Agree, call Batson, they are quick with a good recommendation, they've been very reliable for me. I would say don't skip any steps when gluing up the reel seat, it'll see some stress, and you might consider a spiral setup if he's into that. I beat the @#$%& out of my halibut rods, so I just buy the $60 cheapies myself, but that's just me, fb
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That does sound easier than what I had planned. Thanks for taking the time to type that up Roger, Brian
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Thanks for the reply. That's an interesting idea of going the hollow route, and then filling in the rear tube void with foam. That would eliminate the chance of water getting in there as well. Thank you, Brian
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I found a great rod for my trolling/DR salmon application, but it isn't available as a blank to build on, so I'm going to modify a few of them off the shelf. It's a Shimano Technium 10-6 medium fwiw. The problem with the stock version is the rear grip is only 8 inches long (cork, changing over to EVA on more recent models), and my single action reels bottom out when I put it in the flush gunnel
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Fishstix4U has 1/8 inch burnt cork trim rings which seem to work really well. Not sure if that is thin enough for you, but I like how they lay up for that purpose in my applications. I hope they never stop offering them, since I haven't been able to find them precut anywhere else, and I don't have the skills necessary to make my own! Brian
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I think I have one around my house someplace that I bought a few years back but didn't like the way it fit with the build I was doing at the time. Very cool looking seat, but I don't have a rod to build with it. Shoot me an email and I'd be happy to set you up with it, Brian fishbadger@comcast.n&#
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Thanks for the advice all. It sounds like everybody pretty much comes up with their own system given the tools at hand, and makes it work. I like my grips. . .they're just a pain in the arse sometimes. I just needed a reality check to ensure that I wasn't missing out on the perfect solution. Brian
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The too tight cork grip thread got me thinking about something I've experienced on my last few rods. Lately I've built long rods which have blanks with a sizeable butt OD. After setting up the cork grips I ream them to fit, but I notice the taper on the reamer is far more acute than the blank taper at the butt. Accordingly I ream to a snug fit at the fore-end of the grip but a huge space exi
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I've often found the recipes found on the RS site call for more guides than I want to use as well. While I'm admittedly not a prolific or expert builder, the old length in feet plus one formula seems to work pretty well for those blanks as well. I must say Eugene has a point about the dynamic flex of a fly rod shooting line, and being conceptually different than a spinning or casting rod, B
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I'd say black and white NCP for the base and bright spring green for the overwrap? BF
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I've been doing 5 or 6 hours, just when it's losing its tack, at around the same temp, and haven't had problems. You could probably press it tighter than that time interval but an hour is too soon (at least in my room and with my skill set), Brian
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I'll second Jim Gamble's metallic red with metallic copper trim. . .I put it on an 8 wt GL3 in that color and it looks sharp. Garnet and green (non-metallics don't look bad together either). Good luck, Brian
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This all makes me feel so much better. All along I've been frustrated, figuring I was a massive idiot who couldn't gain any reasonable information from my extensive test casting, Brian
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My primary complaint with TM so far is that I can now only blame myself when the finish doesn't look as good as I want it to. I guess I'll have to switch to something else if I want my old scapegoats back, Brian
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The blue tape is a great idea. This site is awesome, Brian
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Thanks. . .I'll give er a shot, Brian
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Quick question, Not thinking too clearly as I assembled my grip and blank through style casting seat today, I scuffed the whole blank area, including "through" part (derrrrrrr). Not a huge mistake, but now the exposed blank in the seat is scuffed and ugly. It's a green Matrix Amtak blank (the finish has a green tint), and I am wondering how I can somehow restore the finish to that
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Tom, Then what should be the last step? Brian
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Thanks for the info Paul. A question I have is, since the tip top freezes first and worst when fishing in the cold (and you're running SIC's as tip top regardless) what's the difference in a day on the water? I don't know what the answer is, but I'm building a noodle of a float rod with Fuji titanium framed SIC's throughout, with an 8 mm tip top, in hopes the big guides won't screw up my action
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Thanks DR. I mostly river fish and hate to see a full cast's length of spectra dangling downstream from some killer holding water. Using a weaker leader alleviates that issue it would seem. Thanks for the info, Brian
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Duane, How long does it take for Spectra (any test) to break down in regular fresh water? I'm guessing a really really long time. That's why most folks I know use a weaker leader so that they do not leave the stuff in the rivers and lakes when they hang up. Not a knock on PP. . .I love the stuff. . .just food for thought, Brian
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Aha. Thanks on that advice. This site rocks. I'm sold on my system for certain apps (at least for now, til I find something better!). I run thin diameter Spectra, and grease it up with some floatant every so often to check da bobber like a dream. That said, every fish-tether has its "charms", and I have nearly gone homicidal when mine has a bad day. Wish I had big silvers li
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Paul, et al, The Flex-lites sound like a nice light option. It sounds like a no-brainer, but are they springy like the REC recoil guides? I'm wondering if that would maybe be advantageous for "bending" the ice outta the guides on the ones I can reach. Also would I be right in supposing that the TiCH finish would be resilient to running braids and other junk out of them? Thanks fo
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Thanks y'all. . .I'll get busy then, Brian
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Thanks. I think that is helpful. . .transitioning down to lo-profile in mid blank, Brian
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Just checking in to say hi. I'm concocting some ideas to screw up some existing rods and start building some new ones to abuse up as well, and found this site. Great readership and wealth of information here. Thank you everybody for contributing. . .what a great resource. If I ever learn anything of value I'll try to contribute and stop lurking. Thanks again, Brian
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I'm building an ultralight noodle of a float rod for a spinning reel too (not a pinner with this application, skinny water lite terminals) and am assuming high profile guides would be the way to go as well, with an oversize tip top. This rod will be running spectra braid mostly, and occasionally a floating mono when it's cold. Any guide recommendation out there (basically the same question as a
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