You said the main lure weight you wanted to use ??? maybe a blank -- just a little lighter -- would work better then the - heaver - one you have know

What range of lures are you -- expecting -- to cast. One blank does not cast - All Lures

Bill - willierods.com

Parick Rutledge Wrote:
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How far is you #16 guide away from the reel face? With the 16 I noticed it was slapping the rod when I reeled in real quick.


around 21" most of the time. Remember you don't have the same tension on dry land as you do on the water. Try it on the water when the line is wet (heavier) and the lure has the resistance of water and not bouncing off the ground. Nothing beats real world testing. See if that line slap isn't reduced - even reeling fast.

I know it's hard for some guys to get to water. Really the lake is 45 min away from me. I'll load up some test items in the truck when I go fishing the spend 30 min or so at the end of the day testing things out lakeside. Makes a difference at times.

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Well here is the final count. I took the good advice of a couple of people on the board and added an extra guide and also switched most of my runners to 3s with no ill effects. Here is the completed rod with guides and distance from the tip in inches

3 3 3 3 3.5 12 25
4.75 9.5 14.4 19.25 24.3 34.0 50.5

My butt guide is still 20.5 inches from the spool. There is no change from yesterday other then the runners close to the tip. The 3.5 choker the 12 and the 25 are still where they were yesterday. This is almost the exact layout I started with by using the 27x rule. My choker is about where it should be given the 27x factor and my butt guide is also where it should be as per the 27x method. Only instead of two more reducing guides in between I have only one. So instead of a 16 and 10, I have a single 12 in the middle. Even my runners are spaced as per the 27x rule. That one extra guide in a place were the blank doesn't bend much cost me over two yards of distance with a light lure. But there was no effect form adding or dropping one running guide or from switching from 3s to 3.5s. Just kind of interesting was all. If any are curious as to the line it is P-Line CX in 8lbs test.

Thanks again to everyone who help and commented.

Patrick Rutledge

My apologizes to everyone I said I had a BYAG 12 on my rod. I don't, it is a BYAG 10. I noticed my error as I was getting my rod ready for wrapping.

Patrick Rutledge

So does your current set up have at 10 or 12mm guide?

Pat,

Once you get to a point that you are satisfied with the results you might investigate the possibility of some different lines.. P-Line is not what most would call "supple",however I do like it though for certain applications.


Tom

I have a 10mm guide

Patrick Rutledge

Not for nothing but maybe you are better off having two rods. One for the upper range lure weights and another for the lighter weights . They will perform better because they are made to

And this way you don't have to play with adding heavy guides to make a - silk purse from a sows ear.

Bill - willierods.com

I understand that having multiple rods is definitely the way to go. But when I am waling up and down a river on foot it is hard to carry multiple rods. Two rods is the max I can carry. If I am in the water wading the river having two rods presents problems as I must constantly place one rod on shore, this prevents me from walking and fishing at the same time. I must move down the river in increments, always returning to the bank to set one rod down. This is the reason for trying to get the most out of this one rod. If I was in a boat where I could carry a couple dozen rods I would not be trying to go through these great lengths in guide placement and could simply buy an extra blank.

When I do carry a second rod it is often a 7' Med heavy casting rod for throwing small muskie lures for walleye in the fall. I have caught some big fish on some big lures. Its not a numbers technique but it can catch some nice fish.

Patrick Rutledge

As far as I have learned in the time and the rods I have built -- there is not a rod that will - do it all

You do what you have to - if you can make it - do all ??? Make a sling to carry another rod - just like a riffle ?? just a thought

Bill - willierods.com

I agree one rod will never do it all. But for me it is a matter of doing a lot of stuff ok and one or two things well. I have thought of strapping a rod case to my back pack before, maybe it's something I need to spend some time going over to try to make the second rod option more viable. I would take any thoughts that there are. Maybe its something to think about and start a new thread.

One thought I just had was, build a prototype case and put a cheap rod into it. I'm talking about the $5.00 big box store rod. strap the case to myself and then go do some gymnastics and walking through the woods to see if it protects the rod from abuse. one other concern is with jumping over logs or going under overhanging branches a 7 foot rod tube strapped to my back could be quite cumbersome. If I strap it vertically how high will it be above my head? And on the flip side how low will in hang to the ground? If it is strapped on horizontally, then I would have to perpetually walk sideways if I ever wanted to fit between trees on my way to and from the river or while walking around deep holes. Plus the difficulty of putting one rod way and taking the other one out while standing waist deep water. Maybe the answer to that is a double barreled rod case. But then what about the weight. It would be nice to have the extra rod with me at all times, I just need a work able solution.

Patrick Rutledge

IT DOES NOT SOUND LIKE YOU HAVE ANY -- FUN -- WHEN YOU GO FISHING

It is not a Contest -- it is a Pleasure and some thing - that lets you get away from the world and it's worries

Go fishing ---- have fun

Bill - willierods.com