ROD BUILDER
50 | fishingworld.com.au | March 2015
FISHING for reds with light jig heads and four
or five kilo braid calls for a reasonably light
rod. However, start using 3/8 or 1/2 oz heads
over deeper water and you’ll need something
slightly heavier yet still light enough to work
for long hours without feeling exhausted.
United Tackle has an ideal blank for deeper
water soft plastic fishing using heavier jig
heads. It’s also great for tossing poppers or
metal lures for salmon, bonito or stripies.
The particular blank is in the Challenger Series
and United calls it the CX 700XLH.
Like all Challenger Series blanks, this
particular one boasts admirable attention to
detail in the build. It has a dual helix of
graphite keeping the core round under load,
helping to prevent distortion of the blank
under heavy pressure.
This unique blank has a layer of graphite
from tip to butt which gives it its lifting power.
It also reduces the blank’s weight. E-Glass or
fibreglass is then used for the length of the
blank to cover the graphite, thus making this
blank very durable indeed.
The CX 700XLH is a medium to fast taper
with a great action when loaded. The tip
section is forgiving, but the high modulus
graphite certainly puts the stopping power into
play when loaded.The Build
Wanting to make a longer than usual cork rear
grip for this rod, I used two 230 x12 mm cork
grips and glued them together. Once the
24-hour Araldite dried, I trimmed the cork to
the desired length of 350mm, or 14” in the old
scale, and then reamed the cork out to suit the
rear of the blank.
As mentioned earlier, not only do I want to
be able to lob a soft plastic with this rod, I also
want to cast medium size poppers and chrome
metal lures. The longer butt will come into its
own with this as it will allow me to really load
up the blank.I then glued a Fuji DPSSD size 18 reel seat
into position followed by 200mm cork foregrip.
The position of the locking nut for the reel seat
is a personal choice, but for me I put the nut to
the front of the rod.
The cork grips were treated with bees wax to
help prevent them from drying out and give a
little extra grip.Guides
Lightweight K Series KLSG and KTSG single
foot guides were used. These guides are
lightweight yet very strong. They have silicon
carbide inserts and the design of the frame
also prevents line getting caught up around
the guide.
The bindings were done in Silver “A” grade
with metallic red trims and finished off with
two coats of Flex Coat epoxy.
This 8kg rod will serve a number of
applications and I reckon you’ll find it to be a
must to keep in your arsenal.Stand United
Bob Russo finds a light yet powerful blank for fishing deep
plastics for snapper – the United Composites CX 700XLH.
PROUDLY SPONSORED BYWITH BOB RUSSOILLUSTR ATION: CHRIS PAL ATSIDESS PECIFICATIONS
GUIDE SIZES AND SPACINGS
1 X KLSG 30
1 X KLSG20
1 X KLSG16
1 X KLSG12
1 X K TSG10
3 X K TSG8
TIP: ICMGST 8/3.0
BUT T CAP: BCBRC19
SPACINGS IN MM FROM TIP:110, 110, 130,
130, 150, 190, 24 0.
COST APPROX. $ 4 00
FISH SPECIES: SNAPPER, KINGFISH, ETCTip: ICMGST 8/3.0200mm cork foregripFuji DPSSD size 18 reel seatBCBRC19 but t cap350mm cork rear gripKTSG8KTSG8K TSG10KLSG12KLSG16KLSG20KLSG 30110 mm110 mm130 mm130 mm150 mm190 mm24 0 mm