Rare, rare custom rod up for sale - Once in a while a really solid deal comes forward for your consideration. This, is one of those times. My good friend and long-time fishing buddy Capt. Mike Bady has taken a look at his rod arsenal and decided to "thin the herd" a bit. What he is selling is a very rare Capt. Neil-built, DNY Impact-based fluke jigger. Frankly, I think he's a little nuts to give up such a stick!
Anyone that has followed along on my board over the years, here and "there," as well as many really knowledgeable "rod geeks" (a.k.a: Tackle Ho's) that have been around for a while know that the DNY Impact blanks, built in Japan, were and still are among the thinnest, lightest, strongest, most sensitive blanks ever built, anytime, anywhere.
DNY/Japan was utilizing their forward-thinking technology to produce blanks that were MANY years ahead of their time. Capt. Neil and Al Goldberg recognized the intrinsic value of these blanks, and so brought in a batch of them years ago, for their more discriminating custom rod buyers, myself included.
My own DNY Impact will NEVER leave my ownership, as it definitely fills a fluke jigging slot as well as/or better than any current rod out there today, factory or custom. The crispness of the jigging motion is just perfect, with a lively tip and sensitivity that to this day I doubt has been topped.
That my good friend Capt, Neil built it especially for me, makes it that much more special. Just so you know, Neil has left the rod building business, to fulfill his "other" latent long-standing passion - which is wood working. You should see the state-of-the-art tools and shop that he's put together for this new phase of his creative life - most impressive! My point is, there will be no more Capt. Neil-built custom rods. What's out there is IT!
Anyway, as for the details of this particular rod, it is 6'6" long, features an MH power, with a "fast-ish" overall action, and takes a deep, beautiful bend under the load of an out-sized fish. Gorgeous! Its wraps are not over-styled, being fairly straight-forward and quite appealing. It carries 11 blacked-out Fuji Alconite guides plus the tip, wrapped spiral style, EVA grips and a Fuji reel seat, of course. It balances perfectly with most any current low-profile bait casting reel. In Mike's case he used it with a Curado 200E5, a wonderful combo.
I would say that it easily handles buck tails up to 3oz, which puts it right in the sweet spot of most light/medium jigging situations. Mike has regularly fished this rod on my boat on our many mid-Summer deep jigging forays, and I've seen him boat plenty of fish on it to 7+lbs - never an issue.
I know that Mike paid just over $325 for it, and it was worth every penny, based on performance and rarity. He is offering it for a very realistic $250, and to my mind that is an excellent buy. No way you could have another built for that kind of jing, let alone even locate one of these killer blanks. Oh, and did I mention that it is in mint, near-new condition?
So take a look at the pix, and if you think this would be a good addition to your rod collection, by all means do not hesitate. It is that good! Mike can be reached right here by PM (called "Starting a Conversation"), or by phone at 516-317-5423, or by email at
racerock166@aol.com
Take a look:
Four Montauk beauties, from 5 to 8+lbs, taken on Mike's DNY Impact. WHAT A DAY!:
