BrianBM Posted March 24, 2022 Report Share Posted March 24, 2022 (edited) The only recent discussion of current United Composites product pertained to tilefish rods, as specialized a fishery as the NE offers. I looked at some rods the other day at Trophy Tackle, while buying small slow-pitch jigs. They seemed nice enough. Do those here who build have an opinion as to the general quality of UC blanks? Edited March 24, 2022 by BrianBM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergal Posted March 24, 2022 Report Share Posted March 24, 2022 I have a few, they’re long, they bend, they’re round. They’re shiny too. Anything else? ASMFC - Destroying public resources and fisheries one stock at a time since 1942. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianBM Posted March 24, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2022 A generic question, nothing more. Do you like the UC rods that you use as well as any, better, worse? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergal Posted March 24, 2022 Report Share Posted March 24, 2022 23 mins ago, BrianBM said: A generic question, nothing more. Do you like the UC rods that you use as well as any, better, worse? I try not to fish with ****** tackle…. ASMFC - Destroying public resources and fisheries one stock at a time since 1942. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianBM Posted March 24, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2022 As do we all. Manufacturer's descriptions of rod actions as "fast," "moderate," etc., are so inconsistent as to be meaningless. How accurate are UC's ratings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoonplugger1 Posted March 24, 2022 Report Share Posted March 24, 2022 (edited) I have 9 United Composites/GUSA rods, 5 FW bass rods, one SW boat rod, and 3 fly rods. I have used many more, I have found them efficient, crisp, fairly light and very durable. Are there lighter carbon rods? Yep, Are there more durable? Not that I have seen. My fly rods have spent 20 years riding in the bottom of boats running Alaskan waters and fending off arctic terns that don't like you on their island. Zero failures, can't say that about any other brand taken up where you are hundreds of miles from the nearest tackle store if you had a way to get there. When you spend a lot of time and money to get someplace, gear failures should be something very high on your priority list to eliminate. Maybe 15 years ago my buddy was turning his bass boat around in a narrow canal we were fishing and ran his bow trolling motor aground while doing it, I jumped to haul it up and he ran the bow under a low growing tree, the only rods on the bow that survived with tips intact were GUSA rods. I have no idea if someone makes another carbon rail rod, but they do and have for a long time. Edited March 24, 2022 by spoonplugger1 Mangomania 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianBM Posted March 24, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2022 Thank you. I was surprised by the light weight of the rods that I handled in the store, the other day. Durability is, indeed, a wonderful virtue in any tool. The UC website shows a great many rods and blanks, but the blanks get almost no comment here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul708 Posted March 30, 2022 Report Share Posted March 30, 2022 On 3/23/2022 at 10:36 PM, BrianBM said: As do we all. Manufacturer's descriptions of rod actions as "fast," "moderate," etc., are so inconsistent as to be meaningless. How accurate are UC's ratings? Pretty close to describing actions. i usually have enough around to compare.. Tri-state-Custom Rodbuilders... NERBS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoonplugger1 Posted March 31, 2022 Report Share Posted March 31, 2022 (edited) United Composites has a bit of history over the last 15 years or so, way to much for a forum post. Go to the Charkbait Youtube channel and watch the United Composite videos for that info. In short a well respected company on west coast is sold by it's founder due to age issues, new owners are a complete train wreck and jail time follows, company sold to Australians who can't run business while living a half a world away, but they do some serious design work and expand and modernize designs for Austalian market which successfully work here also, they sell back to US blank designer / builder who has successfully put all the pieces back together. Vids also explain all design features in all the different series. Edited March 31, 2022 by spoonplugger1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergal Posted March 31, 2022 Report Share Posted March 31, 2022 Use caution with charkbait. They are amazingly biased and I give ZERO credibility to anything that they have to say. I do like UC a lot. I have several of their blanks. ASMFC - Destroying public resources and fisheries one stock at a time since 1942. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHAngler Posted March 31, 2022 Report Share Posted March 31, 2022 2 hours ago, Drew C. said: Use caution with charkbait. They are amazingly biased and I give ZERO credibility to anything that they have to say. I do like UC a lot. I have several of their blanks. I used to buy from them and probably have over $1k in total over 8-9 years from them but my last interaction about a year ago was likely the last. Had nothing to do with Covid either. If you want to get Sergey going ask him why the eff don’t you carry quality Shimano gear. Ha ha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianBM Posted April 6, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2022 On 3/30/2022 at 10:51 PM, NHAngler said: I used to buy from them and probably have over $1k in total over 8-9 years from them but my last interaction about a year ago was likely the last. Had nothing to do with Covid either. If you want to get Sergey going ask him why the eff don’t you carry quality Shimano gear. Ha ha. I've noticed Chark's loathing for Shimano. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHAngler Posted April 6, 2022 Report Share Posted April 6, 2022 3 mins ago, BrianBM said: I've noticed Chark's loathing for Shimano. I got an earful when I asked and to be honest, it made total sense. Shimano supplies dealers like a lottery system and is likely painful to most trying to keep shelf space for products that deserve it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergal Posted April 7, 2022 Report Share Posted April 7, 2022 28 mins ago, BrianBM said: I've noticed Chark's loathing for Shimano. ***** charkbait ASMFC - Destroying public resources and fisheries one stock at a time since 1942. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianBM Posted April 7, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2022 2 hours ago, Drew C. said: ***** charkbait Why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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