I'm building a heavy saltwater rod for a friend. I've built over one hundred fly rods, but this will be my first big game rod. This friend of mine wants a real flashy rod and he was thinking of putting a wood handle on it. I told him I had concerns about the amount of torque that would be put on the wood. Does anyone have any suggestions or concerns about doing so?

I'm also in the dark on what lenghth butt and foregrip handle I should use. I'm also wondering if there's a special thread or thread wrap I should use to add strenghth to the guide wraps.

I'm using GLoomis 6' PSR72-80 blank. 80-100lbs line weight. Aftco Big Foot SHD roller guides, and a Batson Easy Tight aluminum reel seat.

Any info would be great. Thanks

AK Custom Fly Rods

Lets Wet Some Lines !!

hey dustin, i build everything but fly rods.
i would steer clear of the wood handle ,way clear.
just go a nice anadised alloy seat.
also i would go a 14" foregrip at least, you need good leverage.for the rear gripyou might change the seat and use a aftco detach butt that way you friend can change from striaght to bent.
cause weight is not a problem use C size thread for under and over binds,also binding the overbind twice is a must.
if you are adding a wrap i would incorporate it into the underbinding of the first guide,

Mike,

Thanks. Just a few questions though.

What would you recomend for handle material? EVA?
Forgive me, but I'm just not familular with deep sea rod terminology. I think I understand you when you say underbind. Basically I should lay down a section of thread for the guide to sit on. Then secucre the guide down with the overwrap, then wrap it again. Should the second overbind be done in the opposite direction? and should it match up with the previous overwrap in leghth?
I'm sure glad there's only 6 guides on this rod and not 11 or 12. That a lot of wrapping!!

I'd also like to make sure that the guide spacing is determined the same way as a fly rod. From the Tip Top to the bottom of the guide foot, Right?

Dustin; There are a lot of things you haven't told us here that you need to take into account. What type of rod are you building? Stand up or chair on a private boat? If stand up will he use it on the rail? What kind of line and leader material will he be using and with what knots? The type of harness will make a difference also. If he's fishing from a chair you need to be sure the rod and line clear the transom. There is an article on building this type of rod in a back issue of RodMaker that you really should read before you go too far.

I would suggest Hypolon for your grips. It will take more abuse than the EVA.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/24/2008 08:09AM by Jim Upton.

Unless its going to be used on the rail, I like using a 14" hard EVA for the foregrip; a nylon slickbutt (heavy nylon sleeve) mounted over five graphite bushings; and a gimbal to match the reelseat for the rear. The slickbutt makes it easier to get the rod out of a rodholder when its under heavy load, and is considerably less expensive than an Aftco aluminium butt.

I've got um with Haplon, EVA, and UNi-Butts. For my money... UNI-Butts all the way. If not, at least a slick butt.

Regards......Doug@
TCRds

The building of a top knotch blue water rod will require a through study of existing information. The best source is getting a back issue of Rodmaker referenced below. Quick responses on this board probably will not provide all the detail needed. If you are unable to obtain a copy of the back issue (sold out) here is an option. I obtained extra copies of the magazine to keep in my shop for customer reference and will loan you one to read. All I will require is that Tom tell me that he is out and you will promise to send it to the next guy you see that makes a similar post on this board. Click on my name at the top of this thread and contact me via email.

Not only does this article have to do with building concepts but it discusses the things that the user needs to understand as well.

This article is one of the best ever written in the magazine and the three contributing authors really did a number on including every detail needed by custom builders.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Here is an example of what I learned -

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Gon Fishn



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/24/2008 10:00AM by Bill Stevens.

I agree with Bill above, pick up that RM issue. Usually I pick up concepts in the articles fairly easily but needed to take notes when reading that article. When I was done with it I had over 2 pages of notes alone.

Wood butts are okay on heavy rods, provided they're bored to allow the blank to pass through them. The old boat/pier type that was solid and actually formed the butt of the rod, with the seat on the wood and the blank ferruled into the front of the seat, wouldn't be advised on the heavier trolling or stand up rods.

If using in a rod holder, you want a surface that will be smooth enough to easily release for the angler after the strike. If you've ever tried to pull an EVA or Hypalon butted rod from a holder while a big fish was pulling on it, well... You know the reason that these materails leave something to be desired in that role.

You have a lot of options here - there are uni-butts, aluminum butts, plastic "tuff" butts, through bore wood butts and you could even make your own heavy duty foam core carbon skinned butt. A little imagination might lead to even more possibilities.

The RodMaker issue mentioned is something that anyone interested in all the ins and outs of stand up rods should have on hand. It covers everything from blanks to guides to fighting harnesses and how each piece must compliment the other. The things you can get away with in less demanding applications are the things that suddenly become extremely critical when building rods for the largest fish on the planet.

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One thing you might want to try is to put permagloss on wraps before epoxy. From my searches here. Permagloss gives wraps about twice the strenght of epoxy. But you have to make sure permagloss is dry before putting on epoxy. I'm buiding 3 Ak halibut rods right now(wrapping). I put a underwap of metallic thread for decorative touch. One wrap of "a" thread on guides. I plan to use 2 to 3 coats of permagloss then epoxy. If guides hold up I'm make me some spiral wrapped halibut rods next.

I'm not sure wrap strength has ever been an issue. The coatings we use are primarily to give the thread protection from the elements, not to provide strength. But, Permagloss certainly creates a tougher coating than any epoxy.

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Ok, I know coatings are primarily for thread protection.. But by using permagloss I feeling I can get away from more wraps.... The rods I'm building now are going to replace the Pen Senator Stand up 30-80# model (660hs) which I have now. They are very heavy and designed for different type of fishing than I'm doing now.. My finished rods will be about half the weight of the ones I have now. And will make a good jigging rods also for lingcod & rock fish.

If you use Perma Gloss as the preliminary finish be sure to backfill tunnels separately after applying finish to the top of the thread. Also wait for the Perma Gloss to completely cure before topping with two part expoxy to insure that outgassing will not cause tiny tiny bubbles in the top coat of finish. The curing cycle of the product is a function of the humidity. In dry climates it will take longer to completely cure. Tough you bet - my threadless red fish rod is entering its third year of service!

Gon Fishn