We have built many big game fly rods over the years and our guides of choice are single footed titanium ceramic for the running guides and doubled footed titanium high framed guides for the strippers. The first stripper guide is the most important one of the whole set and the one most builders over look. The fly reels used for bluewater angling are huge compared to what is commonly used for insh
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As a big game fisherman and big game fly rod designer and builder I have seen more broken 10 and 12 weights than all others put together. The major problem is using tippets that are of a pound test more than the rod blank was designed to handle. I know this may sound crazy but a 10 weight fly rod is nothing more than a 10 pound class spinning rod and a 12 weight is a 12 pound class spinning rod.
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I do not think it is an adhesive problem. The adhesives that are in the prepreg materials used are called thermoset. This means once the adhesive is heated to the flow temperature it can not be reheated and reformed. A thermoplastic adhesive such as hot melt sticks can be reheated and reformed. Whoever the rod company they would know immediately if there was a resin problem as soon as the shrin
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If you are going to leave the reel connected to the rod for a period of time in a saltwater enviroment. Use one of the graphite/nylon reel seats. I have had aluminum reel seats freeze up on me within a couple of weeks out in the Pacific so I had to use a pair of channel lock pliers to break the rings loose so I could get the reel off. Plus an aluminum reel seat will mar the finish on your Tibor's
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Phil, One of my favorite fishing destinations in the world is Kirabiti, Christmas Island. I've spent about 3 months there fishing for everything from bones to Black Marlin. I have found that a 10wt. is good for the GT's that are under the 40 pound class anything over that calls for a 12wt or larger blank particually if fishing from a boat over deep water. A 10wt just doesn't have enough guts in
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Earl, The company I own specializes in this sort of fly rods. We have found after years studing the problem of heat build up at the stripper guides is to increase the heigth of the guide acorrding to the diameter of the reel to be used. If you are going to use a reel with a spool diameter of 4 inches or less you can get by with a high framed guide such as the Fuji TSVG or if money is not a pro
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A full sinking fly line the same weight rating as the rod or one weight heavier is the ticket for the best bass fishing. The sinking line should be a class 4 or 6 for to pull the fly under and follow the contour of the bottom. If you want to use a clouser style fly you can get by with an intermediate fly line. Catching bass on top is a blast but remember this... most bass live under the water not
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I knew Ed Story of Feather-Craft well and he always took time to help me and my partner when we were just starting out in business. I was deeply saddened by his resent passing. We had many discussions about the tackle industry over the years, from flys to rods. This issue of guide size for 12wt and above fly rods comes up rather frequently and most everyone has their own opinion on what the t
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The first consideration is the size of the reel diameter. A reel with a diameter of 4 inches or less you can go with a high frame 20, a reel diameter larger than 4 inches up to 5 inches go with a size 25 high frame. The rest should be a size 12 and 10 high frame double footed guide then 2 size 10 and 4 size 8 single foot fly guides. All guides should have titaniun frames and ceramic inserts.
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Stiffness is a material's ability to resist deformation when under stress. The more techincal term is modulas of elasticity, or Young's modulas. A fiber's modulas of elasticity is measured in the labortory by subjecting it to a tensile force strong enougn to strech the fiber but not so high as to deform it permanently. This streching or pulling is what we call the materials elastic range, where t
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All of the methods mentioned work, but there is a better way in my opinion. Cortland makes a product called Braided Mono. It comes on a 100 feet roll and is available at most good tackle stores and fly shops. Comes in either 30 or 50 pound test. Fly lines less than 10 weight you can use the 30 pound. Form a loop in the braided mono and pull the tag end into the standing part of the braided mono.
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Scott-Chick The first thing you must remember when designing a fighting butt is it is only another ferrule. It is not any different than the ferrules used to connect the sections of the rod together. To make one is simple. Build the rod as normal and don't worry about the fighting butt until you have finished everything else. Take a piece of hardwood doweling and taper it so that you have a n
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The Fuji model T1GG is the finest fly guide they make. The ring material is gold cermet. The frame is titanium. They are the lightest, strongest, best looking guides on the market and can be used on any size or weight of fly rod from 2wt to 18wt. These are not to be confused with the newer Concept T1LGG which have a different frame design. TLSG= SiC ring material, titanium frame ICLSG=SiC rin
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This question goes with your first on about uplocking vs downlocking reel seats. Most people today use uplocking seats on fly rods of all sizes and weights. The fighting butt is just a cosmetic addition on any fly rod of 7 weight or less. It serves no other purpose and a 1 inch to 11/2-inch is fine. At the 8 weight level you will begin to use the fighting butt for the reason it was intended, as a
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Dan, This same idea occured to us several years ago. We approach all of the major rod companys in the USA to see if we could have someone manufacture a 3 piece 7 foot 50 pound class trolling rod blank. We always received the same answer there is not enough interest. Finally we contacted the folks at CTS and they made the blanks for us. We had them designed so that you could build them straight t
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Mike, Use cork for the grip and cork for the fighting grip if you want one. A number 16 Fuji reel seat is plenty big, if the reel is really large go with a size 17 cut back to the same length as a 16. Guides should be all purpose titanium frames with ceramic rings for the first three strippers followed by single footed titanium fly guides. Sizes are 25,12,10 double footed, 10,10,8,8,8,8, singl
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Bill, If the rod was correctly built the reel seat would be in the down locking position to allow you to install the reel then have room on the threaded portion of the reel seat to attach the reel bracing hardware. This keeps you from deforming and damaging the fore grip. Michael A Taylor
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Phil, The correct size gimbal is a 4. If you want a nice edge where the gimbal and the slick butt join together that does not have any gaps where water can seep into the joint all you have to do is after careful shimming of the gimbal and slick butt is bond the gimbal and the butt on at the same time and use a cork clamp to force the two pieces together. After that sets up then install the reel
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Chris, Several years ago I had a problem with one of our Renzetti lathes not cutting or boring a hole on center. I pulled out the owners manual and read the section on alignment of the chuck and rail bed. After re- aligning the the chuck with the center of the supports that solved the problem of nonconcertric cork handles. The process is fairly simple and Renzetti lathes come with plastic shims
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Lynn, I have answered this question before. If you are going to use a reel over 4 inches in diameter you will need to increase the size of the first stripper to a size 25 high frame. If your reel is over 5 inches in diameter a size 30 is not out of the question. One thing you have to remember fighting a fish on a flats skiff in 6 foot of water and fighting a fish in 1000 foot of water demand
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Dennis, This question or similar ones come up on this forum quite often. All of our research has pointed to the direction of using a size 20 high frame stripper guide on saltwater fly rods when reels of less than 4 inches are used. One aspect that is forgotten when designing a saltwater fly rod is the fish fighting. The higher framed stripper guide decreases the angle formed by the fly line an
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John, When the two sections are joined together the joint formed by the male and female ends is not the center of the ferrule. The center of the ferrule is the distance the bottom section inserts into the tip section divided by 2. This varies from blank to blank but the average is somewhere around 13/4 to 21/4 inches. Once this midpoint is found you can measure 6 inches on either side of that
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Ben, It has been my experience that EVA foam casting grips tend to dampen the feel of the back cast. It makes feeling the rod load difficult at best. On the forward cast you need to exert thumb pressure to speed up and stop the rod to form a tight loop. I don't think EVA transfers that pressure like cork can and does. You can purchase a blue tinted burl cork that would look good on that part
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Tom is correct a 7 or 71/2 inch full wells grip is standard. The center of the grip should measure close to 1 inch in diameter for comfort while casting and the grip will also be used when fighting a fish. If the grip is too small in diameter the hand will become fatigued and cramped during an extended fighting period. Michael A Taylor Bluewater Fly Rods
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A 10wt is suitable for smaller tarpon up to about 50-60 pounds. Most anglers use a 12wt if the tarpon are over 60 pounds. My preference is a 14wt. The first stripper guide will depend on the size of the reel you or your client will be using. If you use a reel that is 4 inches in diameter or greater a 25 high frame guide will give you better performance. If the reel is smaller than 4 inches you ca
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The T1GG is the older version of the gold cermet fly guide. The T1LGG is the newer concept style gold cermet fly guide. At the present time we have to special order the older gold cermet guides from Angler's Resources/Fuji because they are no longer available. Minimum order is 50 guides of whatever size you select. Delivery time is about 3 months. The differences between the two guides is the w
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Danny, I turn grips every day with the cork rings and the reel seat (Fuji) mounted directly to the blank. We use a Renzetti lathe with a 1/2 horse power electric motor belt driving the head stock at 1750 RPM's. Remove the rear hood from the reel seat and cover the entire seat with masking tape. The area that will be chucked into the head stock needs to be wrapped with 4-5 wraps of masking ta
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One thing to remember while you are inletting the grip. To be on the safe side take a hose clamp and put around the ring you want to ream up to 13/16 and tighten the clamp before you start to cut. This will keep the ring(s) from splitting. This little trick also works when you want to glue the grip to the reel seat. Place the hose clamp over the ring covering the reel hood and tighten. This will
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Do you know what species of fish are you after. Scientific Anglers makes at 13wt intermediate that cast well with this blank. Reo makes a 13wt also. I would not use anything less than a 500 grain sinking line for big over-sized poppers and flies. I've caught several tuna on this blank up to 60 pounds and sailfish up to 80 pounds It's an outstanding rod for 16 pound class tippets you will take a
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If you want to cast for distance the thumb plays a very important part of the equation. You need a solid base to brace the thumb against that foam does not provide like cork. I've tried EVA grips before on big game fly rods and quite frankly I do not like the feel. When I cast it feels as though I don't have control of the cast or the rod. It's also harder to feel the rod load on the backcast.
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