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Spinning rod suggestions
Post 21 Oct 2021, 19:42 • #1 
Sport
Joined: 02/29/20
Posts: 62
Location: SWVA
I'm looking for a couple of ultralight to light spinning rods to go with my Penn 716 and 716z and some light lines (3-4 lb) and lures. I've tried a couple other well regarded UL spinning reels over the past year (Alcedo Micron, Orvis 50A) but prefer the Penns as they are quite smooth, ruggedly built and well balanced (no side to side wobble when reeling in).
Right now I have an older glass silaflex spinning rod (5', UL) paired with the 716z and it works well with 1/16 oz+ jigs but the rod is fairly short and I fish mostly at the pond out back, either from shore or a canoe, and I think a little more length might give me some better distance and leverage for hook sets. I'd like to find a rod for really light lures (like clousers and other weighted flies) and another rod for light, ned rig type jigs in the 1/16 and up range.
There are bass and bluegill in the pond (and a few carp that I rarely see). I also have some good trout and smallie streams nearby that I typically fly fish but I would like to try spinning rigs in these streams once in a while.
What would you suggest I pair with my Penn 716s?


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Post 21 Oct 2021, 21:03 • #2 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19078
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
You might want to look at a Light rod instead of UL.
I have a 6"6" H-I Star, just a random ebay snag years ago, that is the nicest spinning rod I've matched with green 716.
Harnell made 656R, 657R, and 658R in 6', 6-1/2', and 7'.
Harnell even made long UL saltwater spinning rods to match freshwater reels, 628, 644, and 626, 8' to 9'

I'm sure others can chime in with Fenwick recommendations.


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Post 21 Oct 2021, 22:58 • #3 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 07/11/14
Posts: 1784
Location: urban Colorado
as bulldog says, most older glass in the L rating will happily throw UL lures..
my Phillipson TC 64 is rated 'up to 3/8 oz' but it will throw 1g forty feet, and 2g clean across the river.

viewtopic.php?f=33&t=71779

Find one of the light Fenwicks like Panfish74's Fenwick SP61 for a real UL rod,
viewtopic.php?f=33&t=72068

Garcia Conolon made some pretty good UL rods too, though a bit whippy for my taste.

I have two of the Fenwick spin/fly rods, SF70-4 and SF75-4. Both are rated for 6wt lines and 4-8lb lines 1/8 to 1/2 oz. For me these will also easily throw 1/16, and they are 7ft and 7.5ft. The 75-4 was my usual UL spin rod, until the Phillipson arrived..


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Post 22 Oct 2021, 05:46 • #4 
Sport
Joined: 02/29/20
Posts: 62
Location: SWVA
Thanks for the suggestions guys... I will look into them and check out the threads you've linked.

Daniel


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Post 22 Oct 2021, 09:01 • #5 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19078
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
I'm going to add one more consideration.

Make your own from a fly rod blank, 3- to 5-wt, 7-1/2', 8'.
What you'll find with a progressive taper is an extreme wide lure-weight range, 1 g to 15 g (top end is the fly line grain weight), and gain the ability to cast light-lure distance beyond imagination.
(Traditional America spinning rods and, especially short UL, are para taper)
The Japanese have been making shore light game rods this way forever.
Modern "finesse" rods, whether spinning or BFS are also made this way, though they're typically faster than a glass fly rod.
My all-range BFS bass rod is rated MM, and designed to cast 1/16 to 5/8 oz.

One of our board members did this with a 10' Fisher GT-40 that he had no other use for, and built an inshore rocketship.


Last edited by bulldog1935 on 25 Oct 2021, 08:11, edited 1 time in total.

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Post 22 Oct 2021, 16:07 • #6 
Sport
Joined: 02/29/20
Posts: 62
Location: SWVA
Good suggestion. Never built a rod but first time for everything. Thanks


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Post 24 Oct 2021, 00:33 • #7 
Guide
Joined: 09/11/19
Posts: 134
Location: Canada, Alberta
Question for Bulldog about building a spin rod from a fly rod blank. Any ideas/recommendations for a fly rod weight and length to throw 1/4 oz lures using 4-6 lbs braid for long distances? Thanks!


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Post 24 Oct 2021, 05:22 • #8 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19078
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
1/4 oz is 110 grains - exactly splits a 3- and 4-wt fly line.

If you want to throw from sub-gram lures up to to 1/4 oz, a 7' to 8" 3- or 4-wt is perfect.

Here, a 7'9" Japanese UL rockfish rod. (rockfish isn't a species, but denotes casting from shore for light game).
This rod will cast the 1/4 oz and is the equivalent of a 4-wt fly rod.
This rod has landed snook, and note is rated to protect 2-1/2-lb test.

Image
If you want to find one of these ready to go, check ebay for NS Black Hole UL Rockfish and also Major Craft.

As far as distance and rod length, every 20% increase in rod length gives you the capability to double cast distance.
No reason you can't use a 9' graphite rod to get that max distance. If you want the lure weight range to cast below 1/32-oz, make it a 9' 3-wt.


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Post 24 Oct 2021, 17:56 • #9 
Guide
Joined: 09/11/19
Posts: 134
Location: Canada, Alberta
Thanks Bulldog! I will have a look at those.


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Post 25 Oct 2021, 06:38 • #10 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19078
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
We put these to hard work every winter, both night-light dock fishing in the Arroyo barge channel, and inshore tide passes.
They're the best tool for imitating winter glass minnows.
In Arroyo, we frequently catch doubles, mixes of seatrout, ladyfish, redfish and snook - we use a big, long net to get them up to the dock.
We'll be fishing the December new moon.

The Takamiya Loco Move above is 13 years old now, and I bought a pair, 7'6" XUL and 7'9" UL for me and my daughter just for dock and pier fishing under the lights - mostly nursery seatrout, 40 in an hour on Fulton Beach Pier after dinner at Cap'n Benny's. But even then, I knew they had the backbone if the schoolies swept through.
This was back when the only way to shop Japan was using a broker, noppin.com.
I tried one in August canals, sight-fishing big specs over the submerged green canal lights - landed 22" and 23", and never worried again about big fish on them.
At Arroyo, I keep four of them rigged in a rod rack, because lure change-up is really important to keep the schoolies feeding in competition.
From over 200 speckled trout filleted there over a few years in legal bag limits, have only filleted two nursery females - every other fish was a schoolie male.



the farthest-casting I own is this high-grade Yamaga Blanks TZ Nano - but the NS Black Hole rod just above is the one I'm willing to take out on a kayak.


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