WE have had a look at a few of the Samurai rod blanks over the last six months, and for good reason: they are top little performers, readily available and moderately priced for a quality graphite blank. The range primarily caters for light spin and baitcast, from little two-kilo sticks to more substantial four- to six-kilo outfits.
One of the beauties about being a rod builder is that you get to dabble with so many different blanks and the various components that go with them. The variations that you can achieve with some blanks is part of what makes building you own fishing rod an interesting past time. I don't know about you, but I get a lot out of making my own rods, even if it does cost more.
The pre-Christmas period is always busy for us, with the typical holiday and Christmas present sales. But afterwards, things slow right down and you can find your self twiddling your thumbs a bit. I actually look forward to this period as it gives us a bit more time to go fishing and play around with a few blanks, coming up with a new model or two.
Since the Australian Bass Tournament kicked off, there has been a growing demand for longer graphite baitcasters from six- to seven-foot. The only problem is: there aren't many blanks available to do the job.
Butt diameters are too big, tapers are too fast or the rod is just too heavy for the purpose required. There are a few imported built-up rods around the traps as the longer bass rods have been in vogue in the States for quite a while.
THE SAMURAI
The Samurai 006 blank is seven feet long and suitable for lines of two- to four-kilo. The only problem for a baitcaster is that it is a bit soft in the tip, being better suited as a spin rod.
The taper of the blank is quite slow, although it does lock up reasonably well in the lower section. With a slow taper blank and a fine diameter tip section there is the scope to cut a bit out of the tip, reducing the softness of the blank and moving the load further towards the tip - more like what you like to see in a baitcaster.
Cut back the rod a few centimetres, cautiously, then a few more, all the time being conscious of how the action is changing and making sure you don’t end up with a dirty great big tip diameter requiring a substantial guide tip sized to fit.
Fourteen centimetres were eventually trimmed from the tip, leaving a tip diameter of 2.4mm. That is a lot of trimming, and it did change the action considerable; I still had tip action and the overall rod hadn’t become a stiff little tomato stake.
With the tip section gone, the blank becomes ideal for fishing three- and four-kilo line or, as many prefer, 12lb braid. Just remember to set the drag according to the rating of the blank, not the heavier braid often used on light baitcaster.
The trick with the rod now is to change the action as little as possible. This is achieved by the style of the guide you put on the rod. The wrong selection soon turns a crisp rod into a tip-heavy, soggy one, far different from the blank you started with.
GUIDES
A little over twelve months ago, Fuji introduced a few new guides with different frames and smaller, lighter rings to their range. The materials in these particular guides hadn’t change, just their construction.
The guides we used were the UNSG and LNSG, the first being a single-foot version and the latter being the double-foot version of the same guide. Both feature a silicon ring and gun smoke frame.
The frame of the guide is in fact 35% lighter than its predecessor, the NSG, and the portion of the frame that encompasses the guide ring has been changed to a more rounded profile, protecting the guide ring very nicely.
It really is a superb style: nice and light, strong and flexible - all the properties we were looking for on this job. These guides have a lower profile, especially the single foot UNSG guide. We ended up using nine guides and a tip, and the line follows the curve of the loaded rod beautifully.
You may think it a bit odd that I’ve used so many No. 8 guides and a No. 6 tip. The reason for this is that the No. 7 UNSG is a very low profile guide, almost sitting on the blank, and the size 8 gave me the height I needed to clear the line of the blank when loaded; being small, they don’t look oversized.
THE TIP
As far as the No. 6 tip goes, I would have preferred to use a No. 7, but these are presently not available - although I believe they will be soon.
THE BUTT
The choice of butt material is up to you. I ended up putting cork on mine, maintaining the characteristic light weight and maximum feel.
Fuji s TPSM - 16 trigger reel seat and a BRC 19mm butt cap were used. Bindings were kept to a minimum, except for a few tasteful metallic trims.
While I must confess to having caught only a few small spangled perch in North Pine Dam, and one pan-sized flathead, I’m very happy with the rod. There were no problems casting small lures or flicking out live shrimps, and I’m confident the rod has the power to turn a few of those bigger fish I hope to catch.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Blank - Samurai 006 with 14cm cut off tip.
Butt - 7" cork
Winch - Fuji TPSM - 16
Foregrip - 4" cork
Cap - BRC 19
Tip - Fuji FST 6/2.4
Guides - UNSG 8 - 95; 8 -100; 8 - 107; 8 - 112; 8 - 120
- LNSG 10 - 132; 10 - 147; 12 - 190; 16 - 220
