ABOUT ERIC AND THE DESIGN AND TESTING PROCESS OF THE NEW BLANKS

Eric Grell’s rod building and blank design history started over 30 years ago when there was no ‘off the shelf’ rods that suited a specific fishing application. Instead he started to custom-build his own.

In doing so he gained recognition and ended up building and designing rods for some of the largest companies in Australia. Eventually harnessing this knowledge, Eric decided it was time to set up his own company designing and building his own range of rods. This is where Neritica was born

So where did his love of fishing come from?

In his own words…

“I always remember fishing. Right from an early age, 3 I think, I used to go fishing with my dad. Over the years I’ve fished backwater creeks for wild Australian Bass, river and estuary fishing and even land-based game fishing. More recently I discovered boat fishing which meant that I could fish the bay and the reefs around Moreton Island and throughout Hervey Bay. What I really liked to do is to fish the Impoundments for big Barramundi. If there’s one fish that is going to test your rod limits, it’s this”

Throughout the years Eric has continually challenged himself not only in his fishing exploits, but by entering a wealth of fishing competitions, Often he would take first or second place but never lower than a top ten finish. All the time, he achieved it with his very own custom-built rods.

Eric has always said that the best way to design a fishing blank is to design it from a fisherman’s point of view. That’s exactly what Eric is and does, and that’s how he continues to design rods to this day.

Considered one of the best rod builders in Australia Eric has a distinct advantage when it comes to building. It affords him the knowledge to be able to arrange specific componentry onto a blank in order to achieve peak performance. However this is only achieved with extended testing.

The testing process

Each rod requires an individual approach to set up. Although it mirrors a simple process including

• Taping a reel to the finished blank in the position of its final seating.
• Positioning and taping on the guides

Once the guides have been roughly positioned the correct set up  begins. Casting is carried out repeatedly while the guides are repositioned to achieve maximum performance. Next the rods are fully loaded and the guides are shifted again to relieve any stress points. Grips are then designed, with ergonomics and aesthetics in mind, and fitted to the blanks. Finally the guides are bound in position and finished to produce the end prototype.

General Description Of The Range Of Blanks

At Neritica we pride ourselves on producing well-made, well finished, lightweight blanks that have an overall feel of performance, durability, and reliability. All blanks load progressively through the tip and mid-section, while the butt section locks up where needed. Ultimately this makes the overall recovery of the blank extraordinarily fast for their respective line class.

The three lighter blanks boast flexible tip sections, while possessing butt sections that range from light to moderate. The four heavier models maintain more substantial tips combined with moderate to heavy butt sections.

All our rod blanks can be built for either spin rods or bait casters with the possible exception of the lightest blank, which is really only suitable for spin rods.  In addition we also have two shorter blanks. These are dedicated bait casters, completing the range of nine blanks.