I am building a 11' 3 wt nymph rod. It will be my first build ....so I have plenty to learn. It appears that the guide spacing charts do not include measurements fo an 11ft rod. Can anyone tell me where to find this information?

Rule #1

Don't use charts.

Rule #2

The static test will determine where your guides need to be and how many you need.

Learn how to do it correctly. The library and "search" function will help as will the guys on the forum.

ESFNEM Col
Port Kembla, NSW
Australia

Thanks Col. I will check out the static test.

Hint for guide spacing.

First all above correct - use static test ONLY.

But don't use guides. They will mar rod's finish when moved. And it is a PITA to constantly re-tape in position. Even surgical tubing is a pain.

I use neoprene "O" rings slid over the blank. Thread the line through the rings. The rings will move freely w/o marring finish and friction will keep them in place while making fine adjustments. use a grease pencil to mark the blank for guide positions.
Herb

George,
What will be the distance from the rod tip to the reel and how many guides would you feel adequate ??
I can give you a few variations to start out.

Gene

Herb,
That sounds like a good tip. I will try thr O-Rings.
Thanks

Eugene,
I haven't assembled anything yet so I don't have an exact measurement. I will need to buy a rod wrapper & other tools before I start. At this point just doing research. Thanks for your help.
George

Herb Ladenheim Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hint for guide spacing.
>
> First all above correct - use static test ONLY.
>
> But don't use guides. They will mar rod's finish
> when moved. And it is a PITA to constantly
> re-tape in position. Even surgical tubing is a
> pain.
>
> I use neoprene "O" rings slid over the blank.
> Thread the line through the rings. The rings will
> move freely w/o marring finish and friction will
> keep them in place while making fine adjustments.
> use a grease pencil to mark the blank for guide
> positions.
> Herb

That's a great idea. I'm always scrtaching my rod doing the static test. What are they? Do you have a photo of them? How does the line move through the O ring? I don't understand. If you would post a photo I would be grateful because like I said, I use the static test, too.
Thanks

Herb, Where do you get the O-Rings?

George,
You can get the 0 rings at the big internet @#$%& site, or just do an internet search.
It is not a bad idea to have a caliper to measure the blank at various points so you know the diameter of the blank, for the O rings use.

When I do a guide layout, I do it rather simply.

I simply eye ball the rod, and flex the blank, starting at the tip. I just take a piece of 1/8th inch wide tape and stick it on the top or side of the blank, where I want a guide to be tied. I continue on down the rod working from the tip to the butt of the rod, flexing the blank.
If the blank bends, and I need a guide to keep the line in the proximity of the blank to load the blank, I will stick on a piece of tape. If the blank does not bend, I keep moving.

Then, I will back away, and just use the ceiling or floor to flex the rod - while eyeballing the locations of the tape. If the spacing looks reasonable, if the line would appear to follow the contour of the loaded blank, I will tape guides on the blank at the locations of the tape.
Then, I will thread line through the guides from the reel, pull out about 30 feet of line, and then, while keeping pressure on the line, will reel the line back on the reel. As I reel the line in, I keep the rod loaded, as if I were fighting a fish, and I eye ball the line to verify that the guide spacing is just sufficient to allow the line to follow the contour of the loaded blank.

What ever method that you use to determine guide spacing, it is always a good idea to do a line through the guide , blank loaded line retrieve test before actually tying on any guides. It is easy at this point to add or subtract a guide, or move any guide.
Tougher after you have wrapped on a group of guides.

To help with the line test, I generally will glue the tip on the blank before doing any of this testing. The solidly affixed tip makes this loaded blank testing much easier. For all of the guide spacing, I always keep a tape measure in my hand. I insure - that starting from the tip, the guide spacing of each succeeding guide from the tip to the blank is either equal or greater in spacing than the previous guide.

But, if I have built other rods on the same blank, I will just use my reference to align my guides, tape them in place, wrap them, and then put the tip on last.

By the way-
The guide spacing for an 11 foot rod, will likely be the same as a 7 foot rod, with the exception of a few more running guides at the tip of the rod.

Good luck
Roger

Roger, Thanks for your help.

What a great idea - no scratches, no tape residue to remove. I will give o-rings a try.

Herb. I followed your suggestions for using O rings to perform the static test. It worked great. Thanks.