GTPopping.com - Giant Trevally, GTPopping, Topwater & GT Fly-Fishing Resource
Topwater Caranx Ignobilis: Giant Trevally (GT) => Tackle & Techniques => Topic started by: Ross Smith on March 12, 2012, 12:57:54 PM
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l am new to this forum therefore this is my first posting, l need a little input regarding seed popping blanks. l am looking to custom build a seed popping rod in a 8 foot 3 inch length, l beleive there where two at this length available as two peice blanks via an importer in Brisbaine who now no longer imports seed blanks. l purchased the GT-P83H which is the heavier of the two and l think l should have bought the lighter of the two, the GT-P83. The lighter blank would probably suit my Dogfight better loaded with 50 - 60lb braid, does anyone know where l might buy the lighter one as l may unload this heavy one l have. Looking forward to any assistance you can give, Cheers
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No one is currently importing Seed as far as I am aware, Ross
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Thankyou for that Brandon, l will have to keep looking maybe from over seas for a GT-P83, l also have a GT-P76 two piece seed popper blank but l think this is a bit light for my dogfight. That means l have one thats too heavy and one that's too light, l need the one thats just right.
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Im not sure if these guys still get them. Had spoken to them a while ago...
http://www.gccr.com.au/products_blanks_seed.html (http://www.gccr.com.au/products_blanks_seed.html)
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Thankyou Andrew, l believe gccr where the importers based in Brisbaine that used to import SEED blanks from Japan but not any more, gccr imported both popping blanks and jigging blanks. Regarding the GT-P83 two peice blanks that l'm after If someone out there has had the misfortune of breaking one of these at the ferrule as l have heard has happened and the top section is still OK, l would be interested in hearing from you.
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Hi Ross,
try contacting these guys [email protected] they are the singapore based dealers for Seed, in fact used to supply the australian importer.
yes the blank you speak of is a real brute, one of their earlier designs. their newer ones like the 7'10" pop paradise and 7'6" pop witch are much nicer
hope that helps
cheers
Andrew
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Thankyou Andrew, l will contact the guys in Singapore for these SEED blanks, l was not aware of the new SEED models pop paradise and pop witch. l will ask them for the specifications for each and post the details here on this forum when l get them, thanks again.
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no probs, they also do a lighter PE 4-6 blank, GT76HP.
Peter from GCCR brought quite a few of the 7'10" and 7'6" ones in so there's a few out there, may pay to email him and see which shops were ordering a few, there may be stock floating around at places like campbells in WA.
i have built a few of the 7'10" pop paradise ones up. rated PE8-10 and 150g. while setting up the guide spacings i did some load tests, 10kg >90deg. dead lift off the tip loading nicely. weight is good and casts very well. IMO right now the best GT blank available to rod builders
of note there are some 1 piece blanks well suited to popping in the United Composites lineup, and they are just about to release their dedicated 2 piece popping range going to be 7'8" or 7'10" i think. they were slated for release a while ago but have been held back as they are working hard on getting the butt joint spot on. 100% graphite in different modulus along with a dual helical layup, they should be the goods. i build a fair number of their regular style blanks up, some of the lighter spin and baitcast models i have built are the best i've come across for our styles of fishing.
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Sounds good Andrew, thats a few to look at and consider, l have one of the lighter SEED popper blanks its a GT-F76P two pc PE3-6 that l was thinking of building up but l think its to light for my dogfight. It looks like your suggested 7' 10'' pop paradise may be the way to go being rated at PE8-10.
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G'day all, as lm looking at having a SEED popper rod built for a Dogfight, l would like to know if anyone has either a SEED pop witch or a pop paradise they could coment on. l live on the north coast of NSW and if theres anyone up this way with either of these rods l would very much like to eyeball them. Cheers
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l have not heard back from the SEED rod blank dealers in Singapore as yet, regarding the availability of SEED blanks. l will send another email to them and try to get a reply, when and if they do reply l will post results for all to see.
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G'day all, as lm looking at having a SEED popper rod built for a Dogfight, l would like to know if anyone has either a SEED pop witch or a pop paradise they could coment on. l live on the north coast of NSW and if theres anyone up this way with either of these rods l would very much like to eyeball them. Cheers
Mate try to get in touch with David Rapley (a member on here) he has built both. I doubt he could help you acquire one but he will have a good non bias opinion on the blanks.
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Thankyou Warwick, l will look David up, cheers.
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l have not heard back from the SEED rod blank dealers in Singapore as at this date.
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I have a friend who travels to Japan on business regularly, does anyone know if the Seed blanks are readily available at the japanese shops?
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can't help you there Nathan, but i have sourced them from sabre strokers singapore in the absence of a local distributor.
the United Composites blanks out of the USA might interest you, they do a range of 2pc 10' popping blanks for shore popping and are about to release a new lineup of 2pc 7'10" blanks, here's a shot of the last proto being loaded, PE10 model i think
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Thanks Andrew,
If you dont mind me asking, what does your source in Singapore charge per blank? Very interested in getting my hands on a few of the Seeds.
As far as United Composites goes, i've had a bittersweet time in dealing with them. Last year i ordered 4 of the 10' buttjoints 100XXH2J. It took them 6 months to get them to me after i had been promised about a dozen times that i would get them in "two weeks". Then once they finally came in, none of the joints fit remotely close to acceptable. The ferrules weren't built uniformly and the blanks just rattled around in them. I sent them all back, and then it took another 2 months to get my replacements. One of which was perfect, the other two still were unacceptable. Then finally after sending them back again, i received my blanks that were fit properly. UGH, what a nightmare!
But after all that, i have to say that the blanks are some seriously nice products (once they got the ferrule corrected). The 100XXH is an animal of a blank capable of throwing and popping up to 220g lures (170g is sweet) . It will blast the biggest poppers you can find, which is rare for a 10' blank of any standard.
Once United releases their 7'10" blanks i'm curious to see how they perform. From what i have seen from them so far, i feel that they will weigh in a bit heavy, but have enormous power through the back 2/3 of the blank.
What i am most impressed about with the United Comp line, is that the blanks have completely no detectable spine! Which should translate to uniformity of stress distribution throughout the blank = less breakage under high load. After building and handling hundred and hundreds of blanks, this is the first company i've seen that has produced a blank without a detectable spine. COOL!
Also interested in getting my hands on a Phenix Titan popping blank. Supposed to be a PE10 rod with a carbon/kevlar material made in California, USA.
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Hi Nathan,
I can assist to help you check the prices of the SEED popping blanks. Will get you the model, PE rating, length and costs.
Allow me to come back to you tomorrow.
Cheers
Rob
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G'day Rob, If its no trouble are you able to get the specifications and prices on the two 8 ft 3 in, two peice SEED popping blanks and post it here for all to see.
cheers and thanks.
Ross.
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sure thing, Ross. No worries.. stay tuned!
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Hi Ross, took a quick lunch and headed down to Sabre. They have quite a wide range of blanks but unfortunately, they do not have any 2 piece blanks. I tried to take pictures of the blanks but it was simply too little space to really get a shot of it; therefore, I took photos of the specifications and costs (blank only). I know it's not a great job but hope it will help you along some way.
I've also spoken to the lady boss of Sabre (Mrs Poh - Brandon, she sends her regards to you) and I've informed them that perhaps they can consider joining our humble forum (maybe as an affiliate?) to answer any queries/sales of Seed blanks, Carpenter rods (they are the sole authorized distributor of Carpenter rods in Singapore) including Halco lures (they too are the sole authorized distributor of Halco in Singapore) amongst other tackle. I'll keep you guys updated on this again. Cheers
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Excellent Robin, it is a great job you have done and thankyou these pics of the SEED blanks give us all something to think about.
Its good to see the 7 ft, 6 in, pop witch is still available. The shorter 2 piece blanks in the pics are most probably SEED jigging blanks, its good to see Sabre there in Singapore have popping and jigging blanks, and thankyou to Mrs Poh Brandon.
Cheers and thanks again, Ross.
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Hi Nathan,
i have had long chats with the oz distributor (who is also a part owner) of UC, and yes they have had issues with getting the butt joint right. because of that he stopped bringing in the 10' range and delayed the release of the 7'10" until they got it right. he assures me it is all sorted now but i'm waiting to receive a sample before i can comment
regarding the no spine thing, i know what you mean and i believe it has something to do with the dual helical layup. i build alot of their lighter blanks and quite often they exhibit 2 opposing backbones also.
re the Phenix, i thought the blanks weren't rolled stateside?
cheers
Andrew
Thanks Andrew,
If you dont mind me asking, what does your source in Singapore charge per blank? Very interested in getting my hands on a few of the Seeds.
As far as United Composites goes, i've had a bittersweet time in dealing with them. Last year i ordered 4 of the 10' buttjoints 100XXH2J. It took them 6 months to get them to me after i had been promised about a dozen times that i would get them in "two weeks". Then once they finally came in, none of the joints fit remotely close to acceptable. The ferrules weren't built uniformly and the blanks just rattled around in them. I sent them all back, and then it took another 2 months to get my replacements. One of which was perfect, the other two still were unacceptable. Then finally after sending them back again, i received my blanks that were fit properly. UGH, what a nightmare!
But after all that, i have to say that the blanks are some seriously nice products (once they got the ferrule corrected). The 100XXH is an animal of a blank capable of throwing and popping up to 220g lures (170g is sweet) . It will blast the biggest poppers you can find, which is rare for a 10' blank of any standard.
Once United releases their 7'10" blanks i'm curious to see how they perform. From what i have seen from them so far, i feel that they will weigh in a bit heavy, but have enormous power through the back 2/3 of the blank.
What i am most impressed about with the United Comp line, is that the blanks have completely no detectable spine! Which should translate to uniformity of stress distribution throughout the blank = less breakage under high load. After building and handling hundred and hundreds of blanks, this is the first company i've seen that has produced a blank without a detectable spine. COOL!
Also interested in getting my hands on a Phenix Titan popping blank. Supposed to be a PE10 rod with a carbon/kevlar material made in California, USA.
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hi Ross, not a problem at all. let me know if you need any other Singapore-based info.. cheers
Rob
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Has anyone tried or seen the OTI ( Ocean Tackle International) range of popper rod blanks from US,
they have two at 8ft 6in in two piece called "Tuna Sniper" available as made up rods or as rod blanks.
l have heard they are similar in action to the 8ft 3in SEED blanks.?????
Cheers Ross.
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I now understand that the OTI blanks are more parabolic than the SEED blanks.
Cheers Ross.
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Has anyone seen or tried the new ? .... United composites-USA .....GUSA Sidewinder Series, 2 pc popping blanks
They have four models on there website - SW 710M-2J ..... PE 3-5 - 7ft 10in long. (all four)
under GUSA Sidewinder Series - SW 710H-2J ..... PE 6-8
- SW 710XH-2J ... PE 8-10
- SW 710XXH-2J . PE10-12
Cheers Ross.
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Has anyone used any custom built popping rods and what blanks where they built on.
Cheers Ross.
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Hi Ross,
re the new GUSA popping blank range, expect them to be available after the AFTA trade show in 2 weeks time. in the meantime i'll see if i can get an update for you. i've been dealing with Peter from GCCR for 8 years or so and i can say it is very good to have a local distributor for availability and backup. the technology and build quality of United Composites is first rate, so providing they have got their tapers and actions right they should be an excellent alternative for rod builders
cheers
Andrew
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Thankyou for that Andrew, l look forward to the update.
The blanks you speak of may be the "SIDEWINDERS" l have heard about.
Cheers Ross.
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Has anyone heard anything regarding the availability of Sidewinder popping blanks by UNITED COMPOSITES USA. The Sidewinder blanks are 7 ft 10in, 2 piece. ????? ...... l am looking to custom build one and pair it up with the new Dogfight 7000H.
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Wassup Ross,
I spoke with Kevan from United Composites last week; he is their primary blank builder. He had just finished building me 6 10'6" butt joint blanks for GT shore rods. We spoke for a few minutes about their line of Sidewinder Blanks. I asked him if they were designed as Tuna/GT combo rod like most of what is readily available from some blank builders now (Temple Reef, Black Hole, Race Point, Phenix, etc...) He told me that they are designed with only GT in mind and do not have the parabolic action of a tuna blank. That was a good thing to hear. As Kevan told me: "They're really F***in stiff man!"
As for availability with most UC blanks, you may have to wait a while to get one once you put it on order. Does UC have another factory in AUS as well as here in the USA? For their factory in California, it has taken me anywhere from 3-6 months to get a special order blank once i have placed the order. Kevan has just told me that they have hired some additional staff, and that blank production time should be becoming quicker. As it is now, he said to expect a 6-8 week wait period to get a Sidewinder Blank on special order. They are backed up on production enough now, that they are building most of their blanks to order from the customer, and not building to fill stock in their factory.
If you can call around to enough shops you just may get lucky and find one or two Sidewinders available. Most likely you'll have to place an order and wait, as Kevan said that not many have come out of the factory yet.
I'm looking to get a few of these in the near future also. Very interested in trying out the PE8 and PE10 blanks, and will report after they have gone through a few cycles of the GT rodeo on Oahu.
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G'day Nathan, thanks for your input, its good to hear the Sidewinder blanks are built for GT's and are not so parabolic as are tuna blanks. l have also heard the Sidewinders are on the stiff side and at 7ft 10in they may be a handfull to handle, l was thinking of maybe cutting 2 to 4 inches off the butt if the handle length permits, to bring them back to 7ft 8in /7ft 6in and still have a power house of a GT rod, PE8 & PE10. l dont think UC has a factory here in AUS, l understand supply has been delayed here in Australia although l'm sure l will acquire them sooner or later.
Cheers Ross
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G'day Ross,
Campbell's Pro Tackle in Western Australia sells Seed Blanks. They have the GT-P83H listed on their website (see link), and may possibly have the lighter one you are looking for, but not listed.
http://www.campbellsprotackle.com/store/product.asp?ID=4164
Otherwise you could contact Bluewater Tackle also in WA and try to speak directly with Hal Harvey as he was selling Seed rods at one stage and may possibly have a blank at one of the stores.
http://shop.bluewater.net.au/
Best of luck anyway.
Cheers,
Ian
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Thankyou for your advice Ian,
I have contacted both Campbell's Pro Tackle in Perth WA and Hal Harvey also in Perth regarding SEED blanks.
Neither where able to supply the lighter one (SEED) l was looking for..
It appears that GT rod blanks of ANY KIND are hard to find anywhere in Australia.
Cheers Ross
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Not a problem Ross, it was worth a try I guess :).
You might also be able to get some help through a Rod Building Forum perhaps.
All the best.
Cheers,
Ian
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As covered in previous posts, the local distributor here in oz is also a part owner of UC. if you want the latest updates on any UC gear i'd suggest emailing or calling them www.gccr.com.au
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G'day Andrew, thankyou for your advise.
l have contacted gccr and their retail outlets, they all advise that things are slow from UC.
Cheers Ross