By Patrick Gilmartin
It’s said fishing rods are like golf clubs. Every rod serves a different purpose and excels at a different task. Just because you own a driver, that doesn’t mean you don’t also need a putter and a 5 iron as well. The need for multiple niche rods is never more evident than in the surfcasting community. There are certain situations that call for heavy rods, lights rods, longer rods, shorter rods, etc. Acquiring and using all this equipment can be fun, but it can also be a burden, both financially and with storage. When going custom, that financial burden is even greater, so you really need to know you are investing in something that will see more than its share of work. To that end, so many of us are always on the hunt for that ‘jack of all trades’ blank, which can take over the bulk of our surf trips.
While you could never use the same rod to jig the Cape Cod Canal as you would to toss tins to albies, manufacturers are making blanks more versatile and capable of doing double and triple duty. Today’s surfcaster needs to own fewer rods than before and can do so much more with less. Composite materials are allowing manufacturers to produce rods that have an expanded casting range, while weighing less and loading much easier. When these modern blanks are coupled with a concept guide layout utilizing titanium guide frames, you wind up with light and easy to use rod, that can handle plastic lip swimmers, right up to big pencils, and with enough backbone to muscle big fish out of the boulders.
The search for the lightest, most versatile surf setup has driven me into custom rodbuilding. Playing around with different guide setups and cutting or altering blanks beyond what the manufacturer intended can yield some pretty interesting rewards. It makes it easier to justify going high end on a setup, when you know you’re building a rod that can work in 75% of your surf situations. If you are the kind of surfcaster who likes the idea of being able to have one rod in your buggy that can work pretty much everywhere, there is no better time than now. Companies like Fiberstar, Century, CTS, St Croix, and others produce a number of high modulus blanks with different actions, from very moderate to very fast, to fit your particular style. Find a custom builder to help you wade through all of these options, map out a concept guide system, and fit it to your personal measurements and you’ll have a setup that keeps you fishing longer and more confidently in all but the most extreme situations.
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