Just out of curiosity, what grips do the builders here prefer for saltwater fly rods? The first few rods I built, I used reverse half wells, because I use my fly rods in the surf, and walk and carry them quite a bit, and the reverse half wells felt good in my hand as I was carrying it. But I've seen hints in a few recent posts that for salty fly rods some here favor a full wells grip (freshwater is a whole 'nother issue).

What grip shapes work best for saltwater fly rods? And why?

Chris,
I find most of my clients want a full wells grip. I also prefer a full wells grip as well. I like the swells at both ends of the grip, it helps me with placement of hands while I'm casting, and it gives me something to bump up against if the grip becomes slippery with saltwater.
From a custom standpoint I've had a fair number of clients request a slight bump in the middle of the grip between their ring finger and middle finger for orientation and gripping in the salt.

Dave

Full Wells for me. Having that thicker part under the thumb makes for better casting qualities in my opinion.

Full wells because it aids in powering-through the wind for high line speed casting by allowing you to push harder with your top thumb. that being said, I kinda like the idea that some people had by putting in a "thumb pocket" (just a recessed area for the thumb) for comfort, i may have to try that.

A good saltwater fly grip design needs to 3 things that I can think of off hand. Number one you have to have a good foundation for your thumb to press against and not slide forward. Number two the grip can not be too big where it fits into the palm of your hand by reducing the diameter of the grip in this area will help you feel the rod load better. Number three the ring at the tip end has to be tapered in the Thompson style or old Fenwick style to reduce the chances of chipping. Having said this I inlet 99% of the grips I do for appearance sakes and it also gives me a base at the bottom of the grip to brace my casting hand. Sealing the grip with U-40 Cork Seal also helps keep the grip from becoming slick when it gets wet.

In the volume 10 #3 issue of RodMaker, there will be an article on ergonomics and biomechanics based on research done over the last 40 years in the field of tool handle design. Fishing rod handles and grips are woefully inadequate in regard to size, shape and material in many, many instances. The article provides some eye opening information for custom builders who wish to provide their customers or themselves with grips and handles that are much more comfortable to fish with and require far less grip force to be applied by the user in order to get the same results. Watch for it in June.

The Full Wells or standard Half Wells (not reversed) are good choices for heavy line weight fly rods, or simply for long fly rods. Remember that as the rod gets longer, the angler must apply more force to the grip to do the same job.


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I prefer the full wells for this application, and recommend it.

Chris,
We Have sold a lot of full wells grips for both saltwater, and even heavy freshwater fly rods. Some of the other guys have mentioned a recessed area for the thumb and I have had companies tell me they were re-shaping the full wells grip for better comfort. In my experience, guys like the bigger full wells grip for casting such heavy fly rods.

Chase Foster
American Tackle

Hi Chris,
eventhough I also prefer the full wells grip in most situations I would suggest that you take a look at the maniform grip. I build a rod a few years ago with that grip and found it to be very comfortable and it actually aided my casting as it kept my hand more stable. BUT some hate it others love it.
The rod in mention was a 10 foot 6wt and I dont think the handle was an improvement on a rod of this length - but I feel that it would be nice on a shorter rod. I tend to move my hand more around on longer rods - dont know why. So if you do that I wouldnt recommend it. However I'll be using the maniform grip on a future 9 foot 8wt saltwater rod.

Peter

I use full wells or 1/2 wells (Fenwick-like not reverse) with shallow indentions on all my personal rods - SW & FW and all sizes. I turn to the same size too, my hand size doesn't change because the rod size did. This is for many of the reasons given particularly thumb and grip pressure as well more area in which to move my hand up and down the grip or spread my fingers a little so my hand doesn't get tired being forced to be in the same position all day. I think the reverse 1/2 wells (Western) on all FW and full wells on SW has become one of the "rules" of fly fishing hoisted on the angling community by the factories. I get a lot of comments that I used the "wrong" grip on my light weight rods. I look forward to the June issue so that I can learn to make them "wronger" :)

I've used the maniform grip also, I like how they cast and fish, don't like them as well for the catching part. A few anglers that are getting bad hands have had me use them after test driving the maniforms. I'm trying a long Gordon on a DC 9 1/2 ft Sig V that's going to Alaska thei June.