So I'm gonna wrap spiral. Has there been any clear changes to the method since Tom's book? I place my first bottom guide then go back towards the reel or I place my conventional butt guide then spiral around towards the top. Or does it matter?

There are many ways to do this. What I outlined in the book is one of the oldest ways to do it, and one that works very well. 0 - 60 - 120 and 180 guides in a span of from about 10 to 14 inches. This is a pretty standard method, but it's not the only one.

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Leon,
Do a SEARCH on the bumper wrap or "simple spiral" all dates and authors.

Raymond Adams
Eventually, all things merge, and a river runs through it..

You might want to consider the "Bumbper" spiral method. Very quick, simple and foolproof. It's very effective

Mike

The latest development would be the "bumper method" where you set your guides as you normally would in a casting setup and do your static test, then rotate all but the stripper to the 180. Then place a very small guide (the bumper) halfway between the stripper and first 180 guide on the 90 degree axis. Its sole purpose is to keep the line off the blank. It is a very efficient method of spiral wrapping, but I don't believe that it is the best method for ALL applications. In my very unscientific tests, the bumper method works great in areas like trolling, but not in an "all purpose" setting, such as casting a few lures now and then. For all purpose work, it's tough to beat a two transition setup, IMHO. As with most things in this craft, there are tradeoffs.

Odd, it's the best I've found for casting use. That was really what it was designed for.

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I'm on my fourth bumper wrapped Calstar 196L and I've been flinging baits like crazy with them. I started my first rod on the bumper wrap and I'm wondering if I'll ever try a conventional wrap. The bumper wrap makes for a nice fighting rod and the guide layout is not difficult. You'll get some strange looks until you start hauling in nice fish and then people will want to know more.

Curtis Beers

Glad to hear your report. The first time I tried it I knew it just made far too much sense not to catch on. Thanks to Bill Colby for taking it and trying it on a great number of rods for about a year. I don't have time to put a lot of rods into service anymore and his testing and that of his customers' testing confirmed what I felt would be the result.

It's not only a great spiral system, it's also easy to explain to others who want to try it.

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