Using the Rail

Thanks Gentlemen. The reason I ask the question at all is that I thought I had located an Accurate rod (built by Calstar for them on the 760H blank) to match with the 50W for my heavy outfit. (They have discontinued this series of rods and, while I could buy a straight Calstar, I sort of wanted this one.) Anyway, the dealer I was talking with speaks terrible English and believe it or not, my Japanese isn't the best! Turns out the rod he actually has in stock is based on the 7465H blank, which is 6 foot 6 inches as opposed to 6 feet for the 760H. The weird part is that, while both rods are rated for 50-130 line, Accurate in their catalog recommends the longer rod for the heavier reels(ATD 80-130), and the shorter one, for the ATD 50 and up.)

So, having an inquiring brain, with almost nothing inside it, I first called Accurate, who told me it was a good question and the answer depended on the action of the 7465--but they didn't know. Then I called the Cal Star sales rep--a guy named Caeser, and he seemed to be very knowledgeable. He said that the longer rod is indeed heavier and bends only at the tip. He said it was specifically made longer for use on the rail, so it would extend out a little more. He said in a harness it would be absolute murder, but that for use on a rail, it would end fights with big fish in a hurry.

But, he also said whether you could use a rod effectively on the rail depended on what kind of rail it was. He said their long range boats out there have a wide wooden rail, about 10 inches wide, whereas most of the East Coast boats have a thin metal rail. I conjured up the virtual tour of the Big E online, and sure enough, it does have a wide rail, but then a tubular metal rail all around the gunnels. I guess if you used the rail, you couldn't put it under the metal one and sit on the end--you would have to put it on the metal tube itself?

Soooo, my quandry is whether to go with the longer rod and use the rail (sure would beat having to fool with a harness and it would be nice to learn to bring big ones in more quickly that way) OR have the Calstar guy try to locate one of the 760 H's for me with some other dealer.

Russ

ksong: Thanks very much. Those pictures clarify a lot for me about how it's done. And it is very encouraging that you can indeed use the rail on the east coast boats--the guy at Calstar said that it was easier with the wider rails on the west coast boats. Yes, I read some of your posts on other boards and saw the one picture of the broken rod. There was some criticism as I recall on that board.

I went ahead and ordered another 760H rod to use in the harness to pair with the Accurate 50W, but now, I may go ahead and pick up the 7465H as well, in order to use it on the rail. I am fascinated by the idea of being able to fish that way. Do you have any experience with that blank?

One other question: I am going to be working with Kevin when he has time, to build me a rod on the Calstar 850H blank. I intend to use this with the Twinspin 12 when it comes out in the next couple of months. Would this be a good jigging rod for the rail in your opinion? (I have also heard that you cannot use a spinning rig at the rail--so maybe not.) Actually, my main use for this combo will be for casting 1-4 ounce spoons and lead casting spoons out into the heavy channel current on the POC jetties and to fight, catch and release, big bull reds and jackfish as quickly as possible. But it's secondary use would be as a jigging rod. Any opinions?

Russ