Does anyone have any clever ways of marking their rod so that one could easily measure off a fish quickly. Permanent and/or non-permanent marks? I'm not sure I want to commit to putting down some fine thread wraps and finish. As always, thanks for your input.

Rob,
You could tie a string to the butt of the rod with marks on it.

As you may imagine from the tone of my comment, I really don't think that the rod is a good item to use as a measuring stick to measure fish.
There are many other items that work many times better.

I really wouldn't want a strong flopping fish next to a high dollar rod anyway.

When we were down at Cabo fishing for sail fish, told us the story of two different fellows who had their arms broken when trying to get a fish in a box, from the flip of its very strong tail.

So, I think it is a much better idea to use a $3 tape measure that I keep in my tackle box to measure fish up to 15 feet long, rather than risk breaking a very nice rod.

Take care
Roger

You could use a diamond wrap with increments of one inch between each diamond. that way you will know. measure out your handle and remember how long it is. So lets say its a 28" handle (Striped Bass regs) then every one inch after that is 29" 30" 31" so on. just an idea. its endless. think of something. or just mark a spot on your rod that is a certain length from one point to another.

The only ones I mark are perch/panfish rods. I do a small wrap (5 or 6 threads) at 6, 9, 12 and 15 inches

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!!

You could make the marks with a sharpie. If you ever change your mind, they can be removed with a little isopropyl. You could also use thread wraps, and cover them with color preserver. The CP will protect them for a long time, but is easily removed with alcohol, as well.

George Forster
Fort Collins, CO

Have the handle and seat on Place your guides on Before you wrap the guides figure where you want a O Then any other numbers you want Measure from the O to see where they wind up
Decal Connections decals work well No cp needed Or right them on

With the reel on place the rod down to see how it lays on the ground to see where to place the decals

You can also put them over a thread wrap to see easer

Bill - willierods.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/2011 09:57AM by bill boettcher.

A strip of blue painters tape at 30' from the butt and all your Bass are good to keep.Catch and release guys don't need a tape.

Dennis J. Danku
(Sayreville,NJ)

I keep a cloth type tailor's tape in each of my tackle boxes and my fly vest for when I need a fairly accurate measurement. They are inexpensive, take up
little room, and can be cut to any length to make more manageable. Also, if you want to measure girth for any reason, it is much easier to do compared to
a regular tape measure.

As far as measuring marks on a rod, I always wrap a small liars mark (usually at 14, 16, or 18" from the butt, depending on the grip and aesthetics) on all of
my own rods. I never use them for measurement, they are more of a point of reference for photo's.

~RO



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/2011 11:53AM by Rich Olson.

You could also get a tape measure that will clip onto your key chain

Bill - willierods.com

oops! 30 inches not ft.

Dennis J. Danku
(Sayreville,NJ)

oops! 30 inches not ft.

Dennis J. Danku
(Sayreville,NJ)

On some of my older rods I took a little model paint and made small paint dots with a pin head or small finish nail head. Double dots at 10", 20" & 30". Single dots at every 2" in between.

Rog

For my friend Sean (who was always catching 10 inch blue gills)... I put 6 wraps of metallic thread on the blank at the 10 inch mark from the winding check... He does not catch any near as many now...

I guess his ruler was a little short LOL

Bill - willierods.com

Rob...i do a Feather Inlay with "Jungle Cock" Feathers...ie. 18" Mark for Walleye as an example..i cut the tip of each Feather to a Sharp point, specifically30 degrees. And Place the Feathers exactly 18" from point to point on the Blank. Cheers!!!

Dennis Danku Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A strip of blue painters tape at 30' from the butt
> and all your Bass are good to keep.Catch and
> release guys don't need a tape.


I guess I should have given more information as to its use. We catch and release every smallmouth, or for that matter largemouth, bass we catch, always! But it's nice to be able to quickly hold the rod up to the fish using using the end of the fly reel seat at the base of the tail and quickly eye whether you have an approximate 15" or 17" fish so you can release it quickly without harming the fish. Pulling out a tape measure takes too long unless the smallie is over 18" and only then does the tape come out :) So generally, I make sure my hook keeper wraps end at exactly 12" from the end or base of the reel seat. I then like to have a mark at 14", 16" and 18", so really just three marks on the blank are all I need to give a quick but fair approximation. I do appreciate all the ideas that you have been willing to share.

You may already know this but, the average size persons span from the elbow to the fingertips is 18". Try it! Back your elbow up to a corner with your palm down and fingers out.Use a flat rule or tape from the corner out to your fingertips. What a ya got?

Dennis J. Danku
(Sayreville,NJ)

Put the rod on a turner With a marker - of some kind - as it turns make a line around the blank Either finish or wright the numbers on each side of the marks a coat of finish done

Bill - willierods.com

I've found that marks on a rod can be very, very useful when fishing the surf, especially at night.

Striped bass, and probably all fish with size regulations, fall into three easy-to-define categories: definite throwbacks, close calls, and definite keepers. The keeper size limit for stripers in Jersey is 28 inches, and I've found it useful to have a mark on a surf rod (I usually use a hook keeper) that is 28 inches from the rod butt. If you have a "close call" fish, you can see how close a call it is by putting the rod next to it. It can be hard, especially in the dark, to tell whether a fish is 30 or 27 inches, and a reference point on a rod can be used to make an assessment that's much faster than fumbling with a tape measure.

I always carry a measuring tape with me, and use it to determine a fish's size if laying it next to the rod is inconclusive. But I would say that at least half the "close call" fish I catch don't end up going to the ruler -- you can tell whether they're legal or not by holding them up against the rod. Only the "very close calls" need to be actually measured.

I do the same as Chris. In my opinion less stress on the fish. In the surf you do not have your tackle laid out as you may on a boat . By the time you fumble to get the tape out, get out your light if its dark, then drop your setup in the sand and stress the life out of the fish that fish could be well on its way to a healthy release. As far as breaking an outfit never have even come close measuring up a fish.

Freddwhy (Rapt-Ryte)