Jann's Netcraft also has a 4-piece 12-wt for less than $100 - IM6 Graphite in a matte black finish.
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Joel, As a newbie, you should build on a less expensive blank, as Phillip mentioned. One alternative not mentioned in the posts above is the Pacific Bay Arctos blanks. They are a reasonable cost (under $100) and are a higher modulus (RX7 graphite) plus they come in two finishjes, either polished black or a handsome satin brown. I teach a fly rod building class and my students (some very exp
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I appreciate Mark Talmo's comments and response to my earlier post. I was unaware of the 2-line static test and can instantly see the advantages. Even an old dog can learn new tricks! How did I not know this after 53 years of rod-building!! Thanks, Mark!!
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I have actually built some blanks on a factory floor during a special "Build-Your-Own-Blank" promotion. The biggest issue is how the graphite cloth is "tacked" to the mandrel. If it is tacked on perfectly along the same axis of the mandrel, the blank comes out straight. As noted in a previous post, the tip of the mandrel is very thin, so it is very difficult to tack the clo
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The Arctos blanks are a high modulus blank and this particular blank is well suited for the Microwave Guide system from American Tackle. The Microwave system is an excellent choice for lighter spinning applications and come in multiple finishes (Chrome, Black & TiON) Microwave guides sets come with specific spacing for the first 3 guides from the reel seat and suggested spacing for the res
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Phil, You are correct, as the fly will follow in the path of the rod tip. That said however, there are blanks out there that I will not build on as they look like corkscrews, especially in the upper end of the blank - top section of a 4-piece blank for example. I have seen this from imported blanks and those made in the USA as well, the origin of the blank has no bearing on how straight it i
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I've had the Bushido 6-wt in my inventory for some time, ordered when they were still readily available. I still have one left, which I just may hoard a while longer! While the Bushido blanks may no longer be available, the AT Matrix fly blanks are excellent also! It's amazing just how straight they can be!
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I am just finishing up a 6-wt fly rod for my cardiologist and was reminded again just how good the AT Bushido blanks are! I never have to worry about looking for the straightest axis for the 4 pieces because each piece was as straight as a die! I have consistently gotten great blanks from AT, with great customer service if I ever do have an issue (last issue was about 8 years ago... none since!
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There are many rod manufacturers that make blanks in the USA. Two that I know of are Berkheimer Rods and Stryker Rods. NFC has some made in the US, as does Lamiglas. Bottom line, if you are limited to "Made in the USA", you need to ask about each model as they could be either way. Many blank manufacturers tried to make their blanks and rods here in the USA, like Cousins and Rogue Ro
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Mike McCoy of Snake Brand conducted an experiment for Scott Rods putting 16 guides on a 10' 8" 5-wt. In the test casting, they were exceeding all of the other rods by substantial margins! I have taken Mike's 16-guide chart and modified it for Pac Bay Arctos blanks (9' 3") and found a 13 guide train is excellent! The casting is stellar and the load of the rod is consistent over the en
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Zachary, Making thread swatches on a wooden dowel has some inherent problems, the biggest of which is the color of the wood. Thread on a lighter surface can show as much lighter than thread on a dark surface unless several coats of CP are applied. I use scrap pieces of blank of the same (or as close as possible) color as the intended build. I don't generally use CP, I use Color Fast thread
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I'm jealous! I live on the West Coast and don't have the budget to fly across the country for the expo! If I were attending, I would definitely talk to Captain Mo, Don Morse and Austin to see if there are any activities you can get in on before, during and after the expo. I know they have gone fishing on occasion and had spectacular times! American Tackle also has the flipping competition,
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American Tackle had both the Green and the Black blanks concurrently several years ago. The specs were the same. Contact Don Morse at American Tackle, he may have a line on who has some Green Matrix blanks, and can asnswer many of your questions.
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American Tackle has all of the guide specs (including height) listed in their catalog, pages 87-103 in the 2021 catalog.
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Stryker purchased all of the remaining inventory and equipment from Rogue Rods when they went out of business. I have personally been to their facility and was very impressed with what they were doing and with the people working there. They have some very interesting blanks in the pipeline.
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ProWrap has two, Silver Shiner (code 813) and Silver Smoke (code 822) Mudhole carries most of the ProWrap threads and should have these in all sizes (A, B & D) You could also check with someone that carries American Tackle components as they are also distributors of ProWrap. Voodoo Rods also has an untreated Nylon they call "Silver Strength" in 4oz spools, but would definitely re
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When I first started using micro guides, they woud shoot across the room when I tried to remove the 1/8" tape! Can't tell you how many I lost, as the room had beige carpet that was thoroughly infected with bits of thread and 1/8" & 1/4" masking tape. I began ordering at least two (sometimes up to 4) extra micro runners and developed a different method of holding them on the b
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The American Tackle Matrix Spin Jig blank has a great option at 7' rated tor 8-14 line and 1/4 - 5/8 lures, and the carbon fiber weave butt reinforcement really looks great! As a fast action blank, these make great tube and jig blanks and are extremely sensitive!
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Adam, American Tackle has a series called the Vortex Air, they also have one called the Airwaves (formerly Microwave Air). These are excellent guides with enough options to suit any build. I have some Airwaves on some freshwater Trout rods and do not see any fall off in casting distance between them and the Microwave guides with the ceramic rings. Rich
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These guides are excellent, and there are so many configuration options, they can be matched to any build!
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Michael, Check out the American Tackle Matrix MA-SJ6/6-12 Spin Jig blank. It is 6' and can hancle lures 1/8 - 3/8 and line rating is 6 to 12. It is a "Fast" action, but should be perfect for what you want to do. Rich
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Michael, Check out the American Tackle Matrix MA-SJ6/6-12 Spin Jig blank. It is 6' and can hancle lures 1/8 - 3/8 and line rating is 6 to 12. It is a "Fast" action, but should be perfect for what you want to do. Rich
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Tony, There are many excellent guides in the market today, almost any of which will handle braided lines. I personally like the American Tackle Microwave 25's for spinning rods and either the American Tackle Virtus Light series or the Vortex Air (no ceramic ring) guides for my baitcasting rods. You can't go wrong with them, and they will stand up to the rigors hard fishing. Rich
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I agree with Bucky, the TiForged and MW guides from American Tackle are great gudes and would work very well for your application. You may also want to consider the American Tackle Virtus series that comes in three different variants for different weight ranges.
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I am familiar with Talon, they are also in Woodland Washington. A great blank maker that supplies many of the higher-end private label blanks, like many of the Anglers Workshop blanks. It started out as Loomis Composites, Inc., established by Gary Loomis and one of his cousins. Gary went on to start G Loomis (and subsequently Edge Rods and NFC) and his cousin took LCI on through several change
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Terje, Another thing to be very careful of - make sure you don't contaminate the thread! If you handle the thread with your fingers (like I do, all hand wraps...) you must make sure your hands are very clean. Otherwise, your "clear" wrap will have blotchy areas where your body oil prevented the finish from penetrating evenly.
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Ben, The guide wraps extended from the foot about 1/2" to 1", sometimes longer. They also loved to underwrap and then begin the guide wrap with a band, then spiral toi the foot, then wrap over the guide foot. I have repaired over 100 old rods, replicating that process. The reason for the underwraps was to prevent the guide foot from crushing through the blank. If you can get a co
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Kendal, You can't always rely on hard statistics when it comes to blanks. You can have two different blanks with identical stats, but have radically different feel and performance when fished. Various vactors, including the taper and wall thickness will affect hoiw a blank performs. I have rods built on blanks from over a dozen different manufacturers and have built others for sale or as
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These are my favorite guides! I have been using them on inshore and saltwater jigging rods with great success! I also have some freshwater Trout rods with these guides and I am outcasting my buddies on a regular basis. Fantastic guides!
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There are a few tips for using multi-piece rods, but I will only give you one and comment on the string above. When building a multi-piece tod, make sure the tip section is SLIGHTLY shorter than the butt section. This will help protect the most fragile part of the rod with the strongest part of the rod during transport. The difference doesn't have to be mych, mayve 1/16" With regard to
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