Mr Erickson so as not to be confused with another with your first ...... I can certainly understand where you're coming from. I just personally think it's tied more to movement, than it is to any shine or glint coming off a rod or guide. There are a lot of sparkly and shiny things in nature. Both above, and below the water. And John ...... good one LOL Kent, sound can definitely be a tri
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Everything those guys up there ^^^^^ said, is of course spot on. I would only offer a slight alternative to using two lines. Instead of using another line and tying it to the tip top, use a bent paper clip to hang a zip lock bag from the frame of the tip top. Fill the bag with enough pennies or whatever, to bend the rod as much as you want to bend it. It's really simple, and if you ever start wa
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lol Russell ............ yeah, bass aren't the smartest of fish are they? And there are actually people that believe fish can be and are spooked by a shiny rod blank, or polished guide frames. And yeah, I get it as far as the color of the clothing you're wearing having something to do with your visibility to the fish. Especially for the kind of environment a bone fish lives in. But would y
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Do people really believe that fish are spooked by a shiny rod blank, or shiny guides? And before anyone says "absolutely" can you be absolutely sure that is the shine that is spooking the fish, or is it that the fish caught the movement of the rod, or a shadow it may have cast, or the movement of the angler using the rod, that is what actually caused a fish to spook, and not the shinine
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x10 on what Norman and Lance posted. After ordering an MVT reel seat that went past where I wanted it to stop, I have always ordered a seat a half size smaller than I think I'll need, and ream it to fit. As Lance said, I just dress the edge of the blank window with some 400 grit sand paper.
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I just fish for bass, either largemouth or smallmouth, so all of my rods are bass oriented. My all time favorite rod from a performance aspect, is an old Shimano Speed Master 1554 Fighting Rod , (1 piece, 5 1/2', 4 power) It's a 5'6" pistol grip casting rod, heavy power, fast action. The Speed Master pistol grip rods of that era had the reel seat inlaid into the blank so that the reel foot w
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SMH ............. line type has absolutely NOTHING to do with static guide placement. As far as getting the thread to climb the tip of the guide foot, did you prep the guides at all? I don't find that I need any additional prep for the KB or KT guides, but I do with the KW's or if a spinning rod, the KL's. I file them to a much shallower angle than the factory has them at. Some guides, no
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Jeff, I get what you're saying. I passed over the fact that you were building multiple piece rods where the individual ends would be so large. My apologies. And yes the pen idea is a good one. Have you considered one of the tubes bass fisherman use for wacky rigging worms n such, with O rings? I have a two that are different sizes. One that has probably a 5/16" ID, the other about a 1/2&
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Wouldn't the reamer pick up wax? I had wondered about that so I picked up one of the Flex Coat reverse paddle bits to bore the center out and remove any residual wax. I'm not sure how well it will work on the split grip set up though. As those are not going to be very long pieces. Thinking it will work well on the full length grips I want to make, though I will soon be building my first of se
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Here is what I use If you look at the link you will see that it comes in 4 sizes. There is a chart near the bottom of the page that tells you the size range each size covers. You can cut it to any width you like. It works awesome. And Jeff ...... I certainly don't want to discourage coming up with ways of doing things, but ....... you're rolling them onto the thing you made. Why not ju
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That was awesome !!! And a serious amount of work that went into that rod. I think the rod was beautiful. The painting of the blank in the reel seat window or whatever you want to call it, is definitely something I want to give a shot doing. That was cool looking. Crazy craftsmanship right there. Definitely an artist creating a work of art. Thanks for sharing that Guy.
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I've never thought of epoxy as a sunblock either Spencer. I think of it as a protectant. Just like epoxy is a protectant for the thread. Figured the connection was pretty evident. I guess not?
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This is great news. I am very happy to see that Tom is going to stay on as moderator. or as one of the moderators, as I have a strong feeling that he has a lot to do with the civility this site maintains. There is a family atmosphere to this site, and as with any family, there are some vigorous discussions, and some large differences in opinions on certain topics, but in the end we're all her
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I would think of thread finish in the same light as sun block. You put sun block on to protect your skin. You put thread finish on to protect the thread. IMO, if someone is breaking guides so often that they need to compromise the durability of their guide wraps in order to facilitate easier replacement, then they need to stop doing whatever it is they're doing that is causing the guides to
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IMO, the main advantage of a BFS casting set up versus a spinning set up, has got to be the lack of reel induced line twist. Spinning reels cause line twist, and line twist causes problems. There is little doubt in my mind that if spinning reels didn't cause line twist, you wouldn't see the kind of hate you see towards spinning gear. Another advantage, and it's an advantage that any casting r
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You know what just looking at the manufacturers power ratings and lure weight ratings can get you? It can get you buying a rod blank that isn't anywhere near what the manufacturer's numbers would lead you to believe it would be.
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Just thinking out loud here. Just as spinning rods need proper height guides to work optimally, so do casting rods. Personally, because of the light weights thrown with BFS casting rods, I would say that proper guide heights, sizes, and layout, would be just as important as it is with spinning gear when it comes to casting performance. Spinning reels don't backlash when line starts stacking b
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Tom...... so you're saying a head swimming emoji rather than a popcorn munching one? I like it ..... it's a better fit lol
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I belong to a fishing related web site on which, you are able to post emoji's in your responses. They have this funny action emoji of a cartoon character munching on popcorn as they watch the goings on. This would be a perfect time for such an emoji lol
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Lighting, lighting, lighting. Roger Templton's idea of having the light about 2' above where you're going to wrap is a good one. How far above your bench or table top, and above your wrapper is going to be a personal preference kind of thing. I built a bracket set up that I attached a 4', 4200 lumen LED light to. I have the bottom of the light fixture 20" above my table top, which puts
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Chris ....... Phil is the one that's going to develop them !!! My guess is he's not going to be publishing any data supporting the advertising claims. To publish data you actually have to perform tests. And we all know how Phil is about doing his own testing.
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I can see it now ..... the marketing jargon I mean. "Introducing the new TRGS, thermal reactive guide system. The only guide system in the world that adapts to environmental conditions, allowing your rods to cast more accurately, with less effort, and for greater distance in any kind of weather, and with any kind and size of line. You have to experience it to believe it ..... it will tou
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It's good that you're building a spinning rod, because a rod that will throw a #5 balsa Shad Rap for any distance is IMO, going to be overloaded by a 1/2 oz crankbait. I'd suggest asking him which baits he will be using most often, and then build a rod to fit those baits. And Michael, I hear ya loud and clear on how well those Shad Raps cast. Or rather, don't cast. lol I actually stepped up to
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Jim. Like you, I have no actual proof that extra guides in the running portion of the blank protect from high sticking breaks, but I do have some anecdotal evidence. I have more than a few friends and acquaintances in the form of fellow tournament bass fisherman, that have shared stories of breaking rods while landing fish. I mentioned something in the thread titled "End of an era"
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I've thrown #5 and #7 Shad Raps (the balsa ones) on one of the drop shot rods I built on an NFC DS 6107 IM blank. I was fishing for bass though, and never caught any of any size. But it cast them really well. And just a personal opinion. Those #5 and #7 balsa Shad Raps have got to be some of the worst casting baits ever invented. But they sure catch fish !!!
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I've changed my mind on whether or not fishing rods are species specific. They most certainly are. They are specific to Earth's most abundant and widespread species of primates. Humans.
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Phil? What you just outlined is exactly what Mark did. Did you not read any of this thread? Mark, as for how happy you are with the performance of the rod, awesome !!! I bet you were smiling ear to ear. Tell me ..... when you made those first couple of casts, did an audible "get ya some" escape your lips? lol As far as your results. I'm actually surprised you had the kind of dif
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Count me in the Norman Miller camp. But, if it's a just to see because I can, kind of thing. I'll make a prediction. My prediction is that with 4# line, and a 1/2 oz weight, gravity is going to have a greater affect than any drag created by the guides being misaligned. I don't mean that as a smart aleck remark. I just mean that 4# line, even a line with a little more stiffness than a regular
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I've learned everything I know about rod building here. I'd still be fishing factory rods if it weren't this forum and it's awesome membership. Kind of strange .... last night I didn't have a lot to do so I put my name into the search just to go back and see when I made my first post to this site. It was January 29, 2015, I started a thread about a flipping and pitching rod I wanted to build.
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Mark, that is cool as all get out. How does it fish? Or have you not had it out yet? Anyhow...... very cool. and great job. Definitely some serious craftsmanship involved there. (Wayne's World we're not worthy bow)
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