Tom ......... if I remember correctly the rescue device required a float with line and that won't work when I'm fishing in deep water ......... I also don't like the idea of having to deal with a lot of attached line tangling or getting caught on debris or pilings that I might be fishing around. Please forgive me if I remember it incorrectly. I guess I'll have to go back and search for the article.

I do like the idea of floating rods like the Seeker that Jim posted. My post was to see if anyone is building them this way. I just think that there could be a big and growing market for it as the kayak market grows. It looks like it is wide open cause nobody is even thinking about it. I know a bunch of guys that love great rods but don't want to take a chance of losing them. I also know of some that put bulky floats on them that defeats the advantages of the custom rods.

I think you've got it wrong - there is nothing to tangle on or with because there is nothing outside the rod. It's inside the rod and only deploys if the rod is tossed overboard. The length of line is up to you, but I've put 50 feet on mine which covers about any place I fish locally. You can easily put more if you need it. It could possibly tangle if the rod went directly into a brush pile and the float couldn't make it to the top.I haven't tried doing that on purpose but might give it a shot with a test rod when things warm a bit.

Like you, I think anything that would make recovering a rod tossed overboard should be a great selling point for any kayak fisherman. The chance of losing a rod overboard from a kayak is just one heck of a lot more likely due to the small size of these craft. If a $10 addition can insure a guy that he's not going to lose a hundred or multi-hundred dollar outfit then I'd think most would opt for it. But only if its fairly non obtrusive.

No doubt there are still ideas and possibilities none of us have come across, yet.

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There is a company that makes this type of rod. It is located just below Jacksonville, FL If you want the web address just e mail me and I will be happy to forward it to you.
Tom, I hope the post is not against the forum rules.

Corky
Corky's Custom Rods
Savannah, Georgia

Pretty sure it's already been mentioned.

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No Tom ...... I've got it right ......... if the rod falls overboard and if the thing deploys, there will be a bunch of line to deal with when you puled it up ......... and if there is a strong tide, the float will be down stream and probably underwater ....... and if it is by the ships hulls at Kiptopeake or the barnacle covered pilings, the string would probably be cut on the razor sharp barnacles and if the place that I might turtle is deeper than the line then it will never reach the top, and if the rod is on the bottom and in the rocks, it would probably be wedged in the rocks from the tide, and if the thing didn't deploy because I didn't maintain it , there would be a problem ...... etc. It's a good idea for freshwater ponds, lakes and rivers but strong tides, saltwater and deep water change the dynamics.

In my opinion, It would be better for the rod to remain on the top.

Of course we'd all like our rods to float, but to do that would require adding something obtrusive, at least in most cases.

The barnacles on the concrete ships or the pilings won't easily cut the line specified in the article on the rescue device. Neither will scissors or snips. That wouldn't be my concern. I would be more worried about a tangle or snag if the rod went into brush or something. Although the strength of the line might negate some of that, maybe. As far as having "a lot of string to deal with" I'd say who cares? The important thing is that you just got your expensive rod back. Sort of like an air bag going off in a car after a head-on collision. Terrible to have to deal with the deflated bag and all that powder everywhere, but if it saved something more valuable, who cares?

No doubt you can come up with a scenario in which it won't work for some reason, but it's the least obtrusive means of rescuing an overboard rod. Huge grips intended to increase displacement will certainly work in nearly all instances, but few will want such a rod much less pay for one.

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Something does come to mind here - substitute an inflation device for the float. That's how the key bouys work. No tether required, but it would have to exit the rod before inflating.

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Tom ....... Play the link Jim posted ......... The s seeker blanks float with a reel and lure without anything added ........

Any rod that is large enough to displace a volume of water that weighs as much or more as the outfit itself will float. Seeker didn't perform any magic to get them to float. I thought that was the question - how to make a rod blank float. Unless they're large enough to displace enough water, they won't, so you're back to adding something to them to increase their volume.

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Richard,

Those Seeker rods are built on large diameter thin wall S-glass blanks. They have a lot of volume for their weight, and as Tom said, that is why they can float a reel without any help.

The one option that hasn't been put on the table in this thread, and is the simplest method for floating a rod, is to look into having a line of custom blanks produced. If you truly feel the yak fishing community is large enough to make it worth your while, you could talk to any one of the blank manufacturers on the left. I'm sure they would be more than happy to help you out. Alex at Hydra specializes in doing smaller scale private label projects for rod builders. CTS in Australia does one off custom blanks, I think.

Other options involve using building techniques that reduce weight. You can reduce weight by assembling your handles on a larger diameter carbon tube and stopping cutting the blank off a few inches behind the reel seat. Then you have a region of your rod that has the same volume that it would otherwise, but a fair bit less mass. You can move to Tennessee handles for spinning rods. Dumping the reel seat can save an ounce or more of weight. Of course for the type of fishing you are doing, I wouldn't use the traditional method of attaching the reel to the rod with tape, I would wrap it on like a guide and finish with epoxy. If plate seats are acceptable for a number of saltwater applications, I have little doubt that a reel installed on a rod in this manner will stand up to the task (especially in a yak, as you will move the yak long before you putt enough stress on the wraps to cause them to fail). In any case, you need to end up with a rod/reel combo that has a density less than or equal to 1.0 g/cc.

Joe

All the "lost overboard" rods from kayaks I have heard of were the result of either not putting the rod in a rod holder or using the wrong type of rod holder [especially fly rods]. Both these problems are easily solved.

Phil ......... alot of rods are lost when someone turtles as well as other reasons as you said ............ rod holder problem or another ....... alot of custom rods are lost ........

Joe ........ I'm aware of why the Seeker S glass floats and that you have to use light components. I'm definitely not where I could begin to approach a rod manufacturer to make some specialty blanks ......... shoot I just build for myself and some friends ........ I'm not even selling rods at this point ......... I was wondering if anybody was building for this purpose ......... guess it's a wide open market