for a 6'6" heavy action bass rod that is giong to be used for worm and jig fishing is it a good idea to place a under wrap for the guides? or will it take some of the sensitivity away from the rod.

Underwraps are for cosmetic reasons and are not needed on a bass rod. Personally, I wouldn't do it Weight is your enemy LOL!

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

thank you i just wanted an opinion on this from someone who knows more about this than me.

I concur, just more weight. Weight is much less of an issue for the big saltwater boat rods etc., but for any freshwater rod, underwraps are nothing but a performance detractor. Yep, even musky rods.

I agree that underwraps are not nessisary and are only
good for astetic reasons.

Many will disagree with me though as I say that on a heavy power
bass rod the added weight is not going to affect performance to a
degree that you will notice. If you want to underwrap the guides.
Go for it.

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

For whatever my opinion is worth, I think that underwraps are useful on heavier rods that are going to be handled roughly. I build mostly surf rods, and when you add up the weight of the blank, guides, grips, reel seat, reel, etc., I can't see how whatever extra weight 8 or 10 underwraps will add is going to diminish performance in any way. On lighter rods, I can see the difference the weight might make, but not on the sticks that I build most of the time.

My impression reading this board -- and I want to stress that this is a general impression, not a comment on any specific individual -- is that most guys who build and fish their own rods treat them the way they would treat a 1930 Duesenberg J - very carefully and gingerly. I can understand why, after putting so much effort into designing and building a beautiful and functional fishing tool, one would feel this way, but I definitely do not share that feeling.

I do almost all of my fishing in the Jersey surf, and most of my surfcasting at night, and invariably my gear gets dunked in the suds, dropped in the sand, banged against rocks and other stuff, and otherwise treated roughly. I do not do this on purpose, but I recognize that it is a consequence of the way that I like to fish. In fact, after I got into building my own custom rods, I realized with great excitement that in addition to designing a rod that would work better for me, I could also design rods for maximum durability. There is nothing worse than having to leave great fishing because of equipment failure, and as a result I'm going to use whatever rodbuilding skills I possess to minimize the possibility of that, at least as it concerns my fishing rods.

As a result, I wholeheartedly endorse underwraps for the kind of fishing I do, and wouldn't build a surf stick any other way. My experiences have taught me that an underwrap of A thread, and an overwrap of D thread, works well for me, and does result in more durable stick that is worth the tradeoff of whatever extra weight come along with it.

But there is an important distinction to be made here, and that is that I like what I like because I have experimented and found what works for me. Do not use (or choose not to use) an underwrap because of what someone here says; do some experimenting and see what works best for you. You'll end up with a much better rod that you'll enjoy fishing with much more, and you'll have picked up some valuable rodbuilding knowledge and skills along the way.

Sorry for the rant. I didn't mean for this to be so long when I started...

I am with you on this Chris.

I too fish the Rocks and Sand of the (west) coast and am tought on gear. That is why I build cheaply, build strong, and rebuild often on my personal gear. It is also why most of my personal gear looks like it was wrapped by someone on a bad acid trip with the funky color combinations I am always testing out. One way to guarantee also that my personal gear will likely never be stolen.

LOL



Derek L. McMaster
Rohnert Park, CA

Born to Fish, FORCED to Work