Thanks so much Alex, this is exactly what I was hoping to learn.
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I'm interested in the NFC lineup of fly blanks. Can anyone who has built on their blanks give a comparison or review of them? I'm looking at their current sale prices and thinking of winter projects, particularly the Classic series and the LMX, likely for a 5 or 6wt trout rod. How do they compare to other manufacturers blanks available?
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Herb, I managed to get one 12mm and it feels nice and is very light but the 16mm was backordered. I don't know how long it's going to take.
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I see that Scott advertises the use of the CERecoil guides for stripping guides on their new saltwater rods, I have an 8wt blank ready to build and wanted to know if anyone has tried the CERecoil guides on their fly rod builds? I usually use a 16mm and 12mm for the stripping guides and Rec snake guides for the rest of the way. Sees like a nice fit to keep all the guides nickel titanium and flexib
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Bob recently had to change his email server, has a new email address that you can find on the website. Maybe check to see that you have the current address.
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I’ve fished Pyramid Lake several times and I think the perfect rod for it is the Beulah Opal surf rod. It’s designed for two handed overhead casting not spey casting. Much easier on your shoulder for the endless blind casting done on Pyramid.
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My brother in law asked if I could repair his Sage Z Axis 9'6" 5wt for him, the stripping guides is crushed. Does anyone know the proper replacement for the guide and also the thread color that Sage used on this rod?
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Joel, I'm interested in the blank you have. Can you email the price? Thanks.
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Thanks so much for the offers, I guess it just goes to show, you never know what you can find unless you ask. I actually found a 9' 10/11wt just yesterday but it's a 2 piece. I'm still interested in the the 11wt and will follow up. Thanks again!
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It's a long shot I know but I'm trying to track down an old Allstar Austin 10/11wt fly blank to build. I tried to post in the Buy/Sell but couldn't get past the Captcha part. I built a few fly rods on the old Austin and Elite series and really like them, hoping to find one for an upcoming tarpon trip.
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I was fishing with a friend’s new Scott Meridian rod and I really like the reel seat they use. It seems similar to the one also found on Sage’s Salt rods. Does anyone know if it’s possible to get a hold of those reel seats for your own builds?
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I haven’t run into this situation before on lighter weight fly rod builds and hoping to get some advice. I have an 8wt fly rod blank and I’m trying out REC snake guides for the first time with the smallest guides being size 2. I have some snake brand tip tops but find that the standard loop tip top is smaller than the snake guides. It the large loop tip top is much larger than the snake guide
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Thanks for the replies all. i'm going to stick with the standard snake guides. I think the multi tip lines ave a good chance of getting caught up in the single foots.
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I've never fished or built a fly rod with single foot guides with inserts before. I've got a 8/9wt fiberglass blank that I'm about to start in on, and I'm considering trying out these single foot guides. I've always used traditional snake guides without any problems. But I think the intended use of this rod is more about ease of shooting and stripping line. The rod will mostly be used with multi
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Thanks all for the recommendations! It's a huge help
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Thanks for the advice all. One concern I have is how high the guides stand off the blank. I don't have catalogs for all the different components so can any of you recommend a guide that is lower in profile amongst all these titanium guides?
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I'm about to start in on an 8wt saltwater fly rod build. Almost all the rods I've built before have been for freshwater. Can anyone help me pick out a saltwater safe stripping guide? I am interested in the titanium guides I see from Pac Bay, American Tackle and Alps. I'm not able to see them in person so I'd appreciate any advice on which would be the best choice. Thanks.
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Thanks for the advice, I'll try these out.
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I've always used those cheap cork reamers to ream out cork grips that I've turned on a mandrel. Are there any reamers that can be used in a drill to speed it up? I build a lot of fiberglass fly rods and some of those wind up needing over a 1/2" opening, takes a long time by hand.
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Your email is hidden or I'd send you a message. Any chance you found Lamiglas S glass fly rod blanks? Those are some my favorites.
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I've done it too and a switch blank can work well as a single hand nymphing rod, I find it helps if it's a slower action blank.
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Thanks for the opinions. I've used snake brand universals most often and I like that the wire is thinner in the smaller sizes. Can anyone say if the TiCH finished from Pac Bay or Alps are more durable or slicker than chrome? And is there a difference between manufacturers like Alps and Pac Bay when it comes to quality?
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I'd really like to hear from the experienced builders out there about their favorite choice for snake guides. Ive built rods using standard and lite wire snakes in several different finishes and from different manufacturers. In all honesty I don't see much difference in performance but I haven't been doing this long enough to see how they all hold up. I'd like to know the performance and durabil
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I just built a glass rod with the transparent wrap look. Just use natural silk and thin your epoxy.
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The large I own is too short to fit the Mudhole mandrel, so I cut it in half and have 2 mandrels. It works fine as you only need one side with the live center. And each mandrel is still plenty long enough to turn a grip or reel seat.
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I build a lot of fly rods and for those, I'm always trying to find a good green. Nearly all greens turn too dark without using CP, if you're after a true green with the translucent look, the one option I've found is Clover Silk Light Kelly #146, huge thanks if you could make that color in you thread. Would also be great to have a red-orange, none that I know of out there.
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I've built around 15 glass fly rods, mix of vintage and modern makers and my favorite of current offerings are those made by Steffen Brothers.
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I just attempted transparent wraps on a translucent glass fly rod, very similar to the Epic. I used YLI natural silk 100wt, color was 212 and finished with ProKote. The thread will go clear but unless you really thin the first coat with denatured alcohol, I mean really thin it, you'll still see a shimmer from the silk. The shimmer is from micro bubbles of air that are trapped in the thread. You h
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Hi all, I'd like to build a fly rod for my 5 year old. I've let her practice with a few of mine and want to make one with a thinner more child's sized grip or even build it for 2 handed casting. Don't want to buy an expensive blank and would like some recommendations for a medium action blank, 2 piece, 4/5 wt around 7' in length. Open to fiberglass or graphite. I've only really built on vintage
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Thanks for the input guys, I'll use the 3-10 solution. In the future smaller guides and less changes.
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