Hi,

After making about a dozen spinning rods, mostly for steelhead, I've decided that it is time to enter into the mysterious world of fly fishing. I've a couple of SC IV fly blanks (old style) that I would like to use, but I need some advice - in particular, about the reel seat. Living in Wisconsin where the weather tends to be on the cool side, I would like to have reel seats that will not freeze to my hand when the weather is less than balmy. While I would love to put a Bellinger or Struble Nickle Silver reel seat on, I assume they could be rather uncomfortable in colder weather. Am I wrong, and if not, what suggestions can you make for my particular circumstances?

The particulars: SC IV blanks (two piece), one 8 ft 4 wt for panfish, and one 9 ft 6 wt for winter browns, cohos etc. What materials do you think I should consider. Uplocking, downlocking, sliding bands? Makers and sizes would be appreciated.

thanks for your generous support and suggestions,

Dave

I am starting to favor Fuji DPS16 skeletons with either wood or cork inserts. That being said, your hand basically never touches the reel seat from the time you leave your vehicle to the time you return.

Doh!

I told you I'm new at this.

Dave

Don't worry about it. If you think about it your hand is going to come in contact with an aluminum reel any way. I too fish for steelhead and have never had any problems with reel seats. I use a lot of Struble U3's. A few weeks ago I was out in 13 deg. weather with sustained 20-30mph winds. As steve said the only time your hand will come in contact with the seat is when to put on and take off the reel.

James

Hey, don't feel bad. By the way, you have 2 outstanding blanks picked out! To get the most enjoyment from them, make sure the grip shape and size feel good in your hand and I suggest using single foot ceramic guides, such as Fuji Alconites (CLAG or BLAG series) or similar from Forcast, AmTak, or PacBay. Size 6 should be big enough. I suggest if in doubt, make the grip a little larger than a standard size factory grip to start. It's easy to sand it down a little later if you need to.

I just built the new 2005 SCIV 804-4pc. and she's a good one. I think Kirkman ranks the one you have among his favorites and he has cast a few!

Have fun.
Steve

Oh, if the 906 will get used mostly for winter fishing with bad icing likely, consider going with wire snake guides. Most winter fishermen tend to prefer them in those conditions, even when they prefer the ceramics for everything else. I rarely deal with anything worse than minor icing first thing in the morning so I put ceramics on everything.

David:

I agree with James, you rarely touch the reel seat. Go with the one you want. I always wear fingerless wool or neoprene gloves when winter fishing. Never had much problems with hands sticking to the reel seat. Most of the times all I wanted to do was to stick them in my coat pockets.

Doug Weber
Weber Rod Works

I just tried ceramics for the first time on one of my steelhead rods and was very impressed. I was worried about ice build up due to the smaller diameter and ring thickness vs. single foot snakes. However, the ceramics actually performed better with icing issues. I was told they absorb more thermal energy from the sun so they tend to collect less ice. Well, the person who gave me this info must have been right. I've had far less problems with the ceramics. The guides were black frame with the smallest guide and top being a #8 ring. The rod was a 10' 7 wt. I was already using ceramics on all but my cold weather rods and now those get ceramics too. I'm really running out of uses for wire guides.

James

As mentioned already, you're not going to have trouble with your hands touching the nickel silver. However, I don't like the NS or aluminum in cold weather because the metal contracts so much. It's a little difficult to put the reel on the rod when its freezing. (That being said, a smarter person would mount the reel in the reel seat before he left the house--but I generally don't think about that till I'm standing out in the snow, trying to shove the reel foot into the metal seat.)

Personally, I've gone to using the Fuji SKM seats for all my fly rods. I turn a cork or wood insert to fit them. On those times that I don't want to mess with an insert, or I'm making a lower cost rod, I just use the Fuji DPS spinning seats. For the size fly rods you're making, the SKM or DPS in sz. 16 will work fine. They're basically indestructible, lightweight, and you'll never have any cold-weather problems with them. And, personally, with a pretty wood insert, I think they look better than NS.

For guides, I definitely prefer ceramics, especially the ones with SIC rings. They're a little more costly, but amazingly SLICK. Even the cheaper ceramics are better than snakes, IMO. The icing issue is something you should consider carefully. On the rods you mentioned, you won't "need" any larger running guides than 6mm to make the rod function properly. But, if you're using the rods in the freezing weather most of the time, then either think about upsizing to 7s or 8s, OR think about snakes. It is true that snakes are easier to deal with in the ice. At least, that's been my experience.