Topwater Redfish On My Own Custom Rod! (South Texas Kayak Fishing)

[@cinthiaalejandraromeroazua1771]

I love your videos … ur the best fisherman ! 🎣

[@adamfuentes3761]

Great top water action! Awesome rod too!

[@picogutierrez4526]

@@adamfuentes3761 appreciate it brother 🤙🏼

[@JoshuaCanseco956]

Good video!! When they hit top water and miss keep working it, they usually hit it again. Keep up good videos, awesome catches.

[@picogutierrez4526]

@@JoshuaCanseco956 thanks man..yea I usually keep working it but was a bit too excited about the blow up lol

[@izzyssaltlife]

Great way to test out that rod ! Fish for dinner !

[@picogutierrez4526]

@@izzyssaltlife that’s a big 10-4..made awesome ceviche and blackened fillet 👌🏼👌🏼

[@TxTandem.]

Congrats on breaking in your new rod bro! Keep up the grind man 🔥

[@picogutierrez4526]

@@TxTandem. appreciate it man

[@STXRedHunter]

Good video!! Subscribed

[@picogutierrez4526]

@@STXRedHunter appreciate it brother 🤙🏼

[@alaaalhaj1720]

What a pro !! Would love to know what bait or lure you're using.

[@ifishforfoodnottrophys7483]

I just subscribed you produce great content ❤

[@picogutierrez4526]

@@ifishforfoodnottrophys7483 appreciate the support brother 🤙🏼

[@FranciscoJavierOutdoors]

Damn man you were killin it on that top water!

[@picogutierrez4526]

@@FranciscoJavierOutdoors thanks man 🤙🏼..there’s gonna be more topwater action on this next video I’m finishing

[@CostalRunner]

Nice video bro. A tip.. Troll back.. They pile up behind the wood pillars. 🤫

[@picogutierrez4526]

@@CostalRunner trust me I’ve thought about it..but I have to hold on to my 3 rods in order to go under the bridge and not snap them in half..been wanting to anchor and fish under the bridge but I somehow never end up doing it

[@JoshuaCanseco956]

@picogutierrez4526 I caught 2 large snook under bridge few weeks ago. One was 31 inches and second was 27 inches. Under bridge can be good but look for blow ups.

[@CostalRunner]

@@picogutierrez4526 no brother.. I said wood pillars not the cement bridge pillars lol.

[@ETuss713]

Building your own rod is a great hobby. I dif it as a hobby for years, now I get about 3 orders a week. What blank did you go with?

[@picogutierrez4526]

@@ETuss713 yea this is my 2nd one..love doing it..I also make my own paddle tails..I’d probably make my own baitcaster if I could lol..but yea it’s a hobby that I love doing and I’m about to start on one for a buddy of mine..would love to get to where you’re at where I’m getting 3 orders a week..but for now I just love learning more and more about building them..I went ahead a went with a NFC blank on this one

[@ETuss713]

​​@@picogutierrez4526NFC is great. Stick to the xray series. Right now they have a good sale. 55 for the non sanded xrays and 75 for the sanded. Also, all fuji guides are 40% off, all recoils are 30% off. I have wholesale accounts, and those dales are as good or better than wholesale pricing. Take advantage of it. For blanks, a good ML blank will be the SJ703 (the old Ultra Mag blank), SB682 or for a slightly heavier ML the SB683. For a Medium, the SB 684 is very good. Stick with either the SBs or SJs. I now exclusively build on Rod Forge blanks. I do believe them to be the absolute best blanks. They cost more but are made right here in Texas. There's tons of blanks out there. I honestly think the best bang for the buck is the xrays from NFC. NFC sucks at shipping though. Rod Forge makes the best blanks. Point blanks are good too. No need to really go try Cashion, MHX, Batson, or rod geeks. Save your money since they aren't as good for the price of the xrays or theyre not as high performance as the HTD series from Rod Forge. Rod Forge blanks have a light tip but solid back bones. They are actually fast or extra fast. Also, the Common Cents System will help you sort through all the nonsense of calling it a Medium or a fast since those are subjective terms where the CCS is objective measurements. Long winded post. Sorry. If you're on IG you can see some of my work at ET Coastal Rod Co. Good luck and I'll happily help you with any questions.

[@ETuss713]

I wrote a previous response but it disappeared. NFC are excellent. Stick to the xray series. Right now xray unsanded are 55 and sanded are 75. The sb682 is great for a ML rod. The SJ703 (old Ultra Mag blank) is a good ML-Med rod. The SB 683 is a ML-M and the SB684 is a good M rod. Stick to the SB and SJ rods. NFC also has fuji 40% off and Recoils 30% off. That's as good or better than the wholesale cost for most. Take advantage of it. I now exclusively use Rod Forge. I think they are the best blanks and they're the only blanks made in Texas. They cost more but I believe their HTD series to be the best. There's a lot of blanks out there. Save money and Stick to NFC or Rod Forge. The others aren't as good for the cost or just don't perform as well. Once you get further into this you'll be shocked at the blanks some companies use and then what they charge. You can check out some of my work on IG at ET Coastal Rod Co. Good luck with it!

[@picogutierrez4526]

@@ETuss713 man I really appreciate this information..literally wrote it all down..gonna look into this for my next persona rod that I’m gonna make since I just broke an old faithful Falcon Bucoo rod that I would use for topwater..will be going with a 7ft medium power so I’ll look into those blanks you suggested..I have a question, this last rod I made is the first one I added decals to..I purchased the Epson LW PX400..everything looked good and I wiped down the rod with alcohol prior to applying the decal, then put the finish over it..next day I noticed that the edge of the decal was very noticeable, which I think is what everyone considers lifting of the decal..what was it that I did wrong? Or is there anything else I need to do to avoid that?..one thing is though, I had already finished the rod and put 2 coats of finish without the decals and took it out for a fishing trip..then later I pulled the trigger on the PX400 and figured I could just clean the rod real good and then just add the decals on..could that have been the reason the edge of the decals lifted a bit?..I appreciate your input man

[@ETuss713]

​@@picogutierrez4526​@picogutierrez4526 decals are tough. My process for a decal is to wipe the area Im going to apply it to clean it. No alcohol. I then lay down a coat of finish. I dont put decals on bare blanks. Once that finish has set for 10-12 hrsi apply the decal I print from my epson lw-px800. With the low tack transfer tape still covering the decal and the decal stuck to the rod I use a stamp roller. I rol from the middle out to avoid bubbles getting trapped. Im pushing down firmly when rolling. If I feel like that wasnt enough or if theres a small bubble I then do a wrap over the entire decal. The thread wrap will squeeze the decal down. Leave the thread wrap on for 15-30 minutes. Youll ja e small indentation in the finsh after using the thread wrap method. Just apply a little heat and in time theyll pop out. Even another layer of finish levels them out, so dont worry about those. Then Ill apply another coat of finish over the decal. Now the issue you rin into is if you squeezed out some of the adhesive from under the decal. It will cause a small fish eye. If that happens, just apply another coat of finish. Do not use alcohol to clean between layers even if ypu have to sand a little. No alcohol. I use gen 4 lite build. Another method I have used with success is to apply a coat of color preserver to the bare blank where the decal will go. It will dry quickly. Apply the decal over the color preserver. Once the decal touches the color preserver theres no moving it since the dried CP will stick to the decal and come off the blank. Once the decals on that area, coat it again with more CP. This seals the edges. If you ever order decals that arent laminated youll have to do this step or the acetone in your finish dissolves the print on the decal. After the decal has a coat or two of CP, apply finish like normal. The draw back to this method is occasionally the CP may male the edges have a dull or milky appearance in the right lighting. About 1 of 5 would do that and I dont know why.

[@jrc982]

Hey, so are the guides you put on "around" the blank and not in a straight line?

[@picogutierrez4526]

@@jrc982 correct..it’s a casting rod so the guides start at the top and transition to the bottom..also called a spiral or acid wrap..this helps avoid those unexplainable rod breaks while fighting a fish which are caused by the tip of the rod having torque or twist pressure applied..will never own another rod with all the guides just on top

[@markygutierrez4195]

Whenever you want to join me to Port Mansfield, I have a spot I can share for trout and reds. I have a trolling motor setup on mine, as well.

[@picogutierrez4526]

@@markygutierrez4195 awesome man..I’ll take your word on that..planning on heading to port Mansfield possibly next week or the week after..that’s of course if the weather is good, if not I’ll stay down here by SPI..but I’ll let you know man 🤙🏼

[@TheLegendaryTaco]

so im assuming the water is pretty low on the edges for ur peddle drive system? would the fin drive system work better?

[@picogutierrez4526]

@@TheLegendaryTaco it’s not so much that it’s low but more cus of all the oyster beds..wether a propel drive or fin drive, I wouldn’t recommend having them in place while on those edges..key is to paddle slowly or them oyster beds will wreck your yak

[@rayhamilton1337]

What kind of kayak is that ?

[@picogutierrez4526]

@@rayhamilton1337 that’s a Old Town Sportsman PDL 120