I have been building rods for 17 years, 7 as pro, but no flyrods. I figured I might learn something new by buying a couple of fly rod building books. Now, while I repsect the authors, I found that the 2 guys put their guides on oposite sides of the blank from each other. And some of the reasoning was way off.

For an accurate cast the guides need to be on top of the spine (rod bent toward you and the spine facing you with guides outside the curve, on the spine) This lets the blank bend back as you are casting and thus using the curve of the spine may help you. Both books seemed to get that wrong. (the reasoning , that is) They also mentioned that for a stable fighting rod with no torque, the guides need to be on the bottom of the spine. IF THE GUIDES ARE UNDER THE ROD THERE WILL BE NO TORQUE...WHICHEVER WAY YOU DO IT!.

Anyway, I read these books and learned nothing. Where do you guys put your guides on a 12wt saltwater rod that will be cast from a yak to big fish offshore? On top of the spine like a casting rod, or the other way. Everything else I read I allready knew.

Leason learned, just come here and get free info from the best.................Kyle Ligon

I still like books so I thought there might be something in there I didn't know, thus, learning something. LOL! This site is where I learn things these days! (don't forget Rodmaker mag)

Forgot to mention the fighting grip. A 5" cork grip about 4" above my regular handle would be great for my application(BIG FISH!!!). I also heard a test that doing that would snap the rod because the rod wasn't built for a fighting grip like the sage rods that are "supposedly" built up under and in front of that fighting grip. Loomis(the blank I'm using) said not to do it after they had to talk to several people, and as far as I know, one of those people may have been a lawyer that didn't want to pay for the warrantee??? What do you guys think?.................Kyle Ligon

I build on the straightest axis ... no spine involved.

Agree with Jim on the guides, as far as the grip goes why not just build the grip longer to let them move their hand some during the fight? Something like the 10 1/2 inch grips used on the switch rods would get it done I think.

A fly rod won't twist under load from a fish no matter where you put the guides because the guides are going to follow the direction of load which is normally going to be under the rod. So spine isn't important in that respect.

As far as casting, the blank is going to bend no matter where you orient the spine. If you want to be able to make straight casts, then any curvature has to be dealt with which usually involves building on the straightest axis and disregarding the spine.

Rod twist on the cast? Not really likely - your guides are going to be very low so any lever arm effect is minimal (although still there) and a shaft rotating around it's own axis will not cause your cast to move off to one side or the other. Bad curvature, however, can and sometimes will make casting straight a problem.


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Kyle,

I build lots of fly rods.

I always put the guides on the outside of the relaxed curve. Why? My reasoning is that I want the natural flex of the rod to track with the forward casting stroke.

I don't really think it matters all that much, though. I could think up a reason for that placement, and it seems to work just fine.

For what you are doing, I'd just put them on where it looks the straightest.

And, as far as that extra grip above the handle, it won't make the rod any weaker, but it will put more load on a portion of the blank that is not the strongest (does that make any sense??). While the angler may 'think' it will help fight a fish, you really can't apply more power than the rod can give you. Since it's likely that you can break the rod without resorting to the extra grip, it will gain you nothing except making it 'easier' to break the rod.

In other words, if the angler is too weak to fight a the fish from the regular grip, use a shorter rod.

Good Luck!

Buddy Sanders

Straightest access!!

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!!

When you all say "straightest access" I assume you mean to put the pieces together so they form the straightest rod possible, forgetting the spine? Right? Thanks, Kyle

Ps, The reason I was thinking about the extra fighting grip was because I expect to catch fish over 100#s with this outfit, but it sounds like I might just create a weak spot for the rod to break at

Pss, Also, The reason I didn't buy a shorter rod was because I will be casting while sitting in a kayak. My thinking is that I will need that extra length since I am so close to the water.

A rod in that weight class would already be fairly beefy in the butt, and reinforced to take the stress of a longer or higher placed foregrip. As long as it's not insanely high above the regular grip, you should be fine.