Blanks- 101

[VaRandy]

Have been doing what research I can do about heavy jigging sticks. OTI apparantly is the ONLY (or close to only) one represented on most threads I read.

Lamiglass, Calstar, Seeker, etc. are West Coast mfgrs often mentioned.

What should I know about the construction techniques, strength, durability, of the various manufacturers. Since only the highest Japanese use Boron, etc. i presume they all offer the same composites.

How is one superior to the other. Forget price for this discussion.

Why are the other high end Japanese mfgrs not represented in the states? Too high a price for our worthless US dollar?

Have not seen this discussed on any of the threads.

[ksong]

Originally Posted by VaRandy

"how well the manufacturer stands behind the product". Since you mentioned this and I don't have a clue....How Do the various manufacturers stand behind their product.

Nothing short of a replacement is worth a damn and I doubt they do that. In conventional rods, I only buy Loomis and Shimano high end stuff that is replaced no questions if broken by a fish...period.

How proud of these blanks are the manufacturers because now is the time to find out how confident they are about their products.

Seeing how we have bukoo time to rebuild a replacement, replacing the blank seems reasonable insurance, right?

Flame helmet on!

I saw a bunch of cheap spinning reels under $20 at my regular tackle shop and I asked about warranty problems of the reels. The shop owner replied that they replace reels without any question.

[hatidua]

While I very much appreciate the warranties that some rod/blank manufacturers offer, it's a bit much to ask the manufacturer to replace outright any rod/blank that breaks on a fish. I've seen more angler-error breaks than I'd care to recall and yet every last one of them expects the manufacturer to step up to the plate for a breakage the rod was never designed to withstand.

Really want a rod that won't break? get a solid glass rod for $20 and enjoy it. I personally like some of the Japanese rods that have essentially no warranty....and I'm comfortable with the level of personal responsibility that comes with that

One caveat in the above is that I've likely sent more snapped rods in for the Loomis Expiditer program than anyone on this forum this year

[VaRandy]

Billy, does that mean the manufacturers are not there for us. Only dealers that happened to have a match with the blank?

[paul708]

Originally Posted by VaRandy

Billy, does that mean the manufacturers are not there for us. Only dealers that happened to have a match with the blank?

maybe, that could happen
you may not be able to deal with the mani direct for blanks..it kinda depends on who you are

most of the blanks come with the factory warranty.and will be replaced per the warranty
with some companys it may be hard to get some blanks from (right away)to replace
when the new superseeker came out the were very hard to get for a rodbuilder, we waited a long time for some blanks
with GUSA i also stock the blanks that i use on rods. so the replacement is there for me to use or pass on
and so that my customers dont wait for replacement

[Billy 40]

What Paul said is what I meant. When you buy a specialty blank or rod from a small company, tehy may not have the inventory waiting for you in teh event a rod is broken. Large companies such as Loomis who are dealing with millions in dollars in profit, can afford to sit on millions of dollars of inventory to replace a broken blank/rod.

If you buy a specialty Japanese blank, which is imported to teh US and carried by one of 3 shops - tehy mightnot have another one in stock, and it might take a while to replace.

As a rodbuilder, most of us have had to deal with waiting a long time for blank orders to be filled, from almost every single company. In addition to components, especially Titanium and SIC, which a lot of places do not carry large inventory in, if any at all. We are used to waiting, and most of s understrand that we needto carry our own inventory. When you guys order blanks/rods - you should also keep this i mind.

[ChrisW]

I don't know of any Japanese rod manufacturer who freely sells its blanks.

Their finished rods generally don't carry warranties so if you are expecting a 100% handover on a busted rod, then don't buy Japanese.

Wth respect to jigging and popping rods, they are unmatched in perfomance, and in price! Japanese jigging is only in its infancy in the US so the uptake of these expensive rods is slow especially with such cheap beginner options like the $100 Trevella.

Jigging Master rods have a world-wide following, and for very good reasons - PERFORMANCE! So if you want performance, check these out with Paul708. I'm unsure how his custom rods work out but the factory rods are the yardstick.

[paul708]

Originally Posted by ChrisW

I don't know of any Japanese rod manufacturer who freely sells its blanks.

Their finished rods generally don't carry warranties so if you are expecting a 100% handover on a busted rod, then don't buy Japanese.

Wth respect to jigging and popping rods, they are unmatched in perfomance, and in price! Japanese jigging is only in its infancy in the US so the uptake of these expensive rods is slow especially with such cheap beginner options like the $100 Trevella.

Jigging Master rods have a world-wide following, and for very good reasons - PERFORMANCE! So if you want performance, check these out with Paul708. I'm unsure how his custom rods work out but the factory rods are the yardstick.

Hey chris..i think the Guys using the custom JM's are way more than HAPPY
and even more happy with the prices of the customs

[BretABaker]

OTI rods are ridiculously strong. the 30lb drag max rating is conservative on the 600g rod. I normally use 22-24lbs and it handles this without any problem. i think the rods are light, and have jigged all day/casted almost all night for 2 straight nights and the weight is not an issue.

the grips are a personal preference. if you have smaller hands the grips might be too large, but just get it custom wrapped with smaller grips. for me the grips are nice.

[BretABaker]

oh, i love the jigging master rods....have the 500g and its great.

[paul708]

Originally Posted by BretABaker

oh, i love the jigging master rods....have the 500g and its great.

oh yeah ..i forgot you got ..the gmans spare 500g
that is sweet