Hi all
New member here! Just placed an order with Herb (big thanks) for the above blank.

Hoping members can offer their experience of optimal guides & spacing.

I’m thinking single foot recoils with couple of lite wire snakes at tip.

Cheers
Mark



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/11/2023 02:59PM by Mark Dimeck.

If you select the library to the right in the black banner the article on static distribution guide layout will allow you to complete your rod and any other type or style you may encounter in the future.

I would order your components as soon as possible; I should have ordered everything at the same time.
Now I have the blank(2wt.), but the black ultra light size 1 REC single foot guides I need are backordered.

Kind of a pain deciding which reel seat to use. I want to use the REC RFTS seat, but I'm worried it will look too big on such a light rod having never held one in real life.
Also requires inletting a fighting butt to accept the hood or custom making a fighting butt with inlet before turning to shape. With the hood on the RFTS being the largest size REC makes, I think the fighting butt will end up being fatter than the grip I intend to make which I think will look weird and potentially get in the way...

I had hoped a call to REC would turn up an over the counter option, but the best they offer is cork rings with inlet so you can shape your own fighting butt...


I currently have a black, Struble 15LX3 which I plan to make a custom fighting butt for as soon as that cork arrives; it is on the order with backordered REC guides, so I have to conjure some patience...

As usual, now that stuff is ordered I am not sure if solid body reel seat will look as nice as an insert seat. I think I'm goin to stick with the Struble, but I am tempted to order another option or two just to make sure the rod turns out exactly how I want it to.

I would static load to find your best guide placement. I test casted a few layouts before settling on what worked for me on my first Euro build. I may have an extra guide, but I haven't had any issues with tip wrap and I ran the ultra light single foots all the way from stripper to tip.

Harry,
I find that the REC RSLS (narrow) and RSLL (wider) hold reel feet better.
You can buy REC fighting butts thatwill fit both.
Youcan also buy a grip that is inletted forboth (same size hood on both)

As a matter of fact I have a bunch of the Black RSLS if you want to try.
Herb
CTS

Harry Sandoval Wrote:
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> Now I have the blank(2wt.), but the black ultra
> light size 1 REC single foot guides I need are
> backordered.

Assuming you are talking about the RSFB, just from my own experience, I would avoid these and opt in for the RSFXB.
The lightweight RSFB are really thin and they will wear out over time, I managed to damage leader material faster but then again that's my own experience.

Hey Herb,

Thank you for the offer, but I think the hood on those seats will require a larger diameter fighting butt in order to recess the .930" hood when the reel seat is used in the downlocking configuration. Although, now that I think of it, I could make my own cork rings in a larger diameter in order to get the fighting butt style I prefer.

I like the size and look of the fighting butt on the Contact 2: [thomasandthomas.com]
I believe the seat on the Contact 2 is similar to the AUSL from REC, which has a .695" diameter hood.
With the hood under .750" I think I will be able to have at least .0625" of material around the inlet on the fighting butt and that hopefully leaves enough material diameter to have a nice looking taper similar to the Contact 2 butt using 11/4" rings.

Any feedback on using a solid aluminum reel seat on such a light rod? Is the difference between solid seats and insert seats just aesthetics?
I feel like I should order an AUSL to to test fit it; but I find it hard to believe that the AUSL will perform the job of holding the reel any better than the RSLL and I don't think their will be much of a weight difference once the insert is taken into the equation?

Ben,

That is great info about the lighter guides wearing out line faster. I only have about 40hrs of fishing time on the NFC Euro rod I just built using those guides. So far I haven't had any leader breakages, but I haven't landed anything big on this rod yet. I will monitor the guide situation closely for line wear.

Would going with micro ceramics make sense on a Euro rod, or maybe the titanium Minnima?

Those RSFB guides seem to be the lightest thing out there by a decent margin. I'm not sure how much weight I can add to the tip and still have the feel I am looking for, especially on a 2 weight trout rod at this length?

With that said, I have been dreaming of testing some size 4 micro guides on a Euro rod. It wouldn't pass knots as well, but I imagine it would cast .010" nylon just fine. The problem I ran into is that even in size 4, the titanium micro guide weights that I could find were heavier than the RSFB...

I keep asking myself, is their a gain in the ability to feel what is on the end of the line by going to micro guides that keep the line closer to the blank? Would any gain outweigh the loss in feel from the heavier guides?

Lastly, I'm not sure if feeling what is on the line is an advantage in this style of fishing. While I do wake up with fish on the line occasionally, in general, the sighter is indicating takes way before I can feel the fish...

Hi Harry,

I could talk for hours about the questions you had.

Just to circle back it isn't about leader breakage but wrinkles that appear on the line from the friction, repeated casting and hooking fish and fighting them, the section of leader going back and forth in your guides are always the same. But we are talking about long days of fishing, of course you replace your leader material as you go. I just find that I need to replace more often with a rod that has REC RSF on it.

Euro rod aren't distance casting rod, it's a matter of preference and budget for the build you want to make. The weight at the tip of euro rod is mostly affecting the casting (precision) but you'll adapt and get used to it. I constantly change rods so I learned to adjust. (Full disclosure, I am into competition fly fishing)
Ceramic would do for the "striping" guide but not needed for the rest of the rod unless you want to have the versatility to switch between euro and dry, at which point the debate about guide selection will go on and on again. I actually always read all the input and listen to what everyone is saying, when it comes to rod building I am just as new as the most beginner out here and with that mindset I keep my eyes out for any details or ideas to explore.

Now here is the thing about the Euro style and the "feel" while it's how the majority of people are doing it and that's also how I did it when I started. It's actually all about "seeing" the takes, I've been on rivers with friends just watching them fishing and told them to set the hook whenever I would say the word "set". It isn't hard to learn but it takes thousands of casts all over a variety of water profile to train your eyes to detect the strikes.

As for the line being closer to the blank, I have never tried the size1. I know a company in Spain came out with a euro rod like that but I've never had a chance to see it.
Also, going with such small guides you'll probably need to wrap a section of mono around the blank to prevent your leader to stick to the blank when it's raining.

copy on the wrinkles, I hate those. I'll monitor how long my butt sections last...

The Six Lakes Mini here in Utah last month was my first comp; super fun and I learned a ton. I wish I could have stayed for the second day with better conditions, but I had a lot of fun none the less. It was impressive to see what good casting looks like in person..

I'm with you on feel being overrated. I have put in a lot of time learning to see the subtle takes on the sighter and most of those fish wouldn't have been caught waiting to feel something.

I'm really liking the way the NFC 11' 2 weight I built a couple months ago fishes and feels running the size 1 RSF guides. I'm going to stick with those guides for this CTS build since I know they will give me what I am looking for which is the lightest rod I can build.

If NFC still has the pick10 going I may have to order a handful of those Fanny1102-4 blanks to test different guide trains on.
Although, I have a feeling the lightest guide train including wrap/finish will yield the best fishing rod for most scenarios it would encounter.

Send me an email if you are looking for someone to fish with between Christmas and New Year. I'll be between Westport, Seattle and Yakima, but I should have a day of free time to fish.

With many of my favorite sections of rivers closed these days, I may break down and take my six year old son out to the Quinalt; but paying for fish feels dirtier than paying for sex these days ;-)

Back on the subject of Reel seats, what have others been using for downlocking reel seats with fighting butts. I would love to have an option like the REC fighting butts, but I don't see a way to make them work on a downlocking seat. I figured REC would have a solution, but when I called, they said they couldn't sell me what I wanted. The best they could offer is the inletted cork rings to make my own... I think the guy I was talking to at REC was implying that they make the seats for larger companies, but can't sell those designs to the public...

I should email Orvis or Thomas & Thomas to see if they will sell me one of their Euro seats... also see the seats available at flyrodcrafters, but they have the more rectangular fighting butts that don't appeal to me as much.

I am based out of BC so we will be with the family for Christmas. What is your email?

You can get down locking reel seats with inletted fighting butts for Euro nymphing rods at a number of different places. Just search Euro nymphing reel seats.
.
Norm



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/10/2023 08:12PM by Norman Miller.