Last year I built a really nice #50 stand up tuna and halibut rod on a glass Calstar blank with a spiral wrap topped off with a nep_tune roller spiral top. I paired it with an Avet SX reel spooled with #50 Jerry Brown braid.

So, here is the issue. Last year on a trip my line once got stuck between the roller and the frame of the guide. It popped right out when I pulled on it, so I didn't think much about it. Now, out on a halibut trip the other day, and this happened every few minutes, which I contribute to being pretty windy that day. And, yes, the mounting post/bolt is tight.

So what can I do to fix this? Is this normal? Is there a shim that I can use to keep the line out of the very small gap? I really do not want to switch to a thicker diameter line, as the thinner line allows a more vertical presentation (and less tangles with other rods).

Any advice is much appreciated.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/08/2021 11:59AM by Drew Smith.

You may have to change out your roller top. Depending on age, a lot of rollers were not designed for thin braid. We switch them to Alps and end the problem. Not sure about spiral tips. I'd check with All American first

Drew,
It is my understanding the All American Roller Guides, Nep_tune series, are THE ONLY rollers specifically designed for spiral wrapped guides. The roller fits into a formed recess of the side frames to avoid the line from jumping off the roller and into the gap between the roller and frame. I have built two tuna rods sporting complete sets of the Nep_tune guides and have never experienced the line (50lb Power Pro) jumping off the roller and into the gap. I suggest you contact the owners, Steve or Lori, 714-505-3177; they are very approachable, accommodating, knowledgeable, helpful and just plain extremely nice.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

I built a spiral for deep drop fishing i used a all American roller top and i had the line do the same get caught between roller and frame i too use braid 60 pound I'm thinking of putting a regular tip back on..

Drew,
Well there you have it: David has experienced the same thing. While it is very surprising for me to learn, I would still, if not certainly, call Stere or Lori.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

I don't do spiral wrapped rods so take this for what it is worth (.02) but it seems to me that a roller top on a spiral wrapped rod would present problems.....especially with braid.

Drew,
Did you resolve your issue? We haven’t heard from you since the initial post.
Joseph,
A conventional roller top designed to be on top of the rod = yes; the AA guides are designed to be mounted on the bottom of the rod = no.

i thought about the day my line got caught and snapped the boat was drifting to the stern and my line was heading to the bow i had well over 1000 feet of line out and the line was not centered on the roller. I just checked the clearance on the side of roller to frame with a set of feeler gauges and it was (.010 ) need to check the braid diameter ?

I have reached out to All American and a new top will be sent. This was the first that they had heard of a problem such as this. I'll update when fixed.

I checked power pro diameter 50lbs (.014) 60lbs is (.016) and i had (.010 ) at least on the side of the roller.

David, thank you for taking measurements of the roller gap and comparing line diameters to this. I was just thinking about my next build and was curious as to the quality and of the roller itself is recessed or not. Much appreciated!please keep us posted and kudos to All American for the customer support.