Some moisture and/or grit got in to the uplocking ring that holds the reel seat of my Steffens 7 weight, a rod I love to fish. I’ve tried ice, but no luck. Either the barrel expanded or the ring contracted, but it’s frozen pretty tight. Any suggestions? Thanks Mel
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Love building fly rods, particularly on CTS blanks. I usually use spar varnish or something similar to coat the blanks, with good results. But my wife of many years has become quite sensitive to the odor, which poses an imminent threat to my future as a blank-rod builder. Anyone know of an odourless varnish or polyurethane compound? Suggestions appreciated... thanks in advance... Mel
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Thanks for the info on the forhan wrap. I will give it a try... I was thinking of using the snake brand light wire eco snakes, unless someone has some evidence that the recoils are better/lighter. I’ve had good results with both in the past, and haven’t noticed a difference. I prefer the snake brand because they look really cool, and are very easy to work with. Sizes 1, 2, and a 3, and a cerecoil
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The guides on the Orvis rod now are standard chrome snakes in use during the 70’s, 80’s or 90’s. They appear more substantial, a bit larger, and heavier than the guides I currently use to build rods... Mel
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I own an Orvis 7’9” far and fine 5 weight fly rod, which I enjoy. As a winters project, I would like to replace the older guides with modern snake brand or recoil guides and perhaps cerecoil strippers. I would hope this would add a slight improvement, and I’m not concerned about re-sale. But I don’t want to mess up the action. Thoughts? Suggestions?... Mel
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Thanks to all for the terrific feedback. Looks like the MX would be the ticket.... thanks for writing Herb. I’ll be in touch. I hope you are well and virus free. I took my Sage Method 6 and CTS 6 to a nearby river to compare. Used an MPX line. The Sage is light, fast, accurate, and casts for distance. The CTS is lighter, with a quick recovering tip that makes me look like a terrific caster, more
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I haven’t posted for quite a while, but I have a question you guys might be able to help me with. I build fly rods for myself and my buddies. I recently built a 6 weight 9’ rod from a cts affinity X blank Herb Ladenheim got for me. I call the rod my “zip-zip” rod: fast, light, accurate, Flick of the wrist and the fly is there. I can cast further than I will ever need to, but the rod doesn’t reall
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I will take you up on your offer. My e-mail is melvynsegal@gmail.com... can you mail me a phone number and we can chat? Thanks... Mel
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How can I get in touch with Dan Craft? His website seems to be down. I would like to buy a GXT 6 weight blank from him... Mel
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I get it... good strippers for shooting line, snakes to balance the load, and lightness at the tip. Sounds like a plan. One last question: Do you use the same size guides for all your running guides or do you gradually downsize? I've always done the latter, but wonder about the former in terms of reduced weight and efficiency... Thanks, Mel
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Thanks... I agree with the pursuit of lightness and quickness, especially toward the tip.. why not use recoils for all the running guides? Why bother with the snakes?... Mel
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Have you ever combined the Minimas or light ceramics with titanium snakes, single or double foot?
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Hi All, I'm new to the forum, but have been building fly rods from blanks on an occasional basis for quite some time. I'm considering building a 7 weight from a Winston B111x blank I have, using Fuji SIC titanium guides for the first 4 guides and Recoil single foot guides for the remainder. I want to maintain a light and lively mid-tip, but I think the ceramics would add a smooth castability d
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