Calstar 700H

18-20# drag is good, anythin more you start to bottm it out. you may want to look at the XH,,, both nice rods

 

A slight difference of opinion here: I have only played with my two 700 s in the garage (no fish yet) but it is my distinct impression that 20 pounds of drag will not bottom them out. I have pulled 30 pounds and did not feel it was overtaxing the rod too much. That may be a bit exessive, and I would NEVER fish hem with that much drag--in fact I think 20 would be about right. But if someone wanted to, I personally think 25 would be fine.

What might be excessiv for a 700H out though, would be a jig heavier than 8 ounces or so.

I also own a 700XH and have thought about using both of those for jigging rods myself and would be interested in everyone's thoughts on the subject--I know Kil has done that with those two rods, but prefers others.

Russ

 

My favorite rod on the Big E for tuna is the 700H, you can cast, can jig, can chunk, can fish live fliers, and can bottom fish too! I've used it with the JX-2 and the HX-2, for 40 and 50lb line, and prefer the feel of the HX on it!

As for fishing over 20lbs of drag, haven't done it, usually fish 18, but real easy to push the lever up if I have to. Never have tried 30lbs, that would kill me, 30lbs on the end of a 7 ft lever?

BTW, was in Roy's Bait and Tackle today, they still have the Calstar and Seeker rods on sale, 20% on the Cals, and 25% on the Seekers. Just a heads up. Probably only limited to stock on hand though.

DBG

 

my dream setup: accurate 665 2spd on a custom wrapped calstar 700H with 80lb hollow braid

 

I am currently building 4 jigging rods, 2 conventional & 2 spinning. All of the rods are built on the 700H blank. Prior to building the first of the group I put one of the blanks in a rod holder and loaded the blank with my standard 22 lb weight. With weight just off of the floor, the bare blank rolled over in the first two feet from the tip down, the last five feet to the butt were slightly curved. The 700h appears to to have a light enough tip to effectively jig and a heavy enough backbone that the rod willl make an excellent tuna rod.

 

i am building one now for jigging on the east coast

 

The 700h appears to to have a light enough tip to effectively jig and a heavy enough backbone that the rod willl make an excellent tuna rod.
That is what Calstar Grafighter blanks are designed for.
I don't see any problem to use 20 - 25 lbs drag on 700 H. I use 700XH only I target over 100 lbs tuna.

 

Where can I find a good price on a 700 H blank so I can build one?

 

A slight difference of opinion here: I have only played with my two 700 s in the garage (no fish yet) but it is my distinct impression that 20 pounds of drag will not bottom them out. I have pulled 30 pounds and did not feel it was overtaxing the rod too much. That may be a bit exessive, and I would NEVER fish hem with that much drag--in fact I think 20 would be about right. But if someone wanted to, I personally think 25 would be fine.

What might be excessiv for a 700H out though, would be a jig heavier than 8 ounces or so.

I also own a 700XH and have thought about using both of those for jigging rods myself and would be interested in everyone's thoughts on the subject--I know Kil has done that with those two rods, but prefers others.

Russ
Russ. my opinion, is based on. using a 700H, with a torium 30. drag locked down. trying to lift . 2 10# dumbells with a little bar..the drag on the reel was slipping, and we couldnt tighten any more..the rod was BENT..to the point where i felt it was "bottomed out". we never got the weighs off the ground....then we put a tiagra 16 on the XH..lifted right off the ground...and of course i didnt get any pics ..and i have only XH to play with right now..

 

Here's a pic of one of the 700H rods that I just finished building - it's lifting a 20 lb weight.

View attachment 2764

 

Nice action!

Is your second/third guide from top twisting? I cannot really tell from the photo?

 

Pac Fisher,

Check out Bad-Fish.com , they are a CA company, maybe not far from you.

DBG

 

Thanks DeepBlue Gulf.

 

I built a rod on that blank and have fished it with 20 to 22 pounds of drag. I have not hooked a tuna on it yet, but i caught a 90lb amberjack with the drag set in that range. He put up one heck of a fight and the rod worked great.

 

Hunter.....nice rod....I like the wrapping....is that gold thread?
I have a 700 xh,which I really like,and just got a st croix musky rod built,which is thinner,and lighter than the calstar,and got it set up with an everol 6/12,with fuji trigger grip.....I cant wait to use it....the blank( 2M79XXXHF)can handle 65-100lb line,....
I am also having an calstar 700h,being built,for my stella 10000......should be a good setup....


jeff

 

Tess - thanks - sounds like you have some nice stuff - tell me about your everol 6/12 - I have heard of the everol but I do not believe I've ever put my eyes on one - HUNTER II's (my 27' Albemarle) rod colors are black & gold. The thread on this rod is gold braided & black holografic braided tapes wrapped side by side. I have gold holografic braid on order, which I am going to wrap a couple of Calstar 660XH & 660XXH standup rods. I'm a beastmaster affeciando. I'll be putting 30-50's on each of the new rods. It looks really cool when you wrap the guides with one color holografic braid and accent it with a contrasting color. If you look in the background you can see a rod on the bench which I am building for a friend. This rod is being wrapped in silver holografic braid with black metalic thread accents.

 

The everol reels are really built well...I have 2- 12/20,and just got the 6/12.
I used the 12/20's last year for tuna up to 100lbs,and they handled well.
The 6/12 is a smaller reel,with same drag system as the bigger 12/20.
It weighs about 18 oz,and the 12/20,s about 25 oz.
I got about 20 lbs drag at strike,on them.I just had them all upgraded,and now get 24-28 lbs at strike.
The price was right,but I think they just went up,due to the value of the dollar overseas.
The lower,or one on left is 12/20,the other,6/12....
I have short fat hands,and they fit my needs very well....
Really like those rods,btw....

 

Nice set ups there tess!

I've been seeing the Everols coming up on a lot of boards lately.

Hey PacFisher - There may be members here from whom you could get a blank, but since I haven't seen any answers, you can find the 700H here:

Blank

 

That's about the most it can bend and not rub the line on the rubber handle, A MAX OUT it would appear, unless there was a different reel put on it. I've never broke a rod and I hope that I never will !!!