy just push down of the end of the rod rather than tie weights to the line until it bottomed out or bent into the reel seat. You can see by at least one of the pics at maximum bend on the 700XH, which is rated 40 -100 though I think that is way overly generous, I had almost no pressure at all at the butt end. You can also see as Francisco pulled down as well as sideways the device had zero tendency to try and twist. However as a note, the line passes through both of the standoffs with 1/4 inch clearance all around so there is no rubbing as the bail goes around 360 degrees. Thus, for retrieve purposes on a fish or just yoyoing, the device is off the hook. As far as casting poppers that will be tested out in a few days on hopefully a number of different species. Right now we can expect yellowtail to around 50 pounds, Albacore to around 40 pounds, Bluefin and Yellowfin tuna to ????. We are having a push of warm water so it is possible to run into the 100 pound tuna. Poppers will be flying from this thing so I can figure out the exact placement of the device for casting. I believe it is correct right were it is but until I actually throw something with a few hooks attached I really won't know.

I will also be throwing a bunch of smaller Spanyid Raiders, Snipers and Maniacs which should be fantastic for the targeted species including some Dorado.

Also as far as fishing from yacht type boats I have T bars that fit into the
rod holders on the rails that act as a rail to use the device with. I just refuse to get down on my knees for any fish..... besides, I am getting old enough where I just might not be able to get back up....LOL

Thanks for the kind words so far including Kilsong's crazy comment. I would love to bring this thing and what will be its bigger older brother to go along with a bigger spinner to N.J. and fish some of those little blue tuna. Is 500 pounds on a popper out of the question?? I have the poppers and the geat I just need the fish.....LOL.