I'm getting ready to build my first fly rod and have a couple of questions for the fly rod Guru's. It's a 9', 4 pc, 14 Wt. Sevier blank. I intend on using it for Bluefish/Spanish Mackerel from the surf. I already have the reel seat (Nickel), Flor grade reverse half well foregrip, six inch detachable fighting butt, and plan on installing a 4" fighting grip above the foregrip. My question is on the guides. I think I have the spacing worked out, and I'm thinking of installing white Agate double footed guides. I have three sets and the proper size tip top that I bought from various people. They are NOS Garcia, made in Germany.......are they O.K. for this type of build, or should I consider using Fuji single foots? Also would you use a number 16 or 20 stripper. The reel is going to be a Pflueger Trion model 1912, 4.13 Dia. x 1.25 width spool. I like these guides but I'm not sure of their performance in a salt enviornment. Thanks in advance for your help.

Boy, I had no idea Fly setups were so complicated! Haven't even waded through the many, many choices of line/backing yet.

The guides are okay, but would be pretty heavy by modern standards. Due to the length and power of this blank and what you'll be doing with it, I would opt for lighter guides. You'll appreciate it after a long days fishing.

You will also benefit from a full wells grip rather than the half wells.

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

Tom, I was kind of thinking the same thing about the guides. What benefit does the full well have over the reverse half well? If hand size plays into this, I have rather large hands. Is the stripper a toss-up between 16 and 20?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/2007 10:56AM by Bruce Wetzel.

A full wells has more cork up front and let's you drive the cast off your thumb, which is the strongest part of your hand. That's why all the heavier production rods all come with one, or one of the variations of one.

Thanks Spencer, That makes sense. Something else to buy. lol. What about stripper size? Anybody?

I'd use whatever size works best with your particular line combination. I'd guess you'll be using some sort of shooting head with this outfit. A high frame 16 might work just fine, but with something this heavy you won't hurt anything with a 20.

There will be a nice article in the next issue of RodMaker that addresses the ergonomic concerns of grip shape and size.

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

You said "nickle" when describing the reel seat. not sure what you mean. if its made of nickle silver i think it won't do well in a salt water environment. if its aluminum that is nickle anodized then it will be ok as long as you wash it well after each use. i lke the pac bay A8 for this type of rod. all aluminum.

Larry, It feels heavier than aluminum, and looks to be a nickel plating. It's several years old and I was told it was a Pac Bay. I looked through all of my books again last night, and I don't know where I came up with a Reverse half well grip......they all state that for salt water fly rods you should have a full well foregrip. I'm now re-thinking the guide type. Any thoughts on the REC Nickel Titanium, or the Hopkins & Holloway snakes?

larry brought up a point i had been thinking about. if nickel silver for the seat, from what i've read, not a good choice for salt. another point that confuses me are the "agate double footed guides." is this something i'm simply not aware of? the only agate guides i am familiar with are the agate and agatine stripper guides often found on classically styled bamboo fly rods. very pretty but can be a bit more fragile than other styles. and i can't imagine a full set of agate inserted guides.
for a rod that length, i might go with ceramic guides all the way, but something light. perhaps single foot ceramic titanium from fuji or american tackle titans.

as for rules that state things like all saltwater should have full wells, i'm usually open to deviating from what are rules, but personally, i like the full wells, or rather more specifically, the type of grip which has more cork at the front, which includes not only the full wells, but also the classic fenwick style grip. i think struble calls this the modified wells western.

just speculation though, i wrap only small to medium sized stream fly rods for mountain trout :-)

eric
fresno, ca.

I'm echoing the comments with regards to the grip.

I think a half wells is prettier, but I've gotta say the full wells is much more comfortable. And I have smallish hands, but still prefer the full wells in larger-than-standard diameters.

Grab onto one and see; you'll like it too!

-Rob

Thanks for the replies. I'm going to order both grips and see which one I like best. The only reason I was going to use the Agate guides was I have a bunch of them in the right sizes for this rod. I bought some rod building stuff a little while ago from someone that was getting out of the buisness, and the guides were part of the deal. I now think I'll build it with the more conventional "snakes", or Single foot" ceramics. Again, thanks for the replies.