Salmon Mooching Rods

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Is there a perfect mooching rod? A mooching rod can be many things to many different people. It really depends on the type of mooching you are doing, either deep water or shallow. In British Columbia, where it is considered by many to be where mooching originated, the typical rod is from 9 to 11 feet long. This is rod is very similar to the two handed "spey" type rods used for casting primarily to Atlantic salmon. They also use a large single action reel similar to a fly reel. These rods are fairly heavy and use from 15 to 30 pound line and a fair amount of weight as they are typically fishing deep water where the fish may be near the bottom.

Using a long rod like this in a small skiff as is common the tip is usually at or under the surface of the water. This rod does not typically have a very strong midsection and thus does not normally give you the problem of pulling the hook out of a salmon's soft mouth. They are pretty ideal for this type of fishing except that getting a fish into the net with this long of rod can be a real problem. In order to land a fish from a small with a long rod you have to put the tip behind your head to get the fish close to the boat, but with this type of rod you really have the butt and the tip both aiming at the fish with the midsection bent into a "U" shape. This creates a perilous condition known as "high sticking" a rod, where the slightest extra pressure can easily break a rod, or more literally cause it to explode since the rod is already over stressed.

As mooching has become popular further south in the U.S., rod lengths have shortened up somewhat, probably averaging out around 8 1/2 feet. In our fishing area of Northern California, 8 to 8 1/2 feet seems to be the most popular length. I would recommend a rod with a medium type of action, not too fast or too slow. It is best to have a little reserve power in the midsection for that time when you have to apply a little extra stopping power. How heavy the rod should be is determined by how deep you will be fishing, and how much weight is needed to fish that depth and also the strength of the current. Typically in this area a rod that is rated in the 8 to 20# range covers most of our shallow water fishing, (under 100 feet). For deeper water a rod rated in the 15 to 30# line area would suffice for the heavier weights needed to control your bait in this deeper water.

The first consideration is that if there is any way possible for you to use a one piece rod for this type of fishing, I would highly recommend it. This is not to suggest that multi-piece rods are inferior, it just gives you a place on the rod which might not be together firmly enough, which could cause a failure at the wrong time when you have that "big one" on. If there is no way possible to be able carry a one piece rod, just make sure it is together firmly and check it often.

Fiberglass blanks make up most of the lower priced rods, and we will look at those first, starting with the "Cal Star" brand of blanks. One very popular model in this line is the " T-607 and T-608" , 7 foot and 8 foot respectively. These two are rated for 8 to 20 # line and make up as good shallow water mooching rods. Next in this line of rods is T-196L series in both 7 and 8 foot. This model is also rated for 8 to 20 pound line, but has more power in the mid and butt sections of the rod, making this a perfect choice for mooching in the middle depths. Stepping up to the 10 to 25# range the regular 196 series of blanks without the "L" works well as a deeper water rod. "Lamiglas" makes an excellent series of mooching rods with an "MB" designation standing for mooch and live bait. The "MB 96 3M" model rated for 1/2 to 1 1/2 oz. lures, an 8 foot blank is an excellent choice for most of our local fishing. "Seeker" makes an excellent series of glass blanks with the same designations as the "Calstar" models above.

If you must have a two piece rod, both Lamiglas and Seeker make good quality fiberglass two piece blanks. In the Lamiglas line look for an "MB" or "SH" prefix to the blank number. In the Seeker line an "SH" designation will get you a two piece blank of the type we are talking about.

Moving on into graphite / glass composite blanks, Seeker makes the excellent "CLB" series in 7 to 8 foot models with ratings from 8 to 30 pounds. Cal Star also makes the "Grafighter" series of composites designated GF 700, GF 800, GF 850, and GF 900 rated for 10 to 25 pound line work well as all round rods, but best suited in the mid depth range. These are 7, 8, 8 1/2 and 9 foot one piece blanks.

In straight graphite blanks, the most commonly available brands are G. Loomis, Lamiglas, St. Croix, plus some newer manufacturers such as All-Star and Shikari. The most popular one piece model in my store is the G. Loomis "Hot Shot" series of blanks with lengths of from 7 1/2 to 8 1/2 feet, line ratings from 6 to 25# test and lure ratings from 1/4 to 5 ounces.

These blanks come in several different generations of graphite material and in both one and two piece configurations. Lamiglas makes many different models, especially in the 2 piece configuration, but 2 of the one piece models are again the most popular, GSH 90 1MT, and the GSH 96 1MT, 7 1/2 and 8 foot respectively with lure ratings of 1/4 to 2 ounces and line ratings of 8 to 20 pound. St. Croix makes a couple of one piece models, the G80M and G80H rated from 8 pounds to 25 pounds on the high end and with lure ratings from 3/8 to 4 ounces. They also make many two piece models.

As mentioned above, one of the most popular models of mooching rod blanks are the "G. Loomis" "Hot Shot" series of rod blanks. Available in various grades of graphite including GL2, GL3, IMX, and GLX; in various lengths from 7 1/2 to 8 1/2 feet in length in both one and two piece.

As an all round rod we'll put together an "HS 982 GL3 rated for 12 to 25# line. This rod is actually very good at medium depths using 2 to 4 oz. of weight. You can use more for deeper water or drop down to lighter weights for shallow water fishing, but 2 to 4 ounces is the ideal range.

If fishing on party boats, I recommend using foam (HYPALON) grips as these hold up much better than the "EVA" material that is used on many commercial rods. We typically use a 12 inch rear grip with a 2 inch butt cap, this gives us a rear grip length of 12 to 14 inches depending on how much you compress the foam during installation. A Fuji trigger reelseat is the typical choice for most of our mooching rods, but then again many people prefer a non trigger type reelseat, the choice is yours. Also popular in the trigger type seat is the "Wiebe graphite trigger. This type of trigger when bored out properly to fit the blank will greatly increase the sensitivity greatly, if so desired. For this type of rod, the fore grip usually just finishes off the front of the reelseat, so we normally use only a 2 to 3 inch foam fore grip.

If I was making the decision on the choice of guides, I would choose the Fuji Hardloy "N" series guide. These are available in Bright, Black or Gold finish. I believe that they work very well at a reasonable cost. If you are using a "Spectra" type of line and or if money is not an object, I would recommend going to the "NSG" series of guide, which has a "SIC" Silicon Carbide ring, which has a much harder wearing surface. These are available with a Gunsmoke or Gold finished frame. If using "Spectra" and cost is a concern, I would definitely recommend a Silicon Carbide tip.

With this rod we would typically use 9 or 10 guides, 1 - 16, 2 - 12's, 3 -10's, 3 or 4 - 8's. A double wrap is the usual choice for this type of rod using size "A" thread. Double wrapping means that you first lay down a layer of thread slightly longer than your overwrap will be, this first wrap acts as a cushion between the guide feet and the blank. You then place your guide on this then wrap on as doing a single wrap. This underwrap can be a different color for contrast, or it can be the same as the overwrap, or even a color that matches the blank. After wrapping all the guides. After straightening the guides, we would then protect the thread with 2 to 3 coats of color preserver if desired and followed by 2 to 3 coats of a high quality polymer rod finish.

Please be aware that there are many choices possible when building any custom fishing rod; from the rod blank model, material, length, handle material and lengths, guide types, materials and quantity, colors, etc. All of these choices are what go into making a truly custom rod. That's it for salmon mooching rods, Good Fishing