Thanks Geoff, sending an email over now.
Forum: rodboard

Hi Eric, Would love to discuss sometime in the near future. Which shop? I’m very close to Pompano and could come in sometime to discuss! Thank you! Robert
Forum: rodboard

Thank you Robert, that was one of the blanks I was looking at? Did you drop it into an aluminum butt at its full length?
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I’ll even accept bad ideas at this point ????
Forum: rodboard

Hi, I’m looking to add a set of two rods to my collection that are specifically going to be for planner trolling sea witch’s and strips for kingfish/wahoo. I’m primarily going to be pulling #4 - #6 planers with 60lb braid and leader. I’ve seen and pulled on all kinds of different blanks that my local shops have built out. Some blank through handle with slick butts, some built on aluminum butt
Forum: rodboard

It’s been fantastic, I was skeptical that something as visual and tactile as rod building could be interesting in an audio only form, but I was wrong. It’s been a pleasure listening to the history and characters so far and look forward to every new episode.
Forum: rodboard

I’ve wrapped a couple handfuls of 100-130lb rail rods for tuna fishing on the west coast. All of them have been D underwraps with D double over wraps and all have held up to 100-250lb tuna with 50lbs or more of drag. The key for me is just coating the underwrap, letting that dry and then doing the guide feet after that. I haven’t had a report of a guide issue with this method yet.
Forum: rodboard

Ideally you want enough to soak in to the cord, but not so much as to create a coat of it built up on top of the cord. I wish I could help more but most of my personal experience is with Atwood 1/16” and tarried siene cords. Also, I’m not sure if you did this, but you can get paracord to lay flatter by removing the core.
Forum: rodboard

I tend to not use paracord, but its a semi-popular handle material for a lot of saltwater rods made in Southern California, even used on some factory rods. A lot of the builders there coat cord with a clear water based spar urethane. If you don't treat the cord it will get sun damaged quickly and any colors will fade. Much like rod finish and thread, if the cord has any bright colors you want to
Forum: rodboard

Some things to ask/consider: What kinds of lures is he typically fishing? Treble hooks or soft baits? This will help determine the rod blank. Typically treble hook baits are fished on more moderate blanks, especially with straight braid. I’d probably prefer a moderate blank for all types of baits with straight braid myself. Is he fishing straight braid or a leader connection that will pas
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I also use a dremel. You have to be extra careful to not cut so deeply that the blank gets cut. I stop just short of cutting all the way through if I can and then insert a large flat screw driver into the slot I cut and twist. If done right it should break the remaining part of the seat and leave the arbors and epoxy. That can be removed with heat and a dull blade.
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Have you looked at ProWrap Blurple 464?
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OIf you have one rod for it, spinning, if you have two a BFS setup would be cool and fun but I don’t think that’s the right place to start.
Forum: rodboard

I’d suggest a 734 or 735, cheap enough that you won’t be devastated if it gets roughed up but still high performance. 735 for the frogs and heavier baits like jigs, spinnerbaits, etc. 735 for smaller, lighter baits and fish.
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I find a worksharp is easier to use and produces better results than a file or a dremel
Forum: rodboard

I’d chop it in 0.5”-1” sections and test how it feels. It’s a lot more work to extend than it is to get it right trimming it down.
Forum: rodboard

Depending on how big or long the tip tube is, I’ve put the wheels on the tube of the tip for better support if possible. If not I put the wheels on the blank as close to the wrap as I can without it interfering. It’s definitely one of the trickiest parts to wrap, especially when the blanks are especially light action.
Forum: rodboard

Couple things to consider: how tall is the reel you will be fishing it with? Taller reel = taller stripping guide. Probably either a 25 or 20. For the rest of the guides what kind of line and connections will you plan on running? Anything bulky would probably need a size 10 tip and runners. I personally like the Fuji MN or Alps MXN guides for these style of rods. For grips I find EVA eith
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I’ve built a few dozen of rods like that for so cal fishing live bait and jig fishing. Almost all of them used ALPS XN guides and have many fish from calico bass up to 150lb tuna with no issues. Normal guide train I used was 25 stripper scaling down to either 8 or 10 runners. If you are running an FG connection the 8s work, if using a larger knot the larger guides are better. I don’t have a lot o
Forum: rodboard

I agree. We typically use 40-60lb leader, but I was looking for feedback on the original post about a rod that trolls the planers well. There are few blanks I’m considering but since I moved from CA I just don’t have a good feel for what worsts best out here. My gut says build an 84xh out for trolling planers and I’m sure they will get it done, but just curious how the locals do it.
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Did you ever follow through with this build? Curious how you like this blank for that job? Also, if so, how big of a planer can you run on that blank? I recently moved to South Florida and there is not a whole lot of rod building info available out there for the specific SE Florida fisheries that I have found yet.
Forum: rodboard