I'm building a conventional surf rod (I wanted this to be an old-school outfit, so I got a Penn Squidder). and I'm just about ready to attach the top, do my testing, and wrap the guides. But I'm having doubts in my head about which way I should do it.

Let me say that I am an emphatic believer in spiral wrapping conventional rods. I recently built a boat rod using the bumber wrap method, and the results were fantastic (my brother, after first making fun of how "dumb" it looked, was converted after less than a minute using it). And I was planning to bumper wrap my surf slinger (it'll be a 4-10 oz bait heaver), but at the moment of truth I'm having second thoughts.

One of the reasons I'm vacillating is because I don't know how to cast a convench surf reel -- I'm going to be learning on this one. Wiht having to deal with a learning curve, should I just wrap it conventionally and have one fewer thing to think about?

I realize that once a rod is spiral wrapped, you don't have to think about it at all -- just use it as you normally would. But I'm still unsure which way to go, so I figured I'd check in with the kind folks here to get some opinions.

So if you were me, what would you do: spiral or conventional wrap? Your opinions will be appreciated. Thanks.

Once I started doing spiral wrapped rods, I would never do it any other way. The only way I do a conventional wrapped rod is if there is no way I can convince the person getting the rod that spiral is better. Go with the spiral and don't look back.

Is it a 2 piece blank? if so you can always wrap as conventional at first then all you may have to do is add a bumper guide and flip the tip section over. I know this also depends on how the layout works out. What blank are you using. A squidder is also a hard reel to learn on but it can be done. good luck

Ed

Chris Garrity - Learning to cast a revolving-spool conventional surf reel will be the same learning curve whether you use an old-school "Guides On Top" Layout, or one of the Spiral Wrap Layouts. ...

Is that an anodized aluminum spool Penn 140 Squidder? [I can't find my Penn catalog right now.] ... Anyway, the lighter the spool weight is, the less inertia to overcome on cast start-up and spool braking ---> better casting and less backlash.

If you are ready to go Spiral on this Surf Rod, do it now.
There is no need to use a guides on top layout first.

Just make sure that, if this is a 2-piece rod, that you complete the 000-180 degrees Transition Zone on the REEL side of the ferrule. That will eliminate any torque issues spiraling around the ferrule and twisting the upper section when a larger fish or repeated casting is loading the rod like a wrench.

Have fun with it, Chris. Where are you gonna be fishing it,
and how and for what? ... -Cliff Hall, FL-USA.

Read the letter from Bill Falconer in the last issue of RodMaker and I think you'll see the wisdom in spiral wrapping your surf rod.

Do remember that whichever way you go, you must use guides that are large enough to pass any shock leader knots you plan to use.

..............

Thanks, guys. I kinda suspected that spiral would be the way to go, but sometimes it seems that you trust everyone else's opinions more than your own.

Cliff - thanks for the suggestion on the bumper guide. It is a 2-piece rod, and I will make sure that by the time the line gets to the second piece it's already on the bottom of the blank.

The rod will be a surf bait heaver for the Jersey surf, for stripers (that's the hope, though last night I went striper fishing on the beach and only managed to catch about 100 smooth dogfish). I originally was building it for someone else, but I decided that I'm going to keep it and learn to cast convench. It will probably only be used occasionally, but I've wanted to learn to cast a conventional reel for a while -- I think it's a skill every avid surfcaster should possess -- and if I find that I'm going to be using it often I will upgrade to a better reel -- i.e. something not from the Stone Age.

And believe it or not, a wizened local surfcaster recommended that I learn on a Squidder. He said that if you can figure out how to cast a Squidder, you can cast anything. And any other reel, after a Squidder, will seem like a piece of cake.

Tom, now I do remember reading that letter in RMM - your mentioning it made it come back to me. Thanks. And I did some tests with shock leader knots, and my tip and smallest guide size is 16, which should be plenty big enough. Spiral, here I come...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/30/2006 01:55PM by Chris Garrity.

With the Simple Spiral, there shouldn't be any torque issues to contend with. Don't put the first two guides too far apart - you don't want the Bumper guide to function as a transition guide.

.............

Chris I have been casting a Penn Squidder for about 30 years on a conventional wrap. No problem. One word when casting a heavy chunk of bait thumb the spool not the line ,will save blistered thumb.

Just got back from Padre Island using mine good luck.



Paul@soonercustomrod.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/30/2006 05:28PM by Paul Lindsey.

I won't tell you what to do, but I will mention that I'm on vacation this week. I have 2 spiral wrapped rods, a SU1502, and a SU1387 with me. They cast great, and fish much better than a conventional wrap. In all honesty, if you blindfolded someone and had them cast the rods, they would not be able to tell that they are spiral wrapped. When you are hooked up, you can definetly tell the difference. For me, the better fishability is the deciding factor.

Chris Garrity wrote: "I originally was building it for someone else, but I decided that I'm going to keep it and learn to cast convench. ... I've wanted to learn to cast a conventional reel for a while -- I think it's a skill every avid surfcaster should possess -- And if I find that I'm going to be using it often, I will upgrade to a better reel -- i.e. something not from the Stone Age.

And believe it or not, a wizened local surfcaster recommended that I learn on a Squidder. He said that if you can figure out how to cast a Squidder, you can cast anything. And any other reel, after a Squidder, will seem like a piece of cake. " -C.G.

"After a Squidder, ... piece of cake"
You got it! ... B)- ... the education is worth it.
Use a good fishing line and keep it fresh.
Plus an educated thumb helps with boat-reel bait-pitching,
and any jig casting. Enjoy! -Cliff Hall, FL-USA

Well I am now in a major dilemna.

I had my rod completed in my mind this morning. I got the last of the set of guides this weekend and I was ready to do the work this week. Now I am having major second thoughts. Maybe I should try a spiral wrap on this rod.

The rod is 8'6" and rated for 3/4-4 oz lures and will be used in Va & NC mostly for Spanish, blues and maybe small (maybe big)drum.

I gotta find out how to do this sprial wrapping..... I am off to search the archives of this board

WOW this board sure makes you wonder about things!!!!!

Dave, for whatever my opinion's worth, there's a back issue of Rodmaker Magazine (Volume 8, #2) that shows how to do a Simple Spiral. I have become a diehard convert to spiral wrapping rods; though I don't use conventional reels much, I firmly believe that the spiral is superior to the traditional guides-on-top method. Here's a thread I started a few months ago: [www.rodbuilding.org]. I ordered the back issue of RMM, used the simple spiral method, and have been thrilled with the results. Good luck.

Chris, I just read your whole thread and I am pretty sure now I am going to do spiral wrap. Does anyone have any consolidated information about the simple spiral so that I do not have to wiat for a back issue of RMM to arrive. I have a current subscription but I just started this hobby and like I said I am ready to get the rod done this week?

The threads on here that come up on the search are not as detailed about guide placement as I had hoepd for the simple spiral.

Thanks in advance.

Dave

I found the answer... thanks for the help Chris.