I'm new to rod building (finishing my 4th), and am hooked! Running out of excuses to build rods for myself, and want to build one for my business partner. He's an occasional angler, and fishes for bass and blue gill in his favorite pond. He'll appreciate a hand crafted rod (and forgive any beginner flaws!), but he'd never invest in a custom rod, and swears by his old stand by with a Z33 reel (again, occasional angler stuck in his childhood!). I'm not planning on investing much in this build, but I'd like it to stand out a little. I've read hundreds of threads about the advantages of spiral wrap rod guides for larger fish, but nothing about fish in the 2-5 lb. range. Any advantages/disadvantages? He'll fish with it because I built it for him, but I don't want him to fish with it out of obligation. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

There are still advantages - the same ones - but they are less pronounced. Many fishermen have trouble getting used to how it looks, which always seems to be the main objection, so I'd discuss it with him first.

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Paul,
Since one of the uses of the rod is for pan fish - I think that it makes more sense to build a spinning rod - rather than a casting rod.

Never wrap a spinning rod with a spiral wrap since all of the guides and tip top are on the bottom of the rod already.

For a combination rod - I would suggest a 7 foot medium light rod that will cover both pan fish fishing with a float as well as many sorts of bass fishing.

Good luck

Hi,
I agree with Tom that it might be a good idea to talk about the looks of a spiral wrap with your business partner. The spincast rods that I have built or rewrapped have taken little or no time to get used to the looks.
I usually try to make the first guide from the reel the same size as the size of the line aperture of the reel and then develop the spiral from there.
Good luck

Paul Wood Wrote:
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> for bass and blue gill in his favorite pond.
> and swears by his old stand by with a
> Z33 reel (again, occasional angler stuck in his
> childhood!). I'm not planning on investing much
> in this build, but I'd like it to stand out a
> little.

Sounds like it is probably a fiberglass rod that came with the reel.

I would decide on max $ you want to spend and get the best & lightest running guides you can get and spend the least on the rest.

X2 on Roger Wilson's suggestion of medium light power. It is my favorite for pond fishing bluegills and 1# bass on a graphite rod with a fast tip.