Do you guys think my hook keeper is too close to this winding check wrap?

I would like to keep my winding wraps this length on this rod so changing the length of the winding check isn’t an option so if it’s too close my option is to move the hook keeper up. I like the distance between the two now but I have never used a rod with this style of hook keeper before so I wasn’t sure if after I epoxied the thread wraps would the hook keeper area be too crowded for functionality?

Looks OK.

If that doesn't work, you are using some big hooks.

Thanks for the responses. I was worried that the thickness of the epoxy could make it a little crowded for hooks/drop shots. I moved it up a bit just to be safe

I’m not a spin or casting rod builder, but is that hook keeper facing the right way?

Looks to me like it should be turned around so the slot is up and away from the blank, so when a hook goes into it, it is kept away from the blank as to not scratch it up.

It is installed correctly-that's a drop shot keeper intended to capture the sinker when the line is taut. I think if installed the other way it would be too small to be practical and would not work for drop shot.

I really dislike that keeper, though. Easy to get too much wrap epoxy around and into it, too small for some lures. I really like a size 2 single foot wire fly guide. Very functional, can even be bent to make it work for drop shot, easy to wrap and finish, unobtrusive.

The best of all keepers in my opinion is the one designed and made by Norman Miller-Bob Guist can probably tell us what issue of the magazine it was featured in. It works well for all techniques, easy to wrap (only one wrap required), corrosion proof.

Ahh, okay, now I can picture how it functions.

As far as the placement, pictured ..... you have it wrapped on the rod, how does it work for you without epoxy on the winding check wrap? My personal feelings are is that it is too close. Not to the winding check wrap, but to the fore grip. I'd want it another inch or so further away from the fore grip.

And yes, it's a drop shot keeper, but I don't use them to hold the weight, I think it's a horrible design for a drop shot keeper.. Having an open hook danging between where the weight is secured and the tip of the rod is a poor idea at best. I have one of this style keeper on my drop shot rod, and one of these days, probably this winter, I'm going to change it to a regular double footed wire hump/ hoop style keeper. Anyhow ..... the way I use this style keeper for a drop shot is, I put the hook under it and just wrap the drop line with the weight on it, around the stem of the reel. And that's just when I am transporting the rod in my rod box. When I have the rod on the deck of my boat I just let the weight lay on the deck.

But ...... I think they are awesome keepers for rods that use treble hooked baits, or rods where a snap is used to attach the bait to the line. When you take the bait off to transport the rod, the snap slips over the end of the keeper easily and keeps it very secure. I have them on all but one of my rods I use with treble hooked baits.

Looks fine to me. I put mine a little farther out, but that’s just a personal preference. I also place them on the side, perpendicular to the top of the rod. That said, I don’t put hook keepers on rods I build for myself. Also, the drop shot keeper is very popular (at least with the bass guys), but I don’t know any that use them as they’re intended. They use them as a hook keeper, not a weight keeper.

Daryl Ferguson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Looks fine to me. I put mine a little farther out,
> but that’s just a personal preference. I also
> place them on the side, perpendicular to the top
> of the rod. That said, I don’t put hook keepers
> on rods I build for myself. Also, the drop shot
> keeper is very popular (at least with the bass
> guys), but I don’t know any that use them as
> they’re intended. They use them as a hook
> keeper, not a weight keeper.

I use it the same way...typically I will put them on a rod (fsay for flipping) where I'm throwing plastics with the hook rigged weedless.

Here you go Michael.

Volume/Issue............Article..............Author................Page.
21/1 Hook keeper, Open-End. By Norman W. Miller. 14
19/1 Hook Keeper, Does A Custom Rod Really Need It? By Chuck Bretz. 22

P.S. The second one is a bonus..

Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/15/2023 09:39AM by Robert A. Guist.

Thanks, Robert!

Here is a picture of my hook keeper. It’s made of titanium welding wire bent to shape. It takes a few minutes to make, costs less than 15 cents, works extremely well, and will not corrode. I have been making this hook keeper for over 20 years. If you like the traditional double ft loop hook keepers you can use the titanium wire to make then yourself.
[www.rodbuilding.org]
Norm

For those that might not have known, that hook keeper, though called a “drop shot” keeper, actually excels at holding hooks at the bend. That way, Texas rigged plastics do not have to have the hookpoint removed to hold the bait. I typically place it 2 thumb widths away from my reel seat, as I like to be able to place a finger or two on the blank as I fish (a reason why I wouldn’t have the winding check wrap so long as in this picture). Though it feels more intuitive on the side of the blank, I’ve found that it interferes less (line catching it) when placed on the same side as the reel (bottom for spinning, top for baitcasting).

It totally depends on how you hold the rod. I hold a spinning rod with 3 or sometimes all fingers ahead of the reel stem and put my finger out on the rod blank. The short foregrip and close hook keeper would be a non-starter for me. If you grip further back and your fingers don't reach the hook keeper then it is just fine. For drop shots I have the hook keeper near the butt of the rod (split grip) and use the Fuji ez keeper above the grip. Hook goes on the ez keeper (which is moveable) and the weight goes on the keeper near the butt. A bit complicated, but the weight and hook are both on a keeper.

I would move it out a half inch or so.

The placement is good enough. I had one that is further up away from the fore grip and on the side of the rod. Sometimes the line gets caught in it and it is a annoying hassle. I would fix that by moving it closer to the reel seat/ foregrip and positioned either on the top or bottom of the rod, not on the side. Which you seems to have done correctly in the picture.

Also, it wouldn't be too crowded even with epoxy on it. You should be able to put a hook over it without problems. Unless you are using a unnaturally heavy gauge wire for a hook in which that rod would reasonably never see.

It does get tight on larger worm hooks after a couple coats of epoxy. I’d say 3/0 and above, but It works good for securing the DS weight or the smaller fine-wire hooks. The way you had it looks like it would cause the hook to snap into the keeper after the epoxy but if your using this for securing the line at the weight it would work.