Fishing Monthly Magazines : Samurai Composite 4kg Baitcaster.

EARLY in the year we looked at some light Samurai spin rods for throwing small lures and soft plastics. This time of year we use baitcasters more often with anglers chasing flathead, mangrove jack and barra around the estuaries, while the impoundments start to fire for bass and golden perch.

One of the light spin blanks we did was the 002 SC. That’s the new composite Samurai blank for anglers using braid and are after a more resilient rod.

Most rod manufacturers would agree that there has been an increase in rod breakages because more anglers are running braid over their light spin and baitcast rods. The fibreglass added to a composite rod makes it more durable for braid. While the tapers are thicker and the blanks slightly heavier, you can still build great rods from these composites.

The 004SC is a six-foot blank that makes a great baitcaster and is very economical for the home builder. All the parts and blanks are readily available and your retailer will be able to get you everything within a few days after just one phone call to the supplier.

I’ve used cork grips on this model. Baitcasters don’t need long butts because anglers retrieve with the hand partially on the reel and partially on the rear grip. So it’s a short rear grip – 12 cm of cork followed by a FUJI
BCBRC butt cap which measures 4cm. The overall length is 16cm, or just a bit over the old six inches.

There’s a good reason to use this style. If you have a look at many rod holders on smaller boats, it’s the bulge in the butt cap that stops the rod from sliding straight out. A straight cap will pull straight out.

The reel seat is a standard trigger No. 16 FUJI
winch – strong, lightweight and dependable. A little cork foregrip and then it’s down to our guides. To make this up as a quality but affordable rod, I’ve used FUJI
’s BSVOG economy guides. These lightweight, high-frame guides are more than suitable. In this recipe, the same double-foot guide is used all the way through. I find that the further north you travel, the harder anglers are on their gear, and there is less acceptance of single-foot guides. Some of you might like to lower the top three or four guides by using single-foot FUJI
BOG guides. These low-profile single-foots are a little stronger than the high-profile BLVOG guides. You might like to add a hook keeper in front of the foregrip. If you cast right-handed, put the keeper on the left side of the rod. It’s handy here just to hook and unhook the lure with the left hand while the rod is in your right hand ready to cast.

[FACT BOX]

RECIPE

Blank: Samurai 004 SC

Butt: 12cm x 9mm cork

Cap:FUJI
BCBRC 19mm

Foregrip: 6cm x 6mm cork.

Tip:FUJI
BPOT 6/2.0mm Guides:FUJI
BSVOG 7- 85mm; 7-95mm; 8-115mm; 8-130mm; 8-152mm; 10-176mm; 12-213mm; 16-23mm Reads: 2571