Why do spinning rod tip tops have side braces ?

Fly rod tip tops have none and are used with line pulls equal to what most spinning tackle recieves.
The braces add weight, at the worst possible location.
I understand the additional torque placed on a casting rod with guides on top, but this isn't seen on a spiral wrap or spinning or fly rod.
Single foot guides do away with the additional bracing and recieve a lot higher loading due to placement on stiffer blank locations.

Is there some spinning technique where a side braced tip top is helpful or necessary ?

This is also the easiest guide to replace and this year I've replaced several with standard fly tops.
The improvement in tip speed has been noticed and after receiving a replacement spinning tip the customers, so far, don't care to have it exchanged. I've mentioned it may groove over time , but they assure me when it does they can take the extra 15 minutes to replace it with another fly top.

Maybe I can talk them into at least an inserted fly top ?

Is it possible that this was just a carry-over from bait casters or is there a specific reason ?

Eugene Moore

Why do spinning rod tip tops have side braces?

Some are used on rods other than fly rods.

Many spinning rods are used for applications that required bracing to prevent folding of the frame when the power of the blank is applied to the fish - a twenty pound drag setting - a Bubba Setting the Hook could and does fold many spiral wrapped rod as well as spinning rods - and how about the deep jiggers who use spinning rods for beasts.

Gary Klein who is fishing in the final cash tournament for the top twelve bass fisherman acutally has flip sticks with salt water tops installed on his spiralc bait casting rods.

The application, loading determines the bracing requirements.

Like Bill said! Their is also a lot more "Horsing" with spinning that with fly A muskie, large bass, steelhead, salmon or 8' + walleye will put a lot more torque on rod than the average flyrod, not to mention rod lockers.

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!!

Gene,
I’ve been using wrapped on single foot guides (Fuji 3.5’s) for tip-tops on all my rods (spinning and casting) for several years and have had no problems whatsoever. My “frog rods”(non-spiral) are used for pulling Bass out of heavy grass mats. Prior to using the wrap-ons, I had used unbraced fly guides on some rods and did have a few bending issues. Apparently the “wrap-ons” are stronger. Btw, I don't use locking wraps.
I think the biggest risk with unbraced tops comes with handling or abuse. As you know, unless a rod’s tip is extremely stiff, it will tend to bend toward the pulling force, relieving much of the torque or compressive forces from the tip top. I’d agree with you that the guides further down the blank probably see much more torque.
For those that Bill mentioned that are at risk of having issues….for whatever reasons, the stronger braced tips are good insurance…even if there might be some slight penalty in resonance.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/01/2010 03:08PM by jim spooner.

There really isn't anything called a "spinning rod tiptop." They're just tops, used on both spinning and casting rods. You'd be correct - that's how they were made for casting rods and so when spinning rods came along they got the same tops.

Just in case - there are plenty of non-braced tiptops on the market. Custom builders do have a choice.

...........

The manufacturers have learned that brace design for specific use rods needs refining. Brace design that utilizes an arc form have lower load limits when in compression. Attachment points are being moved from bottom of tube to reduce tip top tangle.

I used a few of the Batson non braced micro tips on spinning and spiral wrapped casting rods, and I absolutely hated them. Maybe they will survive fishing but they wont survive transport and handling, they bent easily just from hooking your lure to hook hanger and tightening down the line. I haven’t weighed a fly rod tip, but I seriously doubt that they are as light as a BMCAT tip, I know that some of the old school tips are way heavier than they need to be but the manufacturers have done a good job of getting the weight out of the newest designs.

For anyone using a microguide wrapped as a tip you owe it to yourself to try replacing them with a modern micro tip like the BMCAT or the new one from American Tackle. I built several rods that way and I thought they cast fine until I replaced one with a BMCAT and found out that the rod was completely transformed. I could cast much further and with much less effort, it was especially noticeable on rods with the guides on top compared to one with the guides on bottom.

Where might I find these lighter tip tops ??
Can't really expect to put "Bubba's 20# musky top" on a 6'6" ultra light.
Perhaps thats why most ultra lights feel like spaghetti to me.

Thanks
Gene Moore