Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3820 Sept 13-27 | Page 30
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Sept 13-27, 2019
Fantastic Fiberglass - Calstar’s T608
Baja Beast
Offshore Rod Series
GOLF CLUB HANDLE!
G
raphite and glass reinforced blank for strength and durability.
Fast tapered actions with outstanding fighting power.
Tungsten Carbide tip top to stop any line grooving problems.
Superior gunsmoke guides with double lock aluminum reel seat on heavy models.
AFTCO rollers on trolling model. New golf grip composite material is used on
handles for excellent gripping comforts. Extra long foregrip on rail rod models.
Metallic thread double wrapped guides. Hand-drawn art greatly enhances eye
catching in the store. 15 models to choose from.
The most value-packed offshore rods on the market.
DEALER INQUIRIES ARE WELCOME
WWW.AMERICANPREMIERCORP.COM
Tel: (909) 923-7070
E
GLS1
very fisherman knows that counter rotation is the secret to filling a spinning reel
without introducing line twists. It is the fisherman’s enemy which causes un-
wanted loops and tangles that decrease casting distance. Our revolutionary line
winding system with its rotating carriage automatically eliminates twists by turning the
line spool as the line is transferred to the spinning reel rotor spool. It works exception-
ally well with both spinning and casting reels. With bushings that come with it, this tool
holds flat spools, 1/4 lb. spools and 2 1/2” wide 1/2 lb spools in perfect alignment with
the reel. This amazing tool won THE BEST FISHING ACCESSORY AWARD IN NEW
PRODUCT CASE AT ICAST 2012 and received enormous industry praise.
It is so innovative that it is patented by USPTO, Patent No: US 8,925,855. B1.
LINE WINDING SYSTEM
ICAST SHOW WINNER
ZERO LINE TWIST!
BBX70
THE ULTIMATE
if the water gets a little choppy, a fast
tipped graphite rod will make a bait jump
too sharplyand appear unnatural. A flexy
fiberglass rod would smooth the action.
Many people chose to use a steelhead
rod to mooch with, and that turned out to
be problematic. A rod that was designed
to toss 1/4-1/2 oz. sinkers really isn’t the
right tool to hang
4-8 oz. mooching
weights from.
Steelhead rods are
also a little fragile
to be banging
around in a party
boat setting. There
had to be a better
solution.
I was working
at a whiz-bang
tackle shop at the
time along with
some of the finest
minds in local
fishing. We agreed
that the rod had to
be 100% fiber-
glass, not graphite
or graphite
composite. In
mooching, sensi-
tivity is of minor
importance as
the rod is in a rod
holder and one
isn’t feeling for a
bite.
Bucking the
trend for faster and
faster tapered rods
MS
there wasn’t really a great rod on the
market for mooching. You see, in
mooching, you couldn’t have a rod
that was too stiff in the tip, as when
a salmon is playing with your bait,
too stiff of a rod could discourage a
salmon from taking your bait deep
enough for you to hook it. Also,
s we are walking down the
path of fiberglass rods, I
have been ssked, “Do you have any
favorites?”
Of course I do!
First, a little background. Back in
the days of yore, when mooching for
salmon first started to get popular,
A
VOL.38 • ISS. 20
eason
S
n
o
m
l
a
S
Is Here!
15’ to 19’ Welded Windshield Boats
with more
and more
power in
the butt, we
opted for a
moderate
action bend.
A relatively
softer rod
by Steve
doesn’t pull
“Hippo”Lau
hooks from
a thrashing
salmon’s soft mouth. Of course, there
had to be enough power to handle the
mooching weights and a good sized
fish.
We were asking a lot from a blank,
but we had a feeling if anyone could
make the dream come true, it would
be Leon Todd, the design genius at
Calstar rods.
If I remember correctly, the design
of the blank was based on Calstar’s
own T198 blank. This blank is totally
a SoCal long range type design; it was
eight feet of a powerful butt section
tapering to a light tip. It was too
powerful for salmon mooching, more
suited to tuna and yellowtail fishing,
really, but it was a start.
We asked for a more powerful,
yet still light tip, far less oomph in
the butt, and a more noted moderate
action. It took Todd three tries before
coming up with the T608, but when
we unpackaged the blank for the first
time, we knew we had it right. It just
felt perfect.
As custom rod makers, we not
only marveled at the blank, but our
minds were going 100 miles per hour
thinking of other things we could
build with his blank. For us, a good
blank allows you to take something
off the tip, or the butt, or both tip and
butt to create a rod that is suitable for
other purposes.
This blank, at eight feet long, offered
many, many possibilities. As a favor
to us, and since it was our design,
we ask Todd if we could have the
exclusive distribution/sales of this
blank for one year before he
released it for public sale.
This he graciously agreed
to, and needless to say,
we sold ots of blanks.
Next time: what can
you do with a T608?
FISH SNIFFER
COUNTRY
New Easy Rider Sportfishing
Departures from Berkeley Marina
3712
Hand built in Fairfield, CA. Since 1947.
A SMALL FISHING BOAT
INLAND MARINE
CHICO POWER EQUIPMENT
COOS BAY MARINE
Sacramento, CA
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Chico, CA
Coos Bay, OR
(916) 737-2628
(925) 757-1714
(530) 893-3030
(541) 888-2535
POWER SPORTS MARINE
SALINAS VALLEY MARINE
HILLSIDE POWERSPORTS
Portland, OR
Salinas, CA
Lakeport, CA
(503) 206-7490
(831) 443-1616
(707) 263-9000
3720
www.klamathboats.com
N ow B ookiNg
SALMoN, HALiBUT, BASS
LiVE BAiT TRiPS
Rock & Ling Cod and Sturgeon
Reservations & Information
(707)422-2050
captainjgallia@neweasyrider.com
www.neweasyrider.com