Tom I just read your book on rod building. When you spoke about finding the spine you said that sometimes you may need to reverse the spine to make a rod stronger. When building stand-up rods 30# and larger would this be the case??

I think you may want to read it again. You can't make a rod stronger by "reversing the spine." I'm not even quite sure what that means. The difference between the stiffest and softest axis of most blanks, even heavy duty stand up rod blanks, isn't nearly as much as you might think.

The one thing you don't want a stand up rod to do, is twist. A spiral wrap will stop that from happening, but in the event you plan to mount the guides on top, you want to do as much as you can to reduce any tendency for the rod to twist. One of those will be to build on the straightest axis of the blank. Site down the blank and locate a straight axis - the straightest. Try to find a point where the tip and butt are up, and the mid (belly) of the rod is down. This is the position I look for when building stand up rods. Some builders will also use the staightest axis, but will flip the rod so the tip and butt are down and the belly is up. The difference in actual power between the two is there, but it won't be a great difference if you actually measured it.

By building on a straight axis, you reduce, somewhat, the tendency of the blank to "lean over" to any offset or natural curve that might be off to one side. Using lower profile guides will also help to some extent.

You didn't ask, but I'll toss this in just for consideration. If I were going to build that rod, I'd forget about rod spine and build on the straightest axis, tip and butt up, belly down. And I'd use the Simple Spiral Bumper System.


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Tom beat me to it, but I'd do just like he says. Disregard the spine and find the straightest plane to build that rod on. I would most definitely put any natural curve so that the tip is pointing up and build it that way even if I wasn't going to use a spiral wrap on it. It will be more responsive and won't tend to warp on you over the years. If you can get up the nerve to use a spiral wrap I think you'll like it. If you're new to all this you may find it a little intimidating and not what you're used to seeing, but it's not hard to do a spiral wrap and they really pay off on the bigger rods where fish fighting is your major concern.

Sorry Tom, I think I was trying to say "bending against the normal concave bend ot the blank". That this would give the rod the most power. I think this is what you are telling me above with the tip and belly up.

Yes, that's correct. But do be aware that although that's the stiffest axis, it won't give you a tremendous amount of additional power over the softest axis. If you need more power, move to a more powerful blank.

But, yes, if you orient it the way you mention, you will get the most power you can get out of that blank for fish fighting.

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Now..... tell me what spiral wrap is?? I'm lost on that one.

Take a look in the Glossary or the FAQs page.

In a nutshell, any rod that located the guides on top of the rod will tend to twist when under load. But rods where the guides are located along the underside will remain stable under load. So, if you allow the line to go under the rod (where it wants to go anyway) and locate your guides there, you'll have a rod that doesn't "fight" the fisheman - just the fish.


There are various systems or ways that get the guides from on top of the rod to the bottom.

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Ok I know what a spiral wrap is now but there you go and throw another one in there. What is the SPIRAL BUMPER system??

Basically it lets the line go right to the bottom of the rod by allowing the line to just skirt by the rod on one side. So you locate a "bumper" guide there to keep the line off the blank. It differs from most spiral systems because the bumper guide plays no role in taking the line to the underside of the rod. It does not transition nor direct the line to the bottom of the rod. It only serves to keep the line from rubbing the blank surface. You can read all about it in the Volume 8 #2 issue of RodMaker.

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Ok i'm still not sure I understand that one and why I would need that on a 30-50# boat rod, but what do I know? Do you think this method would be the best for a wind on swivel clearence?

One more...... In another question I posted about stand-up rods I was told I could get a nice blank from Calstar for around $50-$80 bucks. So I checked in a Mud Hole cat. and found those rods to be "E" Glass. So my other question is Glass or Graphite??

Glass still has a major place in the boat/trolling/stand-up market. They're tough and weight is not as much of an issue in a rod that you won't be holding all day and casting.

The greater the load on any rod, the more it will try to twist/spin on you. Have you ever watched people on party boats as they move down the rail with a fish - how they hold they let the reel spin to the bottom and hold the rod upside down as they clear the rod and line over people's heads? Or how when they crank against a fish the rod/reel wobble terribly from side to side? The rod is trying to flip over and it requires some effort on the part of the fisherman (or with a gimbal) to keep it upright.

With a spiral wrap, you can open you rod hand and the entire outfit will just lay right there, no twisting or flipping on you. The harder the fish pulls, the more stable and upright the reel becomes. Yes, you would benefit from a spiral wrapped rod in your situation. Do be prepared for some strange looks from other fishermen, however.

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You don't know it but i'm looking strange at you right now (LOL)

As Shakespeare wrote about this subject in a work a long time ago called"Spine: Much Ado About Nothing". Someone shortened the title somewhere along the way.

Use the straightest axis of the blank and you'll have a better appearing rod which will work just like you spent hours finding the spine.

Nicely put, Richard!!

After years spent dutifully locating and orienting the spine in particular fashion, I am finally inclined to agree with Mike, Tom, Richard and Mr. Shakespeare as well; using the straightest axis is probably just as good as any other way to do things. The spine does not appear to be the holy grail of casting or fish fighting performance.