A buddy of mine just showed me a noodle rod he got from Bass Pro Shop. I was astonished at the amount of finish on the guide wraps. What was more interesting was the perfect football shape. Not that I want to copy it I just wonder how they do that? Is that what happens when you just glob it on or is there a technique to it?

I think you can get this 'effect' with just about any finish if you lay a great big glob on the wraps and let it turn.

I stopped in a fly shop in Oregon this spring for some tippet etc and had a look at some of the rods on display. These were the big brands in the $400 - $600 range. I was appalled at the workmanship on some of these 'high-end' rods -a couple of brands were particularly poor - concentric finish, huge footballs and finish running half way, or more, up the guides.

I spend a lot of time and care with the finish on my rods and have sometimes wondered if I go overboard but after seeing this the effort is clearly worth it.

Andy

The football guide finish is somewhat of a trademark for winston fly rods - and people try to imitate that look. To each their own. When I see a football starting to form on a rod I am finishing, I know I need to check that my rod drier is level.

I saw a demo at the National Rod Crafters seminar by a lady from Florida, her name escapes me, that looked like it would solve the football problem but is not for the faint hearted. She explained she did a lot of rod repair and did not have time to fool around. She used Flex Coat and globbed it on and then flamed it using a propane torch. The majority of the epoxy just melted off and voila! a very nice finish. She explained great care must be used or you burn up the wrappings. We are not talking here about a delicate application of flame but a full bore spreader hitting the wrap. Also for those who use LS-2000 Do Not Apply Heat to it!