lookin for some cheap bent butt rods

[swordfish123]

I'd like to trade out two of my rods for 2 bent butt 50/80s to give me a little variety. Our rod holders are extremely close together and when two 50wides are next to each other it makes it hard.. a nice bent butt rod would spread out the reels... plus they look sweeet and it woudl be nice to have somethign a little heavier so i can spool up my 50w with some braid for a heavier duty setup. i also like the way lures swim off them as opposed to using flat line clips

problem is almost all bent butt rods are 400+... anyone wanna make a trade or know of some more economical brands?

[freezorburn]

EBAY Try searching for Pinnacle Marine Outfitters.

I have not bought from yet but they bost a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee.

Might be worth a shot.

[swordfish123]

you know i have had my eye on those for quite some time... the only thing I see wrong with them is the roller guides... I am very fond of Aftco but those look close except for the tip top.

:idea: change the tip top..

Heres the link to those rods.. i'd like some feedback as to what hte experts think

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WDVW

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WDVW

The second set has foam grips so a little cheaper, but i think i'd spring for the leather

[Litetackleredneck]

I've seen the pinnical rods on ebay. Persionally i dont like the guides, to knock-off-ish. If it aint Aftco or alutecnos, i wont trust it. I assume the leather your talking about is the Tennis grip style. The only problem that I've heard is that they begin to peal off after a season or to... like i said heard, never had experience with them before.

[jerry]

Bobby Boyle had 2 matching bent butts in his shop that were sweet. Star rods, short butts for standup and big guides for wind ons. I dam near bought the pair but my cockpit is too short for permanent bent butts. I would like to get a pair with the interchangable butts to go back to straights when I need them.

[swordfish123]

Originally Posted by jerry

Bobby Boyle had 2 matching bent butts in his shop that were sweet.

do you know the price?

[Canyon Runner]

If you already are using a stand-up style rod with a uni-butt, you could just switch it out for a bent butt...? maybe you have thought of this, but maybe not, so i thought i would mention it...
Otherwise, to save some money I would look for a used rod that has a uni-butt, and then purchase a new bent butt to replace the existing and you have a sweet set-up!
Justin
Canyon Runner Sportfishing

[RiskTaker]

Seems like cheap and bent butt are diabolically opposed to one another.

Seems like Ebay is the way. That Pierre guy had a great idea for web usage didn't he?

Too bad you missed Capt. Ken's post only about two weeks back. I think he had just the angled unibutt portions for sale at an "E-bay" good price.

Have you tried browsing the Florida Sportman forum. Not sure about merchandise for sale but it is a busy place. Check the local tackle shops and ask too.

[swordfish123]

Originally Posted by RiskTaker

Seems like cheap and bent butt are diabolically opposed to one another.

This is true!

CR definatly had a good suggestion but unfortunatly my rods dont have a unibutt, or this would definatly had been the way to go. I contacted the guy who sells those pinnacle rods and he said not one out of 3000 people had compained about those guides.

He said they have a knot clearance of .185 inches which equals about 4.6mm. 400lb mono is only about 2mm so i dont think that clearance is a problem. im not sure what it is on the Aftco windon guides

[FinalPoint]

Canyon Runner - nice design!

[Canyon Runner]

i took a look at those pinnacles...those are a stuart guide set or an AMTAK guide set. Both cheap and uncomparable to aftco...hey have thinner frames, and are definately not the same craftsmanship!
A few other things to contemplate...the aftco wind-on guides are HUGE! I don't really reccomend them for a stand-up rod under an 80lb class rod used with an 80lb class reel... they drastically affect the prperties of the way the standup rod bends, ie. slowing the action. Not to mention a set of WO's cost 70% more than the aftco HD's...
I would look a something with ring guides...definately no clearance problems there and could be the compramise that gets you the bent butt at the price you want!
Another idea could be to add a few more rod holders...then you wouldn't really need different rods?
Hope this helps...
FP..thanks its something we have been working on for a while, i think it turned out great!
justin
Canyon Runner Sportfishing

[swordfish123]

CR-- thanks for all the input. The problem with out boat is that it is almost a sportfisherman, but not really. Sea Ray 480 sedan bridge. we only have about 3 ft of gunnel on either side on which to mount rod holders. Unfortunatly the first set that was already put in they smacked right in the center ](*,) , leaving only about a foot to mount the other rod holder.

I will keep looking around on Ebay for some type of compromise. I build fly rods but have never built a biggame rod. Im sure if i knew the process I could do it, and it sure would save a lot of $$$. (im a college student...its a problem..)

btw CR--I am turning in my application to the coast guard in a week or so to get my captains license. I bought a self study kit to help me prepare for the test. Thanks for your help in getting me on the right track!

[FinalPoint]

Yeah CR, thanks. Swordfish123 encouraged me to buy the study kit he got. Now I will soon be getting my license also. Oh no, these two guys with Captain's licenses...Stephen, we are bringing down the integrity of captains everywhere.

[RiskTaker]

Hey Justin:

Last year I decided to get the Aftco Wind-on roller guides attached to a crowder su5060 (6 ft.) stand-up rod with the Aftco Unibutt, then for an extra perk I did it, x2. On these rods I have Penn 50 TWs but with 80 lb. line. Everytime I look at these rods I keep thinking that I have the most formidable stand-up tackle on the planet. (Not to say that other makes and models cannot match the same quality configuration). I cannot say that I notice any performance issues w.r.t. rod bending, even with a mid-sized stand-up rod. But you must really handle various makes side by side to recognize the subtle differences. I agree with you that those roller guides are quite large: but I have absolutely no complaints with them. Even a year later, I think I made the best decision and would even recommend this configuration for people that are considering swordfishing and/or using wind-on guides. I am chomping for the day when I can get another one or two.

http://www.crowderrods.com/BlueWater.html

The wind-on guides are a $65 up-charge from the Aftco HD roller guides on this particular brand of rod (List pricing). I do not often disassemble the unibutt and the reel section but if I ever chose to switch to a bent butt; then it would be No problem Mon.

I think those large rollers work very well for handling the waxline marks as well as knots of the latex balloons that are sometimes wound right onto the spool.

My suggestion, if a tight budget limits you, is to save up and buy one good piece of tackle. Over time you should be happy with a quality piece of gear, and it should hold up over time, then you can add a little bit more as time goes. (Just be sure to tie those rods to the boat, so they don't fly out of the boat any faster than you can get good stuff into the boat.)

[swordfish123]

Originally Posted by FinalPoint

Yeah CR, thanks. Swordfish123 encouraged me to buy the study kit he got. Now I will soon be getting my license also. Oh no, these two guys with Captain's licenses...Stephen, we are bringing down the integrity of captains everywhere.

Lets just hope none of our clients ask us to do overnight trips! :mrgreen: 0123
(i am planning on doing yacht delivery work)

[Canyon Runner]

FP...yeah, i do handle a lot of rods, but the big difference is that I handle many of the rods without any guides on them already...i build standup rods in my free time :lol: But you wouldn't believe the difference heavy guides with a large foot print make on the action of the blank...in some ways subtle, but in some instances it can really hinder the action of a rod. For instance, aftco says those WO guides can be used on a 30# class rod. A good stanup rod with a full load should shut off above the first guide...with most of the action in the tip section...adding WO's to a 30lb class rod IME moves the shut off point into the foregrip, defeating a large purpose of the stand-up rod itself!
123...if you want to get into building your own I would be happy to show you how...if you make other rods already it really isn't a big deal, just let me know
Good to see you guys getting your tickets! I will grow two more sets of eyes to watch out for you both! just kidding!
Justin
Canyon Runner Sportfishing

[swordfish123]

Justin..

I'd love to learn how to build big game rods. I understand just about everything in the process except how to mount a ferrule of the unibutt to the rod blank. With fly rods, if the blank doesnt fit the reel seat you just use masking tape to compensate for a blank with a slightly smaller diameter than the Inner diameter of a reel seat... i dont think i'd trust some masking tape to hold a billfish! Also, it seems like theres only a couple inches of the blank in the ferrule, im guessing this is enough to hold it on there :?:

also, do you coat the entire rod with 2part epoxy?

[RiskTaker]

Justin:

Seems like you may be right-on about the bending action. On my 50-80 lb. class rod with the big Aftco Wind-on guides; With a big fish loaded on with strong (but not full) drag, say 18-24 lbs. as a reasonable guess, the bending action goes all the way down to the stand-up grip area, to the point, fishing Line will nearly be touching the rod handle, and certainly taking the place where you would like a hand to be. I am wearing gloves so I deal with it: I always thought it was natural for the bending to work its way most of the way down the rod to some extent. (and you only REALLY notice it when the line come closer to the rod than when away, like for spinner rod action.

Certainly the stand-up style grip rises much higher up the rod blank, so would be much more noticeable than a standard ""trolling"" style rod.

So if I understand your statements correctly, the big lengthy footprints of the Wind-on guides, compared to a smaller length of another style guide( eye or reg. roller guide) will shift the bending further down the rod. And I guess it stiffens some of the play action near the tip.

Did I get this correct? If so, would a longer stand-up help to compensate say 6-0" bumped to a 6-6".

[Canyon Runner]

123....let me gather some tips for you and I will shoot you a IM later. There should be no reason why you can't build your own rods! Do you have a power wrapper?

RT...yes, you have that correct! I don't think moving to a longer rod will help that at all...in fact it will put the angler under more pressure from the longer rod. Some of the things I do when building rods with WO guides are shorten the length of the foot and smoothly file the foot to make the foot section a little more flexible by taking some excess material off. Those guides are really overbuilt, and this seems to help. The other thing i like to see are those WO guides used on todays high quality composite blanks, ie. graphite/glass hybrids. Like Calstar graphiter balnks...these blanks have an all graphite section that runs from the butt to about 1.5' from the tip, then the tip section is fiberglass. Graphite is a lot stiffer and provides much more backbone in a rod, but still a nice soft tip with the glass to absorb the pressure of a fighting fish.
Justin
Canyon Runner SPortfishing

[swordfish123]

that woudl be awesome, i appreciate it 0123

[Captain Fred Archer]

Guys,

Before letting you in on what I at least consider one of the most remarkable new fishing tackle products in decades (that's right, decades!), here are a few comments on the very expensive, but way worth it to serious big game fishermen bent butt rods that no one is going to need anymore. My charter boat is equipped with something on the order of twenty bent butts. Each has a dedicated reel on it because swapping back and forth between bents and straights is a pain in the neck. My boat also has the chair that bent butts are a nightmare to fish without and the bucket harness needed to use a bent butt in a chair properly.

I used to run all of my high and regular speed wahoo outfits on bents and all of my eighty and one thirty rigs, too. The guys who are saying so are right; quality bent butt rods are very expensive, but they are worth it. The fact that every big pro boat runs them also tells you that the guys who say that they are THE way to troll, drift and fight big fish are also right on. But the truth is, they are almost useless if you don't have the expensive fighting chair, bucket harness (my chair is a Release Unlimited and my harness is made by them too - $750 for the harness. You do not want to know what the chair costs!) AND THE ROOM FOR THE CHAIR, you were locked out of the bent butt game. It was for the rich guys with the big boats only. WAS.

Although they are no longer needed (and I'm not kidding here), I have to comment on those rods on E-bay that some of you are looking at. First and foremost, a beginning bid of $125 on a rod with a genuine AFTCO bent Unibutt is a blatant sign that the butt is bogus and not the real thing. Hell, a bent Unibutt alone costs almost as much, maybe even more than that! On top of that, Unibutt is a registered trademark of AFTCO Corporation and the use of that name without their permission violates United States Trademark Law - a serious matter in itself. The further likeyhood that those bogus butts are probably made overseas, thus robbing U.S. workers of their livelyhoods frosts the hell out of me. There is too much of that sort of thing going on and it is hurting hard working Americans all over the country.

Just like I only buy and use line and leader made by American companies with clear, written policies that they refuse to sell longliners (think about that one for a little while before you buy sportfishing line from a longline supplier!), I refuse to have anything to do with these companies that knock off products developed and made here, then bring inferior copies into this country and foist them off as the same quality and even use the registered trademarks of legitimate U.S. manufacturers to try to make their junk appear to be of equal quality.

Those rods are exact knock offs of the Penn international Series with slight cosmetic changes. You can bet your bottom dollar that those guides are most likely the same sort of knocked off junk as the so-called Unibutts, as are the blanks and everything else about them likely to be.

I have Penn international rods on my boat. I do not recommend them for any hard fishing boat because of the leather foregrips. As noted by one or two folks here, they do deteriorate from sunlight, heat and water. None are any good for a leather product. Penn has a white series, the name of which I forget right now, that is a real workhorse set of glass rods that are terrific. They have foam grips. Seeker makes a series of rods that I designed for them that (naturally) I like.

YOU DO NOT NEED THE BENT BUTT VERSIONS ANYMORE! In fact, you can use the very same stand up rods that you are using right now. YOU DO NOT NEED A CHAIR ANYMORE! It would only get in the way, even if you had room for it. AND OF COURSE, YOU DON'T NEED A BUCKET HARNESS. Whatever kind of belts you are using right now will work fine on your new "Bent butt/standup rods" that you have and are fishing with right now. AND YOU DO NOT NEED DEDICATED REELS FOR THOSE BENT BUTTS THAT YOU NO LONGER NEED. Just use the reels that you are using right now, period!

Sounds good, but impossible, right? Well it ain't! I take you back to the beginning of my post to that remarkable new product that I spoke of. I have already taken up too much space here and I do not want to be accused of spamming this great product here. It is WAY too good for something like that to happen.

If you want the details, you can email me thru this site. If you don't know how to do that yet, there is information to teach you how. When I get your mail I will send you the skinny on this revolutionary new product that you will otherwise not find out about for the months it is going to take for all of the new product raves to start showing up in the saltwater mags. This product is ready and being sold. In fact, the second shipment is being gobbled up as I write this. The first production run sold out in no time based solely on word-of-mouth. The manufacturer, a legitimate American who is a fellow charter captain and as far as I'm concerned a genius who has saved us all many thousands of dollars and made smaller boats the equal and even superior to the big gunners, doesn't want the word to get out to too many people because the initial production quantities are in the hundreds, not the thousands that are going to be needed.

As some of you know, I am a Purple Fever victim and I regard this site as a very special place. I don't want any of you being deceived into buying junk, nor do I want to see you spend a pile of money on bents and maybe even chairs, etc. when they have gone the way of the doo-doo bird.

I got the maker to let me tell you guys about this product. I'm not trying to trick you or anything like that. This is a house rocker and if you are even thinking about bent butt performance, you need to know about it. And guess what? When you do, you will see that this bent butt/standup rod thing is even BETTER than regular bent butts! I have been using these puppies on my big boat for over a year now and you know what? I wish that I had NEVER bought all of those bent butts!

There you have it, guys. The next step is to let me know that you want to find out more, get the information and here's the best part, decide for yourself if what I am saying is true. That's about as good as it gets, if you ask me.

Be forewarned, though! If you decide you want these babies, DO IT NOW! If you don't and you have to wait for the next production run, do not blame me! I warned you right here, right now.

[Canyon Runner]

fred, nice post...but i don't think anyone on here uses a chair, bucket harness or the bent butt styles you are talking about. We are talking about the UBSC, meaning...uni-butt SHORT curved butt. A bent butt, but short, very short, meant for standup fishing. I frequenty use this style when stand-up fishing with or without a stand-up harness, a breeze...why not post some pics of your latest design?
Justin
Canyon Runner Sportfishing

[RiskTaker]

Justin:

Since you have the knowledge and the acronymn lingo for these rods.

What is your suggestion for an appropriate rod, for a rod mounted electric reel? A long style bent butt or is there a special one just for deep dropping style. (Probably a rod tip with line guide, etc.)

This is all new stuff for me, so I am fishing for info. right now without knowing how to fish yet: but I will.

Capt. Fred: Is it here yet?

[Captain Fred Archer]

Justin,

I agree and said that only big boat guys - and wealthy ones to boot - use the chairs and bucket harnesses that are the best way of using bent butts both safely and comfortably. I have a charter captain buddy who runs all shorty Uni's on his heavy gear. He is captain Tim Marking of Intimidator. He visits here occasionally and can tell you about these new things. He has THREE of them on his boat (he muscled an extra one from the inventor!) and has been testing them for a year and a half now. So yes, you can run true bents with them, but why when there's a far better alternative? Like me, Tim never would have bought all of those shorty bents if this product had been around when he did. I have pictures of his setup in the book, but I'm not too clear on just how to post photos on this site.

The difference with the new product is that bent butts simply aren't needed anymore, period! As you know, the shorty uni's are expensive as hell on their own and those who don't have them still have to face buying new, expensive rods if they want to "get bent" AND if they don't want to have to be screwing around changing reels back and forth, they need new, dedicated reels to go with the sticks. That's more than a couple of grand, right there and we aren't done.

It takes a special standup belt and harness to fight a fish right with a bent butt, shorty or otherwise and they aren't cheap. Plus, I hope that anyone who is harnessing up to a big game fish of any kind, but especially Elvis and threshers is hooked up to a Mate Saver - especially if he fishes on rough nights! We're up to four grand or so right there, without the chair and bucket.

Don't need any of 'em. Big boat, medium boat, little boat. Rich guy, middle income guy or book writer or charter captain and other poor people, a complete waste of money.

No kidding.

Amazing!

And not a lot of money.

Except for Tim's and mine. Nobody has enough money to buy OURS!

[ReelEstate]

This guy is out of sunrise florida and makes a nice reasonably priced rod. He uses all aftco components.


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WDVW

[freezorburn]

Originally Posted by ReelEstate

This guy is out of sunrise florida and makes a nice reasonably priced rod. He uses all aftco components.


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WDVW

hey thanks, I've been looking for some good rods too! That is a great deal.

[atlantacapt]

im interested in your stand up rod harness idea (i assume thats what it is anyway). pm me details.