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Anyone using bull bay rods that can share their experience with them? I am currently fishing st croix avid inshore, mojo, and tidemasters but was interested in giving these a chance. If anyone has used their custom shop to build one I’m also interested in how that process was and the results.


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Hey man - I'm a BullBayRods User, and have a few of their rods you can try out at any time.

Currently, I have the following:

Tactical: Stealth Sniper, 7'6"
Tactical: Assault, 7'
Reel Animals: AR-20, 7'6"


I think they're absolute work-horses. Lightweight, great backbone, and can tackle pretty much anything thrown at them (within reason, of course).

I've PM'd you my number. Shoot me a text if you want to use one sometime soon and we'll meet up for you to try out. Dustin and his pops are great folks, and have an even better warranty to their product (lifetime, regardless of issue). A few of the guys on the forum have used them and can vouch as well.

I can attest to the backbone of those rods as I have seen Chris hookset the heck out of some oyster bars!!

They seem kinda pricy to me for a Chinese blank

if you're not dead set on a bull bay you should check out Southern Custom Rods. They also have a Lifetime warranty at HALF the price... I'm sure they're good rods but you're paying for some abalone wrapped around some eva. with finish. to me that's not a 150-200 upcharge.

milto wrote:I can attest to the backbone of those rods as I have seen Chris hookset the heck out of some oyster bars!!

gotta make sure they remember who's boss every now-and-then!

dombern34 wrote:if you're not dead set on a bull bay you should check out Southern Custom Rods. They also have a Lifetime warranty at HALF the price... I'm sure they're good rods but you're paying for some abalone wrapped around some eva. with finish. to me that's not a 150-200 upcharge.

Dom - c'monnnnnnnn!

But really - Dom makes a hell of a rod as well (Southern Customs) and he's local to the area. I have the same level of confidence fishing with either. We usually have both BBR and SC rods on the boat. Big Big Fan of Both!

Chris, if it's not too late, you should consider politics.

Can't speak about bull bay, never even seen one, made in Fl is nice. But I can speak to Doms rods. Really nice and solid warranty

FishWithChris wrote:

milto wrote:I can attest to the backbone of those rods as I have seen Chris hookset the heck out of some oyster bars!!

gotta make sure they remember who's boss every now-and-then!

dombern34 wrote:if you're not dead set on a bull bay you should check out Southern Custom Rods. They also have a Lifetime warranty at HALF the price... I'm sure they're good rods but you're paying for some abalone wrapped around some eva. with finish. to me that's not a 150-200 upcharge.

Dom - c'monnnnnnnn!

But really - Dom makes a hell of a rod as well (Southern Customs) and he's local to the area. I have the same level of confidence fishing with either. We usually have both BBR and SC rods on the boat. Big Big Fan of Both!

I'm just stating facts!! I'm sure they are fine rods! the price is the only thing that puts the sour taste in my mouth. there's no reason those rods should cost that much or any rod for that matter. your two MAIN price driving items in a rod build is going to be the Blank and the guides. they're using Fuji K series (great guides but expensive) all major brands use Fuji because everyone's heard of them. Kigan Z series guides (which is what I use) are the same quality if not better for about half the price. let's touch on their blanks. they are referring to these blanks as "Bull Bay Tackle" which means someone is rolling this blanks for them. and I'm willing to bet 100 bucks to your one dollar they're from overseas. again not a huge deal but 75% of your performance in a rod is from the blank. depending on how much the ratio of Glass to Carbon is in the blank will determine the expected performance. which is why no same two Med-hvy's will ever feel the same.

You'd be correct Dom

Where are your blanks made and who makes your Southern Custom Rod blanks ?

Gulf Coast wrote:Where are your blanks made and who makes your Southern Custom Rod blanks ?

I use a company based out of South Carolina. They are different breed altogether. My blanks have zero glass in them or scrim between the layers of graphite. What's this mean? Means they can roll a blank and acquire the same action/power and the taper isn't so drastic. But this also gives you a lighter rod as well. Yes I've built off st Croix, MHX, CRB, northfolk, etc. but I would put my blanks against any blank out there. I wouldn't back them with a lifetime warranty if they weren't top notch.

Totally agree. Nothing but top quality.

I would put Dom's Southern Custom up against most anything out there. Quality, build, components and CUSTOMER SERVICE are superb.

I appreciate all the kind comments! again, It's your money and you can buy whatever rod you want so don't feel obligated to purchase a rod from me. I just wanted to explain what drives the cost of a rod, especially at the price of what us builders are actually paying for parts... I wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing I charged someone 300-350 for a rod. yes some rods will cost and could cost more, off shore rods and high end fly rods will eat up 300-500 just in parts easy, but you're comparing apples to oranges now. any inshore/bass rod for that price is Ludacris

Let’s clear up some questions you have.

Bull Bay Rods Custom Rods are Built in Lakeland , we Manufacture our own blanks. We DO NOT USE ANY OF THE SAME BLANKS BEING USED BY 90% of the builders out there. WHY ? We’ve tried that and with our experience we had more than 10% of those rods become warranty issues. So we decided years ago we can’t offer a lifetime warranty with those stats! Being in control of our blanks manufacturing we’re less than 1% warranties even with thousands of Rods sold and have found that most are angler mishaps.

Our rods are priced from 130.00 as you select upgrades from the standard builds and with select upgrades normally closer to 225 at the full custom level.(standard with K Series) That’s majority of the inshore Rods average custom pricing. If you select titanium guides and Hot baked colored blanks then sure they can go up as upgrades.

Fuji K SERIES guides are the go to on most all custom rods we build. They are designed for braided lines and help eliminate tangles AKA wind knots, improve casting distance in some cases by 15-20 ft further then any competitor! We have had very few issues with rings falling out, rings splitting and cutting into the braided lines causing breaks and the guide train we have selected are perfectly matched for distance and accuracy thus eliminating small micro style guides that are just to small for line to leader knots that can also cause a lot of rings issues Especially when compared some of the new GIMMICKY GUIDES BEING SOLD TODAY! We too have tried said scenarios and like the blanks we can’t knowingly build on parts that we have had or potentially will have issues with we just don’t!

Our Sniper Rods weigh approx 4oz and have a 100% lifetime warranty like all of our blanks. We do not question how it broke how you may have BROKE it or belittle you by questioning your integrity and insult you. Weather it’s a Car door? tree? T-Top? we simply warranty it!

Besides our blanks being 36ton Graphite and Carbon Infused Center Core with our preferred parts you can feel a fish”fart” and backbone to get the job done!

If you have any questions contact us 863-937-3292

Tight LINES!