Brad, There are many ways to address the issue of knots and small guides. First, you may want to try experimenting with the knot itself. There are many proponents of the FG knot, but that may be overkill for lighter freshwater applications, but you may want to consider a Blood Knot or the Uni-to-Uni knot. These are both very low profile knots that pass easily through the guides. It may
Forum: rodboard

Don Shafer at Backbone Custom Rod Company can paint your blank virtually any color combination you can come up with! He does spectacular work!
Forum: rodboard

I cannot speak to the type or brand of thread St. Croix uses on their rods, but I do know that in addition to darkening a couple shades, untreated nylon turns translucent when you don't use CP. I especially like that effect on my fly rods. Just be sure to use something to cover up any guide-foot dressing to avoid seeing a two-tone guide foot. You can use a black sharpie on a black guide foot t
Forum: rodboard

There are two great options from American Tackle, Vortex Air and Pentalite. The Vortex Air have Stainless Steel inserts with ring sizes from 30 down to 4 (in the single-foot spinning version) and Atlas Stainless Steel frames. These guides are available in both Chrome and Matte Black. Pentalite have an ultra-thin ceramic ring and are available in sizes from 50 down to 5.5. The frames are
Forum: rodboard

Ernie, Check out : Mystic Reel Parts LLC (Mysticparts.com) Mikes Reel Repair (Mikesreelrepair.com) Tarpon Fishing Outfitters (https://www.tarponfishingoutfitters.com) I have personally used Mystic Reel Parts and Tarpon Fishing Outfitters, both are excellent to work with.
Forum: rodboard

I am not a Bass guy, but can definitely understand the issue. I used to fish for Trout with 2-lb mono, and coiuld never set the hook, too much stretch! I began using 4-lb Fireline and my problem was solved! You may want to switch to a superline like Fireline or Spiderwire in a 6 or 8 pound test and add a header of about 10' of your mono or flouro. This eliminates the issue of not getting an e
Forum: rodboard

Ron, You may want to check out the Arctos blanks from Pac Bay, you can get them through Utmost Enterprises. They are great blanks in a high modulus with a great entry-point price. I also like the Matrix fly blanks from American Tackle, they have 4-piece blanks in line weights of 4, 5, 6, 8 and 9. Rich
Forum: rodboard

United Composites has a 2-piece 10' blank rated 50 - 80, available through Anglers Workshop (Lure Parts Online) The description says it is a multi-modulus graphite.
Forum: rodboard

Some good suggestions, but I have another. Use size B thread (can get it from Mudhole or American Tackle) As a slightly larger thread, it is less susceptable to the ridge effects. I completed two NFC fly rods, a 4-wt and a 5-wt, both with the ridges. Using the B thread, I had no issues with gaps or burnishing, and B thread looks almost as clean as A, no ropey effect like D will give you.
Forum: rodboard

I have three fisheries I concentrate on, spinning for local Trout, Fly Fishing for local Trout, and inshore bottom fishing for rockfish and Ling Cod off the Oregon Coast. For my spin fishing, my favorite is a 2-piece rod made from the Bushido blank (by American Tackle) It is rated for line from 4lb to 8lb and It excels in casting spoons for the Trout. I have several versions, including some
Forum: rodboard

I would check out Snake Brand Guides - Mike McCoy has a great array of reel seats with wood inserts, enough varieties to match almost any build color-wise! I won't use anything else on my fly rods! He has seats in hood sizes of 0.640, 0.705 and 0.740 - The 0.705 matches well with the NFC carbon fiber half-wells, but I would go with the carbon fiber full-wells which needs the 0.740 reel seat (de
Forum: rodboard

Phillip, I purchased two LMX fly blanks from NFC, along with their carbon fiber handles. I used the Snake Brand guides, along with a Microwave Stripper guide from American Tackle. I also used Snake Brand reel seats and inserts. They were a 4-piece 9' 5-wt and a 4-piece 9' 6-wt. The 5-wt has a reverse half-wells handle and the 6-wt has a full-wells with a fixed fighting butt. There are a
Forum: rodboard

I have built several Slow Pitch Jigging rods using the American Tackle Bushido Slow Load blanks and LOVE them. I have made them in both conventional and spinning formats, and I actually prefer the spinning versions. I have caught numerous rockfish and Ling Cod off the coast of Oregon using these rods. As for configuration, my favorite spinning format uses the AT Microwave 25's. They do a
Forum: rodboard

Tom, Since July of 1968, my Trout rods have all been fast-action graphite rods in the 7' to 8 1/2' range, all custom made by yours truly. My comparisons are all based on using the same rods with the different lines. My experiences with the monofilament and superlines are directly attributable to the difference in stretch, because all other factors were the same. By the way, I read in a r
Forum: rodboard

It seems the common thread in the prior comments is the lack of a defined benefit for superlines over mono. I respectfully disagree with these prior comments, speaking from experience! I have for over 40 years been a light gear Trout fisherman, primarily fishing spoons. I tried 2lb test and was able to cast a country mile and got lots of strikes, but the feel was dead and I was unable to s
Forum: rodboard

If I were tasked to build a rod for "everything", I would look to the American Tackle Matrix MA-SP66-2/6-15 - it checks off all the boxes. It is 6 1/2" long, a 2-piece blank making transport easier, and is rated for line from 6lb through 15lb. It is a Mod-Fast so the panfish will still provide some fight, yet it also hase the beefier butt section to handle the larger fish. Rated
Forum: rodboard

I have great respect for the Bushido Line. I have many different rods built on Bushido blanks and have nothing but good things to say about them!
Forum: rodboard

Contact Mike McCoy at Snake Brand, he has great looking fly rod reel seats in Polished Aluminum, Nickel Silver, and Black Nickel. His wood inserts are outstanding! (https://www.snakeguides.com/)
Forum: rodboard

These blanks are awesome! I love their sensitivity! I set one up for bottom-fishing off the Oregon Coast and it is outstanding!
Forum: rodboard

I actually use both - I have the rod specifics reading from the butt-to-tip anh my label (or a customer's custom label) on the opposite side reading from the tip-to-butt
Forum: rodboard

I am a huge fan of the Microwave Line System! I put them on everything from ultra-light freshwater rods to surf rods to inshore bottom fishing rods! My favorite is the MW25's, they are great for both freshwater and inshore applications!
Forum: rodboard

Would LOVE to get some of these on one of my bottom-fishing rods for inshore rockfish & Ling Cod...
Forum: rodboard

Great guides!
Forum: rodboard

Great handles, with lots of trim options!
Forum: rodboard

Check out the Virtus guides from American Tackle. They are an awesome guide and can handle both situations. There are three variants, the Virtus Light (20-60), Virtus Heavy (40-80) and the new Virtus XHD (50-200) The Light and Heavy come in sizes ranging from 8 to 40 so you can definitely set up a spinning rod with these! The XHD only comes in sizes ranging from 10-20.
Forum: rodboard

Jake, I would not overline the Arctos blank. It is high modulus graphite so the risk would be high. I built a few for a guide shop in Stehekin Washington and the guide (John Wilsey) loves it! He has no problem putting the fly exactly where he wants it with the 5-wt line. He said it takes a little bit to get the hang of the stroke with the Arctos, but once you got it, Katie bar the door!
Forum: rodboard

I have built numerous Arctos 5-wts, and without fail, they have been very well received, and come in a metallic satin brown. I teach a fly rod building course for a large local fly fishing club and most students go with the Arctos for a couple reasons - reasonable cost and they cast & fish extremely well! The only down-side for your application is that they are a fast action. The best way
Forum: rodboard

I concur, Decal Connection is amazing...
Forum: rodboard

Have you considered the Microwave Guides by American Tackle? They are amazing, and if you don't want ceramic rings, they have the "Air Wave" guides, a Microwave set with the Stainless Steel inserts. I have used them on several rods and am very happy with them, and they cast like a dream!
Forum: rodboard

I have also heard good things about Proof, but you may also want to consider the Pacific Bay Arctos series. They have a 10' 9" 3-wt in Natural Graphite and an 11'3" 4-wt in their Satin Brown Metallic. The Arctos Series is a high modulus (IM7) graphite and is light in the hand and very responsive! Both of these models are 4-piece blanks which makes transport so much easier! You could
Forum: rodboard