Salt Strong Bull Bay Custom Fishing Rod Review
- By: Justin Ritchey
- on
- Found In: Product Reviews, Fishing Tips, Inshore Fishing, Fishing Rod Reviews, *Tackle & Gear, Rods
Do you need an all-purpose inshore fishing rod that can reel in big redfish, snook, speckled trout, and flounder?
What about a fishing rod that can pair with a wide variety of inshore fishing reels?
Look no further than the Salt Strong Bull Bay Custom Fishing Rod!!
Check this out!
Bull Bay Custom Rod Review
Note: This rod is no longer offered. We will be replacing this rod with a better custom rod we designed with Mud Hole in 2022 because these upgraded rods have a much better performance capability with a relatively small increase in price. Another great thing about the upcoming custom rods is that they will be assembled in the USA vs. these Bull Bay rods which were made overseas. Click here to see the Mud Hole rod.
Bull Bay Custom Rod Details
The Salt Strong Bull Bay Custom Rod is only available for our Insider Members.
You can become a member by clicking HERE and joining the other 27,000 anglers in our Insider Club!
Rod Characteristics
This custom rod is 7’6″ in length and is Medium-Heavy Power weighted for 8-17 pound test.
As we have learned through other fishing rod analyzation, fishing rod powers vary across the board.
The Salt Strong custom rod falls right between a Medium action rod and a Medium-Heavy action rod.
Within Bull Bay’s medium power blanks, they have thick-walled construction.
This means the diameter of the rod is still the same as any other medium power rod, however, there is more material in the mid-section of the rod than other manufacturers.
In comparison to the different TFO Professional Series models of fishing rods, the Bull Bay custom rod comes out as the lightest option.
The increase in power and lightweight rod allows you to fish structure like docks or mangroves comfortably and without concern.
Unique Features
This rod is also equipped with a direct-contact reel seat.
That means when you rest your hand on the reel seat, you will be able to feel all of the vibrations within the rod.
You will feel the bottom and every bite as you work your lures with this advanced feature.
In addition, the rod has a double-locking reel seat.
There are two locking mechanisms that twist up and reinforce the security of the reel in the reel seat.
Just about every 2500-3000 spinning reel from Daiwa, Shimano, among other brands will fit securely and snugly in this reel seat.
Furthermore, the butt section of the fishing rod is fully made out of cork.
The length of the butt section is also not too big where it interferes with your fishing technique and it is not so small where you are struggling to maintain contact with your lure or a fish.
It is a perfect length for you to maintain contact with your lure and for you to fight fish without relying on your forearms for strength.
The butt length creates balance and comfortability for anglers.
Moreover, just above the butt section is the ever-so-popular hook keeper.
The hook keeper makes it easier to keep hold of soft plastic lures, especially on weedless setups.
It is also located on the side of the rod so it will not interfere with your casting or catch the mainline in any way.
Finally, the fishing guides on this rod are of top quality and are what Bull Bay uses on all of its fishing rods.
The guides themselves are slightly angled upward in order to assist in preventing wind knots.
Although that is yet to be proven, this style of rod guide is very rigid.
They can take slight dings and maintain structural integrity much more than a typical 90-degree angled guide.
Conclusion
The Salt Strong Bull Bay Custom fishing rod is an elite inshore fishing rod that equips anglers with everything they need as far as an inshore fishing outfit.
If you pair this rod with a 2500-3000 size inshore spinning reel, you have yourself the ultimate inshore setup!
Be sure to join the Insider Club if you already haven’t and get your order in fast, because these will fly off the shelves quickly!!
Do you have any more questions about the Salt Strong Custom Fishing Rod?
Let me know down in the comments!
And if you know someone who wants to learn more about the Salt Strong Custom Fishing Rod, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
P.S. – Want to make explosive, perfect, and masterful casts with your spinning rod, to reach the trophy fish that have no idea you are there… to cast like the pros, all while using less effort than ever before? Check out Casting Mastery.
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Great review but why the hell would you do this knowing that the rods are discontinued??
This Review was made back in January 2022 (6 months ago).
My Assault rod 7’ medium heavy fast retrieve
BROKE in half while I was reeling in a 3 lb. Trout.
never had that happen with any rod I ever used.
Bull Bay wanted 40 bucks plus shipping to replace.
I think I will stick with my St. Croix spinning rods.
St. Croix also charges for Replacement Rods, depending on which model you’ve purchased. Gone are the days of “Free” Replacement Rods in the Industry today.
is there a casting version of the Bull Bay rod?
Not at the moment, just spinning.
Any idea when this rod will be back in stock?
What is the suggested max lure weight that can be used with this rod?
Missed the “show more” option on the rod page which shows all the specs. it’s 1/4-3/4oz. Pretty much what I figured
These SS rods throw the 1/8oz twistlock + Slam shady 2.0 paddle tail a mile with 10lb braid. Super happy with mine! They throw the heavier lures up to 3/4oz even further! Have not tried heavier than 3/4 oz spoon though.
Ty Johan. I just missed the option but found the specs for the rod and it says it has max lure weight of 3/4oz. I wouldn’t go over that and risk damaging the rod. Ive done some casting using 1/4-1/2oz lures so far and it feels pretty nice. Still need to get more adjusted to the extra 6” length compared to my previous 7ft rod.
Ken I have a question about color code on the feeding projection chart also the meaning of the moon’s above wind speed and direction. STRIke score
Great questions Kenneth!
1- The color changes in the feeding projection is simply to highlight the changing total feeding score levels thoughout the day.
2- The circles above the wind speed/direction is actually the sun. If just a round ball, that means there aren’t any clouds. Then on cloudy/rainy days, you’ll see cloud cover and/or rain for the time period when those items are forecasted.
Can this rod only be shipped or can it be picked up
At the moment these rods are only available to be shipped (local pick-up is unavailable at this time).
8-17 lb test. Is that mono or braid? If mono, what does that translate to braid? My reels have 20 to 30 lb braid on them.
That is an Excellent question, Michael. Rod companies still base Line Rating for Monofilament line, even though the majority of Inshore Fishermen are using braid today. The 8-17lb. rating is actually mono rating, but we have found that any rating between 6-12lb. and 8-17lb. line class rods actually handle 10lb. or even 15lb. braid very well for their intended application. You can certainly get away with 20lb. braid and 30lb. braid on a 3000 or 4000 sized spinning reel matched with this rod; the only downside you will experience is limited casting distance when compared to using 10lb. or 15lb. braid.
To answer your question, I think it’s situational. A 4000 sized reel with 20lb. braid would be the maximum Reel & Line size I’d recommend for this type of rod. Anything smaller & lighter than this benchmark would be well balanced.
Paired mine with a Shimano Vanford 3000 reel. Casts and reels much better than my Daiwa Fuego and Falcon rod setup, and the sensitivity is exactly as described here. Very happy with it. Thank you for all of the effort put into this rod!
Glad you found the review helpful, Brett!
Thanks for this review. Was looking in to the bull bay custom for some time.
Happy to help, Matthew!