JeremyWrightt

Was told by my local tackle shop that Sleeper Craw is coming Summer of this year, and a few other baits (I think karashi igx, ixi shad tx, and that new nanahan +2 might even be spring, but we'll see if that actually comes into fruition. Looks like there's a new MH swimbait rod in the levante lineup too. 7'8 1/2-4 ounce. I bet that thing will be really popular when it lands over here. I could be wrong but I could have sworn JLS (Japan Lure shop) had a run of those magdraft ayu twitchers recently that sold out like instantly.

If you ever decide to go back to a normal braid to leader connection knot, try tying an ablright/RP but then doing a half hitch on top with your leader tag end and leader main line. Keep the leader main line tight, and pull the overhand down holding the tag end. (I even pull the tag end with pliers). This really compacts the knot and also avoids that issue you state about the leader tag facing forward and banging into all the guides. The leader tag ends up pointing off to the side and you can cut it completely flush.

I just had Mark Neflas build me a rod on the 808 blank. Not sure if it’s a different blank in some ways than the edge 808 (I don’t think it is) but this blank is POWERFUL. I’d call it a 5-10oz rod easily. Definitely not a 1/2-8. It’s stiffer than an LDC XH, and almost all rods I’ve seen (irod, phenix, etc) rated 2-8. When I met with Mark to get that rod wrapped, he was confident I could throw the 10” hudd and hinkle trout on it with no problems. There’s a guy in Europe that reviewed the 807, and I believe North Fork recommended he throw the 250 on the 807 not the 808. I’ll see if I can find that review and link it here. Jeremy

99% sure that the 145 comes stock with size 3’s. I’ve put both owner st-45s and st-56s (2x and 3x strength) in size 4’s, which actually helps the bait keep a good slow sink. Size 4 if anything looks a bit more streamlined to me.

Was curious if anyone has any real-world experience throwing this stick around. I've been told it fishes similarly to the destroyer mark 48, and keeps a fairly fast action tip. Was wanting this rod for 6&7 inch weedless baits, as well as some of my bigger wakes. Does anyone have any input as to whether the 1/2-4oz rating is fairly accurate? Also, if anyone has a rod they really like for fishing the 6" magdraft, 7" magslowl (weedless rigged), or just generally for fishing baits with a 6/0 and 8/0 beast/flashy please let me know. Thanks, Jeremy

For what it’s worth... I picked up a North Fork composites 808 swimbait blank, getting it wrapped up as a calico stick. Compared it with a few sticks that my rod builder had, and it’s got pretty much the identical taper and bend of the old cousins 859 a lotta guys used to like. The rod is rated 1/2 - 8 but it’s looking like it’ll throw 10oz no problem.

A few months back, I was looking to get a custom MH or ML swimbait rod wrapped up that would serve not only as a smaller bait rod ranging from hudd 68s to 175/178 sized glides, but would really be meant for targeting saltwater bass with weedless swimbaits and many of those same 6" soft and hard swimbaits I throw in the fresh. I couldn't find a ton of testimonials online or on here for Mark (@nefcustoms) and his work, but I loved the look of his rods and knew quite a few sticks locally were fishing his stuff. I reached out to a few guys via Instagram that used his rods and they all had positive things to say. When I first reached out to Mark, we talked for a while just generally about fishing, and we discussed the types of fishing (and baits) I wanted the rod to work for. He was super detailed with his recommendations, and I deliberated for a while over a couple blanks he recommended before settling on one. I really appreciate how easy it was to work with Mark and how meticulous he was, not just in terms of the finish of the rod, but in helping me with my first custom wrapped rod make sure I was getting exactly what I wanted instead of just pushing me on a particular rod and calling it a day. The rod looks, feels, and fishes fantastic. It's a Phenix USB ML blank, but the rod is so much lighter and more sensitive than the production version Phenix puts out. Like I said, I couldn't be happier with the rod and with how easy it was working with Mark.

Looks to me like TW made a mistake. If you look at the models on the left, the bottom 2 are 301K and 301HGK. Looks to me like 2 righty 2 lefty. July 19 for shipping/pre order looks pretty good...