To order from this page just make your
selections and click on the "Add to Cart" button
or the "Buy" link. If you run into
difficulties please make use of our toll-free
line and give us a call. Our phone numbers, fax
and email addresses are posted at the
bottom of this page.
Upon placing your order you'll receive an
immediate confirmation via email. You are not billed at that time. We process
orders manually, preferring to have a human
actually check things over and contact you
should there be questions. Within 24
hours of placing your order you will receive a
follow-up email confirmation and final invoice reflecting your total charges
(Monday-Friday). You are not billed until we actually send you your final invoice.
Orders shipped to CA addresses will have California Sales Taxes applied, out
of state orders are tax free. Orders over $100 are shipped
FREE!* Orders less than $100 are billed for shipping. During the
ordering process you can select expedited
shipping if required.
(Within the USA we ship via UPS ground. International,
and oversize/weight items will be billed for
shipping and you will be sent an emailed invoice reflecting total charges
prior to actual billing. We will not ship
without you having had a chance to review the
invoice).
We are very pleased
to introduce you to some unique CharkBait exclusive rods which
represent the best in the business. We offer high quality travel
rods and some wonderful
Custom Built Rods. All rods featured on this page represent our
philosophy of how a rod should be built. Noting both borrowed wisdom
of things that work, and
specific gaps in what's presently offered by major manufacturers we
provide what we consider rods well worth owning.
Our Custom Rods feature blanks made by United Composite
(formerly known as Graphite USA) and are built and designed in the
USA. We have added some other specialty rods, featuring blanks by
Seeker and Calstar. These rods have achieved a cult like status,
similar to the UC's, for folks targeting Wahoo (Calstar 875) and cow
size tuna (Seeker 2x4 and Calstar 770H, XH, XXH, and XXXH).
Please note, we have
three pages of Custom CharkBait rods. You have reached our United
Composite Custom Rod Page. Please click the links below to visit our
other Custom Rod pages.
Our Custom Rods are being built by
someone well known on the West Coast, and beyond. The reason for my reluctance to custom rods
in the past was pretty simply, finding a reliable, high quality builder was
difficult. There are many who can build a rod, but few who can build
them correctly in my estimation, few that can build them to a
professional level beyond the hobbyist level (and I'll direct that
towards tackle shops who dabble in rod building and the larger
outfits that build to a least common denominator). To be done right
requires more than labor time, it requires knowledge of the rod,
it's action, components, the proper spacing of guides, the
proper materials and skill... The gentleman building our rods is one
such a knowledgeable individual, Bill Havens (aka Salty Dog) . I'd suggest, he's
one of the best in the business.
Several years ago we offered
GUSA custom built rods, made by the factory. They were wonderful
sticks, and folks lucky enough to own one will attest to their
excellent fishing characteristics: strong, light, narrow diameter
which just seems to feel right in the hands and superb actions for a
wide variety of applications. When the old firm began having
problems we had to stop doing business with them. The old owner took
a great product and ran it into the ground through poor business
practices and even worse follow through in production. We missed
them. Our clients did too. So, we were very much excited when John
Baker told me that through his association with the Australian
distributor for his reels, they'd be bringing the old GUSA's back to
life and build them as they should be built. We committed on the
spot to support their efforts, both in terms of blanks and hopefully
with finished rods too. Things have come together!
The Custom built rods featured below represent our
philosophy with respect to building a rod off a blank like the
United Composites. We are using state of the art components,
excellent wraps, perfectly spaced guides and have shaved no corners
in trying to produce the finest rod we can possibly build. You'll
note that where appropriate the rods have aluminum ALPS reel seats,
Spectra safe guides, gimbals... They're built the way I'd like my
rods built, by someone who arguably knows more about rod building
than anyone else on the West Coast.
Guides are all triple wrapped, with attention to detail. All
Grips are hand sanded. Each rod represents many, many hours
of labor in it's completion.
Alps center lock reel seats on most rods.
All rods feature a gimbal where approriate in terms of test
application.
Bent Butt, "Slick Butt" and Straight Stand-up butts.
Durable Spectra Safe Guides from Alps
US 80 and 85
Turk's Head
Most rods have a fish logo.
Sanded Cork Grips on the 79XFm 79 Mag, 711H, 85XF and 85 Mag
Challenger Platinum (CP) series rods utilize Dual Helix
Graphite technology and transition to Fiberglass composite
through the tip section. (Rods in this series were only
available in Australia in the past, now we've got 'em,
too! For the heavier action rods, this design provides
greater strength, lift, and forgiveness.)
Challenger Platinum (CP) Series - note the woven graphite
(click on the images for a better view)
CharkStraps &
CharkWraps
Two new items from us, not necessarily
the most creative or revolutionary products we've ever come
up with, but nonetheless they are useful and they are a bit
different than what's available from others.
Our RodWraps are an upgrade from the
StickJackets we've carried for several years. We've made
ours a bit larger in
diameter so that they will accommodate larger saltwater
guides, even larger spinning guides. The StickJackets were
really made for freshwater use, sized accordingly but we
used their spinning models for our application. Now we've
got 'em made our way. We've reinforced the
top with a leatherette end piece and metal grommet which can
be used to hang rods, and we've increased the diameter to
allow your rods, even those using larger AFTCO wind-on
roller guides or larger size spinning guides to fit. The
Wraps are about 5 feet in length, will extend down the rod
into the handle material of most rods. They are not made to
cover the entire rod, only that portion it's designed to
protect - the blank, the finish, the guides.
These
wraps are all that I've been using now for the past few
years. I like the fact that I can use them for storage
protection, travel protection as well as leave 'em on my
rods on the boat. They are breathable and they don't absorb
moisture. So, they help me protect my rods when they're
bundled up once the fishing is over. On most long range
trips out of San Diego, you move your rods onto the boat and
off the boat all bundled up. They may stay that way
overnight on the boat as well. For a cloth sock, that's no
good. So, you can write off any protection of the rod. With
these things you do get that protection when you need it
most. I even leave them on my rods when I get home. I'll
spray off the rod wraps while still on the rod, loosening
any accumulated saltwater in the process. Then I'll take off
the wraps, clean the rods more thoroughly and allow them to
dry. Use of a cleaner like Penn's Rod and Reel cleaner for
that, and you've got things in great shape for your next
trip and your gear will stay in new condition. The Wraps are
5 feet in length.
The other product we have for rod
organization are our CharkStraps. These are great for
bundling your rods together for transport or storage. You
can secure up to a half dozen rods with these things. Nice
thing about ours verses some others, they are made from a
softer foam/rubber material so they'll never scratch up your
rods. Unlike some similar products I've seen, we made it a
point to include three different sizes (which makes sense
since you'll use all three at different positions on your
bundled rods from the tip to near the reel seat). So, you
get three straps, all with Velcro through their length to
handle most any size bundle of rods you'll be totting, from
2 to 6 or more rods.
Any
questions? Please e-mail us, click on
the image-button link below or give us a call:
Internet
Sales & Service
Order Processing
& Shipping
Office Hours: 8AM-5PM
Monday-Friday
(office closed
on major holidays and weekends)
Staff:
Mark, Leeana, Paul, Nadiya & Tom
Phone Toll Free 1-877-424-2751 1-714-840-4500 Mailing
Address: CharkBait Sportfishing
16561 Bolsa Chica St. #105
Huntington Beach, CA 92649
Please also use this address
for sending reels for service.
If you are trying
to reach us after 5pm weekdays or weekends, our Huntington Beach
shop staff can assist. *
1-800-823-4243*
Please
note: We're closed major holidays, both our offices and our shops.
New Years, Easter, Memorial Day, Veteran's Day,
Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving & Christmas.
ONLINE SALES
& SERVICE CONTACTS
Click on one of the characters below to
email us.
Retail
Shops
Huntington Beach
CharkShop Open 7
Days a Week
Hours Monday 9AM-5PM
Tuesday-Friday 9AM-6PM
Saturday 10AM-6PM
Sunday 10am-5pm
Huntington
National
Shopping Center
16561 Bolsa
Chica St. #105
Huntington Beach, CA 92649 1-714-846-6452
Staff: Manager John
Hazlett,
Beta - Asst.Mgr.,
Blake, Max & Sergey
Virtual Visit Video
Store Map
-----------------------San
Diego
CharkShop
Open 6 Days a
Week
Hours Monday
- Closed
Tuesday-Friday 9AM-6PM
Saturday 9AM-6PM
Sunday 10am-5pm
Midway Village
Shopping Center
3166 Midway Dr. #101
San Diego, CA 92110
1-619-224-1112
Staff: Manager
Mike Eslinger
Megan - Asst. Mgr.,
Ross, Anthony & Steve
Virtual Visit Video
Store Map
As a means to reduce spam,
we change the above incoming email addresses regularly.
Please don't bother adding them to your address book.
We do apologize for any inconvenience this policy
creates. But, it's the only way we've found to post an email address
on-line and not receive so many
solicitations from some family member of a deceased "Nigerian"
leader trying to move great sums of $ out of the country...
CharkBait makes no guarantee on merchandise, product safety
or suitability beyond those claims offered by the respective manufacturers.
We only offer products that we believe in. CharkBait maintains a significant
inventory of the products we represent, that saves shipping time for our
clients, and proves our belief in the products we represent. We stock the
gear we sell, we don't depend upon a third party to handle your order.
Your order with CharkBait is given personal attention.
We do not provide any personal information regarding our
visitors and clients to anyone. That's our privacy policy. We do have banner
advertising on many pages. We are the host for that service, the ads
reside on our server. We do utilize "cookies" in order to increase user
friendliness and functionality of this site. Cookies are required for
building your "shopping cart." Bottom line, CharkBait respects our visitors
and clients.
We maintain the site daily, but please don't hold us liable
for tyyppooographical errors or price changes which are beyond our control.
All transactions are confirmed prior to shipment. All opinions
expressed are those of the author, you can take 'em or leave 'em.
Shoes and shirts are not required for service. We reserve the right to
refuse service to anyone.
I think that about covers it.
Two new items from us, not necessarily
the most creative or revolutionary products we've ever come
up with, but nonetheless they are useful and they are a bit
different than what's available from others.
