Did I imagine this yesterday or have you all experienced this? I always use regular A gudebrod, even for trim bands, because I like the extra subtle look it gives. Yesterday, I used NCP A gudebrod on a rod and had a heckuva time keeping my trim bands from flying apart. I use the stand-alone nail knot method so the tag ends aren't tucked under the main wrap. I finally realized that the NCP w
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I don't have the first one I built. It was a great rod but ugly and someone still wanted to buy it (Five Rivers Sig. V 8'9" 4wt. 3pc). I'm more addicted to changing gear to try new stuff than I am sentimental toward my old gear. The one rod I won't get rid of is my very first fly rod, which was a factory Fenwick Eagle Graphite E85-7F (8.5' 7wt.). I still have it but I stripped it and reb
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I have built several Steffen Brothers S-glass blanks, a couple Lamiglas honey, and built or rebuilt several vintage Fenwick Ferralites. I like the Steffens the best but if you are on a tighter budget the Lamiglas is a good option. The Steffen 7034-3 is sweet. Old Fenwicks don't really come in 3wts. but if you want a 5wt. or up, they offer a fun project and a great rod. Keep in mind, contrary
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Thanks for the offer Jerry. I have located the blank I am looking for already from a dealer on the Susquehanna in PA. I will keep your information in mind for the future. Your e-mail is hidden but feel free to contact me by e-mail if you want to. Click on my name.
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Thanks for your thoughts Danny. I can see how fly type guides in the larger sizes could still be lighter than match type guides in the smaller sizes. I also understand how lightness might not be the most important factor. Seems like there are trade-offs for all these guides and I'll just have to decide which rod characteristics are most important to me or which guides offer the best all-around
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Thanks for sharing your experience Jason - I appreciate it.
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I appreciate the caution Earl but Scott's reply to my other post gives me confidence that the fly-style ceramic guides will work well for me for this project. It seems that no guide type is going to prevent ice from being at least somewhat of a problem for northeast winter steelhead fishing. Given that reality, I at least want the rod to be as light and comfortable as possible to fish with.
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Thanks for the input Scott. And I take it by your internet provider that you are probably fishing Lake Erie tribs and would know all about steelhead fishing in icey conditions?
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Thanks Matt, that's what I wanted to know. I think icing under certain conditions would even be a problem if you went with size 10s and I'd rather focus on keeping the rod lighter near the tip if possible and just deal with the ice as necessary and go with BLAG6s instead of match style 6s which weigh a lot more. The factory Raven has a bunch of match 6s and this seems like an area I can improve
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Afraid my follow up from yesterday won't get seen and I want some advice and insight from float rod builders. I am building a 13'6" 3pc. Raven spinning float rod (not center pin or fly reel) for a friend. His reel is size 2000 Quantum. I intend to go BYAG25-BYAG12, then BLAG6s on out. Maybe even BYAG20 and BYAG10 for first 2 guides. I notice a lot of factory float rods have match style
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Thanks for the warning Dave. He wants the IM6. By the way, is there any reason to use larger guides for this rod than I would normally use for a spinning rod designed for a size 2000 reel and 8lb. mono? (BYAG25-BYAG12, then BLAG6s on out to a BFAT6 tip). I might even go BYAG20 and BYAG 10 for the first two. I notice the factory Raven uses match style guides instead of fly style guides. Any r
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A friend of mine wants me to build him a float rod on the Raven IM6 13'6" 3pc. for 4-8lb. line. Without checking dozens of websites, can someone who builds float rods direct me to a sponsor that carries this blank. He will use it for drifing egg sacs on the Salmon River in NY. He's already used the Raven factory rod for this purpose and loved it, although if any of you experts want to rec
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According the CCS database, the Sage XP 9' 6wt has a DBI of about 6.5/70 I built the St. Croix 4F906.2 last year and it was 6.1/65 and was a very nice casting rod. Close to the power you want with a slightly firmer tip than the Sage. It will be noticeably less powerful than the old Sig. V 8'9" 6wt. 3pc. but about the same action. I think that rod tested in the mid-7s. I'm sure you'll
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All I've done with that blank is test it with the CCS and the results are in the database at top left. According to the ERN and AA, the FT1003 and FT1004 have about the same power as the Sage XP 10' 6wt. and they have a slower action than the Sage XP 10' 6wt. I'm basing this comparison on the database entry that someone made for the Sage. Hope this helps.
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I know this is a long shot but there's a lot of collective experience here, so here goes... I am building a rod as a gift for a good friend. His favorite small stream brookie rod used to be this now-discontinued Fenwick which he doesn't have anymore. I want to build something with similar power and action and am willing to adjust the length of a 7' or 7'6" blank to get there. Does anyone
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With regard to the "Moron rod building article", I'm dissapointed that the author didn't contact me for an interview. I feel that I must be one of the biggest morons in the rod building community.
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Wow, as usual you make a good point. I don't know what I was thinking. Oh, I know... it must be that I'm not self-respecting. I'll have to work on that.
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Marty, your design sounds very good to me. Another option which I used for my daughters' rods is to use a small Shakespeare underspin spooled with 4lb. line. The rear grips is 5", then a spinning seat in 16, no foregrip with epoxy ramp to blank, then a fly stripper guide of size 8 or 10, then single foot 6s on out to the tip. Works great and the weight of the reel is on the bottom so it d
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Hey Rick good to hear from you again. Been awhile. I just built myself a very inexpensive 10' 3pc. rod that has a DBI of 3.3/67. Should make a good long light line nymphing rod. I used an inexpensive imported IM6 blank that I bought from a seller on an @#$%& site. Your e-mail is hidden or I would have sent you this directly. E-mail me if you are interested in the seller information (click o
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Yeah, with a cover shot like that and then only the promise of the article coming soon, it's a big tease, which I think he admitted and sort of apologized for. I have no handle material (cork, exotic cork, eva) at the moment and I'm hesitant to order any until I read 10-6 and find out how to make those handles. The idea of mild-mannered Tom stomping on a bag of flaming crap is sort of funny.
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On a related note, I was watching cable TV at a hotel back in August and there was a show based on the subject of "how things are made". I forget the name of the show - might have been exactly that. This particular episode was explaining how a fishing rod is made and the featured company was T&T fly rods. It was pretty cool - never seen anything like it on TV before. Much more i
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Scott, get ready to have some fun. That's my favorite kind of fishing. I like Tom K's approach and use the same type rig...8.5' with ERN in the 5-6 range, fast action. I spent a day one time being guided by Bob Clouser on the Susquehanna. He designed and fishes the St. Croix 4F898. I learned an immense amount from Clouser that day and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Very personable a
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Billy B., I e-mailed you. Check your spam filter if you don't see my message.
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Billy V, it is probably some of both but I think that since the CCS is so easy to do it is mostly real inherent variation in the blanks. I know I have measured several samples of the same exact model and gotten quite a range and that's all with the same tester - me. Billy B, yes I have great respect for St. Croix quality and service and agree that honesty is vital. But, I don't personally kn
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Marc, I see someone (Kim Colby) has entered data for the 5F904.4 and that one measured 5.0/68, so not as powerful or as fast as the 5F864.4 I have. As you can see in the CCS database, the blanks of a given designated line wt. within the same series are often wide ranging in their power and action. Still, like you say, no entries for 4wt. RX8+ rods to compare it to. Also, reread my post. My ro
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Exactly right Billy. I haven't even heard any rumours but just assumed based on the specs, price, US made status, and description that they are made by St. Croix. Seems highly likely to me. And I certainly don't expect either St. Croix or Batson to come on here and comment yes or no on the matter. That is not how OEM arrangements work.
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Marc, I haven't built an RX8+ yet but I have a factory St. Croix E864.4 (5F864.4 blank) which CCs at 5.8/73. I submitted the data to the database but it just hasn't shown up on there yet. With the soft tip, you can definitely use a 4wt. line on it and get it to load for medium to long range. I will probably use it mostly with a 5 or even 6 line and can easily imagine this rod becoming my pers
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Tom and I were typing at the same time I guess!
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George, dropping the butt section usually reduces the power and slows the action. I say usually because this doesn't always happen. I've measured enough blanks to know that occasionally, the power and action stay about the same (the Five Rivers FT 10' models come to mind - unusual taper - see the CCS database). To find out by exactly how much the power and action change, all you have to do is
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Great post Bill. You are preaching to the choir but I'm glad you posted. It's important for builders and fishermen to focus on what the CCS CAN DO and not get all hung up on the dogma that some perceive the CCS stands for. The CCS allows you to learn a whole lot of quantitative information about a blank or the rod you could build from the blank. If it wasn't helping me build better rods, and
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