Dan'O Custom Rods has been bugging me to get a custom rod from him so I decided to stop by and see what he had to offer. He was showing me some of the typical graphite blanks and then he pulled out a fiberglass one that he wasn't sure what to do with. I started playing with it and was intrigued although it definitely needed some fine tuning so I got him to trim it up how I thought would be good and this is how it turned out when all said and done.
One of the coolest features is the titanium recoil guides(that you see on high end rods like say G. Loomis NRX). I haven't tried these in cold weather yet but I think they are going to be awesome as the flexibility should make it really easy to break the ice build up off guides.
As mentioned it is a fiberglass rod, what makes it special in my eyes is that it has a soft tip but then transforms quickly into a heavier rod. Here you can see the soft tip.
And here you can see how the rod looks loaded up. Note I had it hooked to the ice with drag tightened up and was putting substantial force on the rod.
I wanted to really try it out and get a good feel for the rod before I gave this feedback so I hit up a few lakes and after catching 4 species ranging from 8-12 inch perch, 16-23 inch walleye, 18-24 inch pike and ~14-15 inch rainbows(burbot caught on another rod) I felt I had tested it out pretty good and I had also made a dent in my empty freezer too!
Here is a little video of the rod in action on a rainbow. As you can see the sensitive tip is great for picking up the slightest nibble and that on these smaller fish the main part of backbone isn't needed and the tip does most of the work fighting head shakes etc.
http://vid207.photobucket.com/albums...murtyl/Rod.mp4
I am very happy with this rod as a finesse rig for lures up to 1/4 oz(3/8 ok too but if going that heavy probably better using a heavier rod too). It is like having 3 rods in one(ML tip, M middle and MH base) and the more pressure the fish exerts the harder this rod fights back. To me this is important because I am usually fishing light lures when I go out after our big rainbows and also often when walleye fishing.
You can't buy a rod like this in stores so if anyone wants a similar one give him a shout and tell him you want a rod like Ravyak's. He can customize it with different handle styles, threadwork etc if you want.
Custom Rod Slay Days
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