Calstar Grafighter 40-80lb Spinning Rod 8ft Black

This is a new 8 foot 40-80 lb Calstar Grafighter spinning rod built on a GF 800 XH blank. This is a relatively new blank for Calstar. This is the ultimate in big game spinning rods.

The idea for this rod was to try to find a way to make these great quality rods more affordable.  The price of the blank is the price .. the price of the reel seat, the foam and the guides is the price .. no way to change these prices  ....

Labor is the only thing that is left .. 

I figured i spend about 1/3 of my time building rods doing the fancy wrap and the trim around the guides ... if i could get away from those two things i could cut the cost of the rods labor at least 1/3 ... 

So, that's what i did ...  no wraps and no trim  ... it's the most angler friendly rod with the best components i could find at a very reasonable price  ..

I wish everyone could pick this thing up feel the grips .. fire a big popper to a 80 lb yft .. Then you'd know what i know .. It's one sweet rod .. 

This is the rod :::::: 

It is a gf 800 XH 40-80 lb blank .. I used a newer rubber mushroom style cap/gimbal .. it has a pretty good mushroom style cap on it, so you can put it in your belly with out the sharp parts of and aluminum gimbal digging in.. and it still has slots cut for your fighting belt.

You may substitute an aluminum gimbal at no additional charge.  

I used a newer ribbed EVA foam for the rear grip from Mooseskin .. it has a lot of the same qualities as the shark skin rear grips we use .. but it is softer ..  it's ribbed .. so easy to grip .. it's light and has a very good feel.

You may substitute the sharkskin rear grip at no additional charge 

The reel seat is the Fuji heavy duty saltwater boat rod reel seat .. more then strong enough for this rod. We find the graphite reel seats to be a little more user friendly it wont get slick when it's wet and it doesn't get cold or hot.

You may substitute an Alps aluminum gimbal at no additional charge

The fore grip is a triangular shaped grip we have manufactured for us. It is molded to have a great transition from the reel seat and too the blank, I got tired of trying to custom shape the fore grips. So i had one molded to my specifications. On a tuna trip a few years ago, the one improvement to the spinning rods, that everyone who caught tuna was in total agreement with,  was putting the triangular grips on the spinning rods .... When you are 45 minutes into fighting a 100 lb YFT on this spinning rod, and he rips off a couple hundred yards of line ... please remember to drop me a thank you note for the triangular fore grip when you get back.

You may substitute an traditional round tapered fore grip at no additional charge.  

The 9 guides and the tip on this rod are the Fuji HVSG SiC surf spinning guides. These guides are specifically manufactured for braided line. The high profile of these guides give the line a little better flow from the big spooled reels .. like the Stella or the Van Staal... to the first guide. In my opinion they help you add a little distance to your cast.

This rod has an Aftco Tuna block in front of the reel seat. This to accommodate a rod ring that may be used to help you use this rod in a fighting belt and harness. We are currently working on developing a tuna strap to be used with the tuna block. Until it is fully developed, the rod rings seem to be a pretty good option to let you hook your harness to the spinning rod.

You may forgo the tuna block and rod rings, that would deduct $20 from the cost of the rod.  

Each guide is under wrapped with black thread to insure no guide to blank contact, then each guide is attached with 4 layers of C sized thread for maximum strength.  Just for you to know, these rods are built way over the top .. "cause we use 4 over wraps of thread to secure the guides to the blank on these big spinners."  

Note

I built one of these rods to test on a recent long range trip out of Texas.  I had a nephew with me that wouldn't give the rod up for me to use for any length of time. Mostly because he was firing tuna hunters about 25 yards farther out into the night then anyone else. With the Fuji Surf guides this 8 foot rod cast a long, long way. I was also very impressed with the action of the rod when it was hooked up to a fish. It is a great addition to the Calstar Grafighter line up.

This same spartan style of spinning, casting rod, spiral wrapped casting rod and jigging rod may be ordered in any of the appropriate Calstar Grafighter blank sizes. From the 10-25 lb to the 40-100 lb. Please contact us for pricing information. 

This rod is a model,  if we don't have this rod in stock at the time of  your order,  most rods can be crafted and shipped in around 10 days. If you are in need of a rod for a trip, please let us know. In some cases we can finish building and ship rods in just a few days. 

This rod is crafted right here in the USA by BaR-BaR Tackle,  additional rods are available and special orders are always welcome. If you are the winning bidder of this rod we will place your name or boats name and / or a fish, school or military logo on the rod at no additional charge.