hi all, building a 10'6" rod for my son, any suggestion on how far apart to make the split grip? have never fished a rod with split grips , just wandering if there are standards or if it's just a comfort thing. is there a graph somewhere? thank you

I am always a believer in reinforcing the custom in custom fishing rods. I say make it your own.

Here is a video on the subject of split grips that we did a few years ago.

[www.youtube.com]

Flex Coat Company
Professional Rod Building Supplies
www.flexcoat.com

This is just me adding my 2 cents .....

I usually build 7' foot rods, I will make a 6' 6" and a 6' footer from time to time, but most of my rods are 7' footers.

For explanation of my message, there are 4 parts to the split grip:
The Butt Cap
Rear Split Grip
Reel Seat
Foregrip

From the butt end of the blank without the Butt Cap on, to the back of the Rear Split Grip, I have a measurement of 7" inches. This makes an awesome balancing point when I put any 4000 reel in the reel seat.

I reamed and put a complete split grip set on one rod blank "un-epoxied" and had the reel seat on loose arbors and put a 4000 Penn Conflict reel in the Reel Seat. I taped all the eyes to the rod including the tip top. I put the Butt Cap on the butt end of the blank un-epoxied.

I balanced the rod right on that "spot" on the handle where your index finger would be on the foregrip in front of the reel seat.

Leaving the split grip "un-epoxied" allowed me to slide the blank forward or reverse until I found that perfect sweet spot.

I took measurements and have used those ever since.

Your rod blank is slightly longer, so your sweet spot may be a little more towards the top.

Good Luck with your build!

Tony Boschi
Banana River Rods
Merritt Island, Florida
321~525~1063

* Rapid Prototyping Services
* Custom Beach Rods
* Custom Inshore Rods

[bananariverrods.com]

Hello Mike - There is not a magical distance for the space in between a split grip set-up. We know for sure there is going to be a piece that is installed on the very end of the rod. Next step is to just hold the rod blank as you would be fishing and determine where the reel seat will be installed. Mark that placement of the reel seat on your rod blank. The other grip then installs just behind the reel seat and the split area space ends up being what it is.

Bob McKamey
Mud Hole Custom Tackle
bobm@mudhole.com

On any rod the ergonomics and balance (if balance is a priority) should determine where the reel goes relative to the butt. Try it where you think it should go then have your son go through the expected fishing motions with the clothing on that he plans to wear. Bundled up? Rain jacket? With tip up techniques you might want to go a little long to keep the butt from snagging the clothing at the elbow.

As for length as mentioned it is personal preference. I like the butt to fall just forward of my elbow. I position the reel accordingly. Whatever the gap is it is. One suggestion I would make is go with a longer foregrip due to the length of the rod. I have built a couple 9 to 10 foot rods. It is nice in my opinion to have a nice foregrip to chokeup on when landing the fish. Getting a full grip ahead of the reel makes it much easier to lift the rodtip high and direct the fish to the net. I typically go with around a three to four inch fore grip. I can get my hand ahead of the reel without being on the blank itself.

Agree, Michael S, the bigger the rod, the bigger the expected fish, the more grip to use.

If you will be using two hands to cast the grips should be located exactly where your sons hands naturally fall when he goes through the motions , when i hear of blanks over 10 feet i assume two handed casting .

Herb hit it on the head. You are definitely two hand casting a 10'6" rod. As such you need to take into consideration that your bottom hand is going to be at the butt of the rod. IMO that means you need a longer butt grip than you would on a shorter rod. You're going to want something that you can grab on to. I doubt you'll find the smaller fighting butts you find on a 7' bass rod, are going to work on a rod of the length you're talking.

My thoughts are that you're probably going to have to make the butt grip out of some other grip. Perhaps a rear grip that you could turn a tenon on it for a butt cap, and then mount backwards? Personally I do split rear grips strictly for their aesthetic value. The more blank showing between the two rear grip pieces, the cooler they look. The problem IMO with a rod you will be casting with two hands is, if you make the butt grip longer, you lose exposed blank distance between the two pieces, and it doesn't look as "cool"

Personally I would go with a full rear grip, were I building a rod of that length.

A long full length cork grip can get to be quite expensive at $3 to $4 an inch for relatively decent cork rings. One of the reasons that split grips are so popular. Anything between the butt grip and rear grip is basically wasted cork. On a 10’6” rod the grip will be rather long and will depended, as Herb mentioned, where your hands fall for a comfortable two handed casting stroke, and this length is a personal thing. With a split grip it is easy to mock up handle length by simply moving the rear grip and reel seat up or down the blank until you get the length you like. For the fore grip you can do any length you want or not use one. It up to you. Handles are certainly one of the things that make a custom rod custom.
Norm

Mike,
If you are building a 10'6" rod for your son, I would not put a split grip on the rod. A rod of this length needs to be cast with two hands. A continuous grip makes this task much easier and much more comfortable than using a split grip on such a rod..

Rather, I would put a long 10-14 inch EVA grip on the rod for a price of about $3 and combine it with a reel seat and a 4-6 inch fore grip in case one would want to put a hand in front of the reel seat to assist with a fish - particularly with the long length of the rod.

By staying with EVA rather than other materials, the appearance is nice, but the cost is low and the installation is simple.

[www.mudhole.com]

By the way, when you install an EVA grip, you have your choice of trying to stretch out a smaller id grip on a rod, by using generous amounts of epoxy to let one slide the grip down the rod, or making live easy and simplify by always reaming the grip out to be a very slightly loose fit on a blank that is easy to secure with a thin layer of epoxy. Your choice. I just work with an EVA grip in the same way what I would work with a cork grip, a foam grip or a carbon grip.

Good luck on the build.

I argue with the comment that a split grip will be significantly more uncomfortable than a solid one. This would be true only if the design of the butt knob is flawed. Since I screwed up my shoulders and want to make long casts for smb I use two-handed casting with split grips and find nothing uncomfortable with them. The shape of the butt knob ensures that even with a light hand contact, it won't slip out of my hand like a continuous grip might. It's a matter of preference, but both designs can be done well, and both can be done poorly.

John Cates Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I am always a believer in reinforcing the custom
> in custom fishing rods. I say make it your own.
>
>
> Here is a video on the subject of split grips that
> we did a few years ago.
>
> [www.youtube.com]


In the video I see the reel seat has an exposed section of the blank.

Do those style reel seats have to be sized, or will there be some sort of gap? Unless the blank had the perfect thickness of course?

Chris

Yes, that is a fuji casting reel seat and it is sized specifically.

Flex Coat Company
Professional Rod Building Supplies
www.flexcoat.com