There are fish over 20" in the James. If you want to be able to handle a fish like that under non-ideal conditions you should skip the ultralights and 4 lb test. I use Med-Lt spinning gear for tubes, flukes, senkos, and small crankbaits. For larger crankbaits, spinnerbaits, etc. I use medium baitcasting tackle. The length of the rods is really more dependent on how long of a rod you can
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Mark Gwynne Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Just because the ring material is harder than the > line, the line can still eventually wear into the > ring and groove it. One is not 100% sacrificial to > the other. Because the line is traveling across > the surface of the ring it will have an abrasive > effect. Braid is not smooth either so t
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Since all of these superlines are made of kevlar, spectra, or dyneema and none of these materials is harder than an aluminum oxide (SiC, etc.) ring then these line cannot by definition cut or groove a guide. The only way this can happen, is if the weave or nap of the fibers picks up and holds abrasive materials that can cut the guide ring over time. I would suspect that bottom fisherman or fish
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Had a rod slip on the chuck while drying and when I went to check on it the finish had run pretty bad. However, it was still not solid, although it was the consistency of jam. I had some Isopropyl alcohol and since I had nothing to loose, I got the rod back turning, wet my finger with alcohol and started forming the lopsided blob back into a semi-smooth finish. It worked like a charm. The alc
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You might want to a websearch for the water-slide decals. I know I have read on some modeling websites that builders have printed their own decals on a home printer when the provided decals don't match the markings they want. What I don't know is how color fast these would be in the sun and if the finish would bleed out the inks.
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For the tag ends, try cutting the tag end before you pull it under your wraps with the loop. This takes a little practice not to cut it too short/long but once you get the hang of it you will not have to deal with the tag end fuzz at all. While holding tension on the tag end, pull the loop until the end of the loop is just ready to go under the wraps. The loop will have closed down and holds t
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To open up the cork and arbors, you can also hand turn a drill bit or use a drill bit on a T-handle type chuck. If you have a drill press and the sections will fit this is the fastest way to open the holes and keep them straight. As for the arbors themselves, I saw someone post on another thread that they have used the fiberglass tape for drywall joints instead of masking tape. I think this
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I do most all my wraps with size A thread. I find you have to increase the tension on the thread as the blank gets thinner and the guide feet smaller to keep them tight. I use size A white NCP thread to pull the tag ends. However, I trim the tag end before pulling (I don't like trimming the line if it pulls from under the wraps). Finally, don't put too many wraps over your loop for pulling th
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Be prepared for it not to satisfy you. Be prepared to want to tear it down and rebuild it when cold weather sets in. Be prepared to thoroughly enjoy catching your first fish on it. Be prepared to want to build another one. Good luck!
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Just a thought here but I painted a lure recently and wanted to coat with a clear finish over the paint. My finish was a spray lacquer type. However as soon as I sprayed it the paint began bubbling. What I eventually figured out was the can was pretty low and what was left was pretty much pure solvent. If the can is pretty low that may be the problem. Another thing to try is to put down a pie
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Here is what my mind came up with. If you can find paint that is close to the copper, paint the blank copper, then wrap the guides in black with a copper accent (2-3 wraps). Then do the butt-wrap in black/copper. I say this becaue I just did a St. Croix SCV spinning that is the blue-green color and I had a blue-green thread that was almost identical color. I did what I just described and I th
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I painted a blank with Rustoleum and then coated with Flex-Coat. I was pleased with the results and I saw no indication that the paint was softened. I know that wasn't your original question but just throwing that out there for consideration.
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A follow-on to Michael and Roger's comments. In an open water situation the longer rod has tremendous advantages. However, if you wade or float very skinny water then you'll spend a lot of time casting under overhangs and doing a lot of underhand and side arm casting. In these applications the shorter rods shine. Actually, my all time favorite creek rod is a 5'9" med-light extra fast. I
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I was able to use spray paint over an old blank to change the color. I painted it then re-finished over the paint with flex-coat. I was expecting the paint to crack when the rod flexed but it worked great. There was no change in the action of the rod that I could tell.
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I like my under 6' ultralight rods with a short handle leaving as much rod as possible for longer casts/ fighting fish. I typically use a handle 8" or less. A 6" tennessee type handle would be perfect for this setup. I agree with others to keep the guides as small and light as possible on this application. Good luck.
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If the pattern doesn't require wrapping a single thread at a time, you can use multiple threads. In my experience (admittedly limited) you can put A-size thread on in bands up up to 4-threads at a time. I have tried more but they tend to get twisted up too easily and are hard to handle. I always use bands of threads to close my wraps to save time.
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I noticed in the catalog that the new top of the line Cabela's Platinum ZX rods are touting the nano-silica resin the same as the top of the line St. Croix (legend elite/extreme). Does anyone know if these blanks are made by St. Croix? If they are I hope Cabela's offers them for sale as blanks.
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I am building the same rod in the SC-V and I made a split grip using a handle kit from Mudhole. I got the 12' graphite handle with the aero comfort reel seat. I cut the graphite tube down so it it just long enough for my hand with a little extra. On the bottom I used a tapered EVA butt-cap. I didn't use a fore-grip but just put an aluminum winding check on. I think it looks awesome and I hav
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I really enjoy the technical data supplied here. I'm a big nerd at heart so this is right up my alley. However, sometimes we get too focused on numbers to see the big picture. Allow me to explain. When discussing coefficient of thermal expansion it appears that SIC is a clear winner and far superior to the other mateirals. However, when you look at the values listed and know that the unit is
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Here is some additional food for thought for you in selecting guides. I found some data on the relative hardnesses of common mateirals made to produce guides. There are a bunch of hardness scales out there but I used values from the Knoop Hardness. Agate = 600-700 Chromed Steel = 1800 Aluminum Oxide = 2100 (includes hardloy, alconite, etc) Silicon Carbide = 2480 Diamond = 7000 In gen
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Thanks for all the info. I ended up using the 27X method to find the choke then using a striaght edge from the choke to set the other guides (the article link explained the process very well). Had to do a little playing to make the spacing look good to the eye because of the ring sizes that came with the set. Will tape them on in position and check the alignment, etc. I have made quite a few
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I am in the process of building a 7' medium power fast action spinning rod from a St. Croix SC-V blank. I think the model number is SCV70MF. I purchased a set of Fuji Alconite concept guides (9 pieces). I cannot find any good references for guide spacing other than experimentation or copying a similar rod. Does anyone out there have some history with combination? Any help is greatly apprecia
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