This is very helpful, thanks. I’ve not used spiral wraps before (mostly fly rod builds), but “simple spiral” and “bumper guide” provided key words for more reading. It all makes sense now. Thanks again.
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Is a single offset guide (90 degrees) enough to transition line to the bottom? Any particular spacing? The guides appear to be Fuji BSVOG (or copies of them) and I want to keep that profile As it stands now, with the rod assembled conventionally with all guides on top and the rod under extreme load (i.e. big fish!), the line can touch the blank in 2 places: between the first and second butt
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I have some inexpensive 9’6” (10-30 lb) 2 piece factory rods setup for trolling salmon, and am thinking to modify the current guide configuration to a spiral wrap. This would involve moving 1 existing guide and adding 1 more guide, and both would be the transition guides in the spiral (successive 60 degree offsets). My question involves having the spiral transition guides span the ferrule.
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Thanks all for the input. I emailed Andy at Gen 4 who verified that they no longer supply syringes with “kits” as a way to keep costs down. Bummer. I would’ve just bought syringes with my order, except the product was advertised as “Generation 4 Low Build Rod Finish Kit with Syringes 8oz Kit”
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I bought my first batch of Gen 4 epoxy (low build) from a forum sponsor, but it arrived without syringes. I read a prior post stating they had a tacky cure when they didn’t use the correct syringes with Gen 4. I have always used syringes to measure epoxy (FlexCoat, LS Supreme, Threadmaster) and have often done small quantities as low as 0.5 mL very successfully. Any suggestions for how
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SC stands for “Surf Cast” ... these were contemporaries of the Horizon rods with a softer butt section, marketed for easier blind casting over long hours, including fishing in the dark where it helps to feel a rod load when there is no visual cue. Only in saltwater weights. Their more moderate action suited less aggressive casters, while still being able to generate a lot of line speed. My wife
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Batson told me recently that some of their Immortal RX8 and Revelation RX7 blanks played heavier than rated, but it was not common to all of their products.
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I always use 9 guides + tip top on all my 9’ fly rods. Started a long time ago after seeing how T&T (who spares no expense on build quality) built their rods
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Derick, thank you. I have no plans to head to Portland anytime soon, but will keep it in mind if I do. For anyone who cares, and doesn’t know what the fuss is about, I did happen to find a random youtube video showing a fiberglass rod working a plug. The wobbles in the blank, which sap energy from normal casting, add spastic movement to the plug. This is in pretty fast current and the rod
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Derick Jahnke Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I'm in Oregon as well. The Seeker blank would > work, but I feel like you would be undergunned for > moderate sized Coastal Chinook. It has a ton of > backbone. But you are fishing smaller water. The > XCC 93 3 has a ton of balls and will whoop a big > fish....Maybe a 2 power would be a better
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Russell Brunt Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Okay Steve, to best answer I feel like I have to > know why you don't want a graphite hot shot blank. > They seem tailor made for what you want to do. > Ultra soft tip with ultra fast lock up to a strong > butt. > The short answer is that fiberglass rods allow plugs to work better than gr
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Some food for thought in replies above. I’d be better equipped to interpret them if someone could compare the usual tip-stiffness of equal powered (e.g. 10-25 lb) blanks in typical live bait vs. hotshot/plug/kwik designs. I’ve never compared them side by side. Derick, I’m in Oregon. I fish the mid-coast (fall, winter) and mid/upper Willamette tribs (spring). Smaller water, no divers or d
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I’m looking for a fiberglass blank to backtroll plugs / kwikfish for steelhead and small salmon 10-20 lbs in rivers. 7’6” - 8’ long, one piece. No casting needed, just sitting in a rod holder with river current working the rod. Fast / magnum-type taper, something with a super soft tip that locks in the middle to a strong butt. Most all salmon-specific blanks sold (marketed) for this purp
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Is there any disadvantage to using light wire snake guides instead of regular wire snake guides for most fly rod building applications? I would think durability might be an issue, but in 25 years of fly fishing, I've only ever had one snake guide fail. also, I'm not interested in single foots or ceramics for this one, but would really appreciate experienced thoughts on light vs regular snakes.
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I am looking for a Sage SLT 696 (9'6" 6 wt) blank recently discontinued, or a suitable substitute. The defining characteristics I want are light feel in the hand, deep flexing, with a strong tip to facilitate single-hand spey casting. Any leads appreciated, especially on an SLT blank
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Ed, if you can indicate what type of single hand rod action you prefer the type of fishing you normally do (with some example blanks), and whether you tend to "overline" your rated rods, it will help in recommending a suitable two hander.
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I am looking for input on what to watch out for when shortening a fly rod blank from the butt end. The rod is a 13'6" Z-axis spey, and I would really like to bring it down to 13'4" before building it. This would move the grip up the blank by 2", plus I plan to make my cork 1.5" longer than the factory cork, which places the entire affair 3.5" up the blank. The bla
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I heard that Sage will be discontinuing the SLT series. Does anyone know what is replacing it, and whether it is likely to be very different? Are sponsors or others going to sell SLT blanks at closeout prices? I've had my eye on the 696 and would really like to get one on discount.
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if you can afford the extra money, and you expect to use the rod for fishing on a regular basis and don't want to upgrade in the near future, then the inexpensive Clearwater blanks that Bob Meiser sells (several of which occur as TFO Deer Creek rods) are well worth it. They are extremely well balanced tapers, and more responsive (faster recovery) than the Batsons. The 12'6" 5/6 and 13' 7/8
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re: Sage SLT I have a spool of factory color Sunburst (Gudebrod 200) but find it a little too bright, and the Medium Brown (Gudebrod 541) is too "brown" Does anyone have other recommendations on thread color for the Sage SLT that will blend in with the blank? I like subdued color, as if there is no thread at all. thanks for the input
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the last batch that I purchased there was 1 1/4". More important, I stopped in 2 weeks ago, and they were completely out with no ETA
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I bought some years ago from a site sponsor. I am looking again, now, and having trouble finding them. Thanks for the reply.
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I am having difficulty locating unbored rubberized cork rings at 1 3/8" - 1 1/2" diameter, 0.5" wide. Everything I am finding is bored and/or too small. Most places seem to carry the 1 1/4" stuff. I'd appreciate a solid lead - only 10-20 pieces are needed.
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I'm an avid speycaster, that's pretty much all I do. I have built on your particular blank. I can't vouch for the gushing Paul provided, but for $90 kit, it is great. The issue of cork length is a very personal one. Rather than think bottom or upper grip, I first think in terms of total length of both grips, inclusive of the reel seat - the full spread. Reel seats vary up to 2" leng
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thanks for the advice, I decided to leave it be. This rod will be banging through a lot of brush in its lifetime, so the fingerprint will soon be a reminder of when the rod was new, if nothing else. and just to clarify, the finger print didn't get there because I was curious about epoxy (having built several dozen rods so far, I'm not quite that dumb!), but simply as an accident when plac
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hobby builder here. I just finished a rod, Duragloss epoxy, all went well until I had to move the rod off the kitchen table. Managed to put a faint fingerprint in the finish directly above the inscription. Has only been 12 hrs since epoxy was applied Is is possible to remove this, perhaps with acetone or another solvent, or some other approach, short of applying another (unnecessary) coat
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fellas, thanks for the replies. In this situation my concern is with small guides high up on a fly blank, so the blank diameter can be readily taken as "pretty darn skinny" and I think we all know what sparingly applied epoxy looks like, when it just barely covers the thread wraps. My question of epoxy weight "per cm linear length" eliminates the issue about how long the wra
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Does anyone have quantitative information on the weight of epoxy used to cover thread wraps? The guesstimates in archived posts cover a wide range, from 20% to 100% of guide weight. I am curious, for example, of the grams or grains per linear centimeter for sparingly applied epoxy that just barely covers the thread wraps on small guides. thanks much. Steve
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