With winter arriving my thoughts turn to gearing up for next year's tournament season so I thought I would share some of my experiences with certain products. I like to experiment with new things during this time of year and will shoot straight about my findings.
The first significant upgrade I have made to my game day arsenal in a long time is the purchase of some new custom built rods from T. Allen Rods. I had previously been sponsored by Falcon Rods and was using the same set of Coastal Series rods they had sent me several years ago. The Coastal Series is a workhorse but in the $100.00 range it is considered an upper-middle level rod and that was just fine with me.
Of course, as they say, ignorance is bliss and I never really questioned the performance of my rods. I have always been skeptical of folks who would spend $300-$400 on a rod (or reel for that matter) because I consider these items to be disposable assets. If I can get a couple of seasons worth of use out of a cheaper model, I feel like I have gotten my money's worth. With the Falcons, my durability expectation was far exceeded since some of them were pushing 7 years old.
I spent a couple of tournament days with my fishing buddies Chuck Dehlinger and Ron Hobbs last year and noticed that they were using some of the top end products (ie. G Loomis/Fenwick AV) and also noticed that they were getting a bit better distance than I was. I put it down more to line and lure weight than rod selection and didn't think much more about it. Then, in a chance meeting, I spoke with Terry Sturgeon about getting a custom rod for myself. Terry is a Jacksonville based guide and is the current president of the Florida Lure Anglers fishing club. He had been building good looking rods for the past couple of years for a company called TBS and a lot of guys had been raving about them.
Terry ended up being a wealth of knowledge about the technical aspects of casting motion, line/lure selection, guide placement, and reel size - things that all come together when setting up a custom rod for a client. I'm not such a technical guy when it comes to fishing, just put me out there and I will learn to use the equipment, but a lot of what he said made sense. He was just forming his new company T. Allen Rods so I decided to give one a shot.
My first selection was a 7'6" spinning rod and Terry suggested a medium heavy with a fast action. The first time out (incidentally while fishing a tournament with the before mentioned Chuck D.), I had all kinds of problems getting the rod to work for me. I spoke with Terry about it after the weigh in and he diagnosed the problem immediately - it was nothing to do with the rod but rather the way my casting motion was working. Since I was used to the Falcon which is a slower action rod with more flex, I was overloading the T. Allen and not getting the best performance from the blank.
The next time out I worked on my delivery and can now honestly say I have gained a great deal of extra distance and accuracy. An unbelievable amount. No kidding. I fished the IFA Redfish Tour event in Titusville and had a reel malfunction so I just picked up my old Falcon rigged with the exact same bait/reel/line and noticed at least 10' less distance right off the bat. Down there, it was all about long casts to spooky fish so the difference was important. Not to mention that with a shorter casting motion and lighter weight blank the fatigue factor is lower throughout the day.
I was so pleased I have since gotten my full tournament spread of 4 spinning and 2 baitcasting rods made by Terry and I couldn't be happier. Right down to the "money" green wraps that will hopefully call in some tournament paychecks. If my new Daiwa Zillionaires ever come in I will be rolling in style for sure.
The advantages of going with a custom rodbuilder are plain to see based on my experience. First off, you can get a top end rod for a significant discount. Depending on setup, a new T. Allen blank that is comparable to a top end G. Loomis GLX will start in the $170.00 range compared to the Loomis going over $300.00. Plus, the T. Allen was set up to match the reel, bait, and line I told Terry I planned to use - he has several different blanks to accommodate any situation. Finally, you get the one on one feedback that you aren't going to find from a large manufacturer - if I had not spoken with him after my first use of the rod, it would have been for sale on Craigslist. Now, I love it.
Don't trust me on the price details - contact Terry for up to the minute information about what he can do. http://www.tallenrods.com/ His website is under construction but eventually will show pricing and availability.
On another note, Jacksonville will host an HT Series "warm up" tournament on 1/17/2010 out of the Joe Carlucci ramp. The event won't count for points but the entry fee is only $200.00 and it is a good chance to check out the HT Series setup featuring a "hands off" measuring system and automated scales. http://www.htseries.com/ for details.
The first significant upgrade I have made to my game day arsenal in a long time is the purchase of some new custom built rods from T. Allen Rods. I had previously been sponsored by Falcon Rods and was using the same set of Coastal Series rods they had sent me several years ago. The Coastal Series is a workhorse but in the $100.00 range it is considered an upper-middle level rod and that was just fine with me.
Of course, as they say, ignorance is bliss and I never really questioned the performance of my rods. I have always been skeptical of folks who would spend $300-$400 on a rod (or reel for that matter) because I consider these items to be disposable assets. If I can get a couple of seasons worth of use out of a cheaper model, I feel like I have gotten my money's worth. With the Falcons, my durability expectation was far exceeded since some of them were pushing 7 years old.
I spent a couple of tournament days with my fishing buddies Chuck Dehlinger and Ron Hobbs last year and noticed that they were using some of the top end products (ie. G Loomis/Fenwick AV) and also noticed that they were getting a bit better distance than I was. I put it down more to line and lure weight than rod selection and didn't think much more about it. Then, in a chance meeting, I spoke with Terry Sturgeon about getting a custom rod for myself. Terry is a Jacksonville based guide and is the current president of the Florida Lure Anglers fishing club. He had been building good looking rods for the past couple of years for a company called TBS and a lot of guys had been raving about them.
Terry ended up being a wealth of knowledge about the technical aspects of casting motion, line/lure selection, guide placement, and reel size - things that all come together when setting up a custom rod for a client. I'm not such a technical guy when it comes to fishing, just put me out there and I will learn to use the equipment, but a lot of what he said made sense. He was just forming his new company T. Allen Rods so I decided to give one a shot.
My first selection was a 7'6" spinning rod and Terry suggested a medium heavy with a fast action. The first time out (incidentally while fishing a tournament with the before mentioned Chuck D.), I had all kinds of problems getting the rod to work for me. I spoke with Terry about it after the weigh in and he diagnosed the problem immediately - it was nothing to do with the rod but rather the way my casting motion was working. Since I was used to the Falcon which is a slower action rod with more flex, I was overloading the T. Allen and not getting the best performance from the blank.
The next time out I worked on my delivery and can now honestly say I have gained a great deal of extra distance and accuracy. An unbelievable amount. No kidding. I fished the IFA Redfish Tour event in Titusville and had a reel malfunction so I just picked up my old Falcon rigged with the exact same bait/reel/line and noticed at least 10' less distance right off the bat. Down there, it was all about long casts to spooky fish so the difference was important. Not to mention that with a shorter casting motion and lighter weight blank the fatigue factor is lower throughout the day.
I was so pleased I have since gotten my full tournament spread of 4 spinning and 2 baitcasting rods made by Terry and I couldn't be happier. Right down to the "money" green wraps that will hopefully call in some tournament paychecks. If my new Daiwa Zillionaires ever come in I will be rolling in style for sure.
The advantages of going with a custom rodbuilder are plain to see based on my experience. First off, you can get a top end rod for a significant discount. Depending on setup, a new T. Allen blank that is comparable to a top end G. Loomis GLX will start in the $170.00 range compared to the Loomis going over $300.00. Plus, the T. Allen was set up to match the reel, bait, and line I told Terry I planned to use - he has several different blanks to accommodate any situation. Finally, you get the one on one feedback that you aren't going to find from a large manufacturer - if I had not spoken with him after my first use of the rod, it would have been for sale on Craigslist. Now, I love it.
Don't trust me on the price details - contact Terry for up to the minute information about what he can do. http://www.tallenrods.com/ His website is under construction but eventually will show pricing and availability.
On another note, Jacksonville will host an HT Series "warm up" tournament on 1/17/2010 out of the Joe Carlucci ramp. The event won't count for points but the entry fee is only $200.00 and it is a good chance to check out the HT Series setup featuring a "hands off" measuring system and automated scales. http://www.htseries.com/ for details.
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