Batson Revelation, available in 2-pc or 4-pc in the 9' 5wt Mystic Reaper is very impressive for its price RoodGeeks is in that price range lots of options out there in that action and price range.
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I would respectfully recommend a 6wt, especially for the smallmouth fishing. It's not for handling the fish, but for handling the flies often used to fish for them. A six is the minimum I use, due to the size and/or weight of flies. A six is also good for trout fishing, although the 5 would protect lighter tippets better. A 5 would certainly work, but once you put a larger streamer, heavy clo
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Bill - If I can have a 1pc blank shipped from company A for $20, company B for $18, and can ship a 1pc rod from the Midwest to FL for under $20, there seems to be something unreasonable for another company charging 100 bucks. I would have bought some of those blanks direct had the shipping not been so high. Now that I know that MH carries them, I'll be sure to.
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Matt, Just a follow-up here. MHole still shows the 8-10wts. on clearance. I have all three models, all great tools. Biscayne Rod still offers their Billy Baroo 1 pc blanks in multiple weights. It's been a few years, but I remember the 7/8 to be a cannon, if perhaps a bit heavier than the more modern rods, as that blank has probably gone unchanged much in the past 10-12 years. Lamiglas doe
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Matt, I'm a huge fan of 1pc fly rods, and have used most of what's out there, from the Biscayne rods, Loomis, Orvis, Lamiglas, Hardy, MHX. Problem is finding blanks. Luckily, the MHX 1-pc are excellent; unluckily, it seems that Mudhole is not stocking them anymore. Last I checked, they had the 8-11wts on sale. The MHX website still shows them as part of their catalog. You might contact Mudh
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You could spend days digging through all this, but there are some threads on kids rods here: My recommendation would be an OPST skagit, and follow their size recommendations for single-handed rods. These short heads are very easy to cast.
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I built the 10' 4wt for myself, bought it for high stick nymphing and Euro style nymphing, and bought partly based on the advertised blank weight. It was a bit over the listed weight on my gram scale, but the swing weight once built really soured me on it. Built, it was overall pretty light, but it did not "fish" light. As Ron mentioned, the rod liked a heavier line for normal castin
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Mudhole: BT3XG is the black/stainless; XT4XG is chrome. For Ti guides with inserts (for rods used primarily in saltwater), there are several, but from Mudhole I've had great luck with the NIRLC from American Tackle, I've yet to lose or loosen an insert even after some rough use. For an 8wt, size 16 should be good, followed by a 12 or 10. I've been seeing some factory rods the past few years
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As to the stripping guide size, I would suggest that the issue is not so much the connections. The ability to pass connections is more a concern at the distal end of the rod - the smaller sized guides towards the tip. I build a lot of larger fly rods, 7 wt + sizes. The issue is more in how the line goes from reel to the stripping guide. I use high(ish) framed guides in size 16 or 20 (16 wit
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Brendan - I do a bit of that type of fishing in the winter, large flies, sinktip or full sink lines, mainly from a boat. What size flies are you throwing? The lightest rod I do that with is an 8wt. I mention this because you mentioned "punch", and even the punchiest 7wt will not handle the flies I throw. Currently I'm using the following: 8wt 1pc MHX 8wt 2pc MHX various 9wts, but
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Jim - I'm using the technique you are describing with good sucess. My experience has been that the Gelly Roll pens, especially the white, dry quickly (< 1 hour); when removing ink from a blank they flake off rather than smudge off. As mentioned earlier, it might be the pen you are using Other art pens I've tried have not worked as well as the authentic Gelly Rolls. I'm applying finish to
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For the light lines Miles is using, I like to use a short sacrificial bit of 10 or 12# FC between the braid and the 4 or 6# FC. It's been my experience that very light line to braid just doesn't hold very well. I use a modified slim beauty to join the braid to the 10#. The modiification is to double the 10# and use the double line to tie the figure 8. That knot is then lightly coated with Zap
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Thomas - I've done what I think you are describing. The candy colors I've used will yield a pearlescent sparkle along with the tint, much like a pearl coat on a car. I get most of my candy colors from Riley Rods (sponsor on the left). I've also had good luck from some of the powder pigments found at hobby lobby in the liquid acrylic section of the store. I'd recommend some test wraps to get
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What length/weight of rod are you building? If you are going to be using shooting heads, I would recommend snake guides. If you are using integrated lines, single foot guides should be OK. I've built several small speys with Minima single foot, and they work great with integrated lines. Not so much with the shooting heads, as the loop-to-loop can hang more freqently on the single foot running
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Mike - you can get 6# mix/pour from Mike or from fibreglast. Mixing the 4 and 8# is a hassle, but I think the 6# is perfect for most applications.
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Thank you, Roger. Very good bit of information there, and much appreciated.
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Bill - "...OR build it yourself" - I believe that's what we're trying to do. Roger - If you have a financial stake or rely on such modifications as part of your business, I competely understand any reluctance to share the parts/process. In such case an email would be greatly appreciated. Otherwise, some assistance for the non-engineers among us would be most appreciated.
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Roger - would you mind a detailed explanation, or even a step by step, on how you acheived? I think a lot of forum members would be very interested in the sourcing of parts you used for this upgrade. This looks like something I would be very interested in doing. thank you.
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MHX. I have the 7wt in the 1pc, 2pc and 4pc, and the 10' 6wt. All 4 are cannons, light, track extremely well, and have an excellent feel. Very impressed with those blanks.
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WalMart, hardware section. I picked up a couple of dozen this week, and they are the grey ones that don't melt.
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The only way I've found to keep bubbles out of my clear wraps is to briefly hit the wraps with a heat gun while rod is in the drying rack. I mix 1:1:1 (hardner, resin, thinner), fill tunnels first as described above, cover rest of wraps, wipe most of expoxy away from wraps, then hit with heat. The heat seems to allow the finish to thoroughly penetrate the wraps, and eliminates any bubbles that
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I set most if not all my 8wt and heavier rods with 20, 16, and snakes sizing depending on a few things, but reduce as fast as possible to "running" guides. I like the 20 for helping with the tangle issue, but there is also the issue of the large arbor reels with a much larger diameter. Look at fly rods from 20 years ago, before large arbor reels were popular. Most 7-9's, and even an
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I've used it, it's good. Specs are the same as Riley Rods laminating epoxy. Good pot life, no blush.
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Rex - Some of the photo's on Riley's website are pre-dyed glass/carbon. Use of the natural glass/carbon weave (Riley's "Mybrid" sleeve) allows you the option of painting the core after it's been sealed, and that color will show through only the glass strands when you wet-out the sleeve. I do a lot of those. Alternatively, if you want to marble over a uniform base that is not carbon
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I placed an order last week. There was a lot of confusion and misinformation regarding the status of the order when the package did not arrive and I called to inquire over the status. So things don't seem to be smoothed out quite yet, but am very hopeful for the future. I like the mix of inventory they carry, and they are located much closer to me than the other large retailers.
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Ii've been using that grizzly for a few months, and it's working OK. The drill was the difficult part. I tried 3 dewalts, and all had so much runout on an 18" mandrel that they provided very inconsistent results. My recommendations would be: 1. If you will only be turning grips, go to your favorite tool retailer with a mandrel and try before you buy. My local lowes allowed me to try se
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Mark - I'm a convert. The only drawback I've noticed is that they do feel a bit colder to the touch in cold conditions. In all other regards, and especially performance (grip, control, sensitivity, weight), they are the best grip material I've found. And until something better comes along, I'm not going back to cork. Will second Tom on the labor intensive aspect of construction, but it's mo
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Had a same day shipment from Anglers Workshop this week, and some excellent service on the phone. I'll definitely be ordering from them in the future.
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Yes. In fact, Mike sent me an email a few days ago explaining the recent situation, with an apology, and promptly shipped my order. I'd advise a bit more patience as he gets through the backlog of orders.
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I'd still use 16-12. But it's your rod! You may not ever notice that a 12 is on there rather than a 16. I'm currently building a meiser 4/5 Highlander Classic, and will go 16, 12, 4 (or 5 - I forget), 3's to tip. Think also about the shooting ability of these rods, and your stripping guide's ability to foster (and not hamper) that ability. Larger guide may help wrangle tangles and loops while
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