http://www.kilwell.co.nz/saltwater_rods/LiveFibre_Snakeskin.html - http://www.kilwell.co.nz/saltwater_rods/LiveFibre_Snakeskin.html

They look quite tidy indeed, and a two piece is what I am after, but I havn't seen them in shops to have a bend with. In particular, I am looking at the PE8. 

Cheers

http://armbreakercustomrods.com/clearance.nxg - http://armbreakercustomrods.com/clearance.nxg

99.9% of the stickbait blanks/rods we make go overseas so there is not likely to be many people here that know much about them.

The lighter models wouldnt really be suitable here although there seems to be a few more people interested in flicking 20-50g lately.

The two mid range models which I thought would suitable here (pe8-pe10) have had mixed comments, from not enough power to they are a beast????

The main thing I've learnt from making the first pe8's with Kojak is Stickbait/Popper blank actions are a very personal thing.

My advice would be to go out with Mark, Lionel, Carl, or Phil and have a play with some of the gear they have. They probably dont have Kilwell gear on their boats but this form of fishing is not cheap.

To get the most out of stickbaits you need to match the rod with the lures you are going to use.

There are blanks that can cast a wide range of lure weights but that is a bit of a trap.  I doubt any of them can work that range effectively.

Spend some money on a charter trip with this style of fishing first Thomas. If your thinking of building rods, guide sizes and reel seat positions are critical to get the 70m out of a shorter rod if you go down that track.

 

Nev

 

 

When the blanks are tested to destruction you get a indication of what joins in various positions can handle, for example; Join at the top of the foregrip.

Pe8 = 17kg

Pe10 = 20kg

Pe12 = 25kg

From there you can alter the patterns to cast certain weighted lures.

With the materials available now you can design a blank that can handle 25kgs at the join regardless of whether it casts 70g or 300g with a second tip on the same butt.

 

I made casting blanks for Kojak that had one butt,3 tips and a joint that handled 17kg.

We do a similar thing for Synit that has a 25kg join for a different market but with the join at the reel seat which is stronger again.

 

If you asked most what main line they were using on their reels there would be few that cast with a true pe10-12 mainline.

 

Off the rocks its hard to leverage yourself against the fish with a high drag so it's going to come down to where you fish and what weight you are going to cast.

If you lock the drag on either the 8 or 10 you are going to lose some skin off your knees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 6kg 2pc model lifts 9kg at a stretch and the bigger models (90g blank) lift 18kg

These are new for us, they are made on new mandrels to accommodate the joins but also to move away from the parabolic action the previous range had.

There is two options, one using intermediate cloth and the other High modulus cloth which gives the blank a lot more back bone and a nice crisp feel for casting and setting the hook.

Both also use off axis Nano material.

 

The bigger models are for casting small poppers to GT in Aussie and black fin in the States. No doubt people will find other uses for them. 

The range is big in that their is 10 x 1&2pc 5'9" models and close to 18 1&2pc models in the 7'0" range. It has taken probably 2-3 years with the final ones only being approved two weeks ago.

I have no idea what will happen here as most of the development has been for overseas customers.

Yep these are without doubt the best 2pc blank design by far, all the prototypes we have built so far fish like a 1pc with the reverse joint system. Just need our other samples when Shane gets back and I'll build you one to fish up north with Lionel