Its a great concept. Anyone who has ever had the "pleasure" of fighting a large tuna, amberjack, grouper or halibut with a conventional level wind knows that trying to keep the reel level on top of the rod is quite difficult. The under mount allows less experienced and weaker fishermen to enjoy the process a little more.
Forum: rodboard

It has a brake trigger for dropping the lure.
Forum: rodboard

I think it looks awesome.
Forum: rodboard

Is it in a spot where you can add a bit of hand painted art? Something small and unique.
Forum: rodboard

I would make that cap fit on the skinny end. Craft a wooden dowel so that it fits tightly inside the cap. Use an orbital sander attached upside down in a vise. Spin the dowel with your hand on the rotating sander disc. Bring the OD down on the butt until it fits the grip. Create a. new tenon on the grip if needed. My DEWalt sander will spin up rapidly if I don't apply much pressure.
Forum: rodboard

Braid without a mono or fluoro leader is great............except for when you get snagged with a lot of line out. If tied right, the lesser strength leader will break off at the lure. Straight braid may break off anywhere from the rod tip to the lure leaving a permanent mess in the water and a partial spool of line.
Forum: rodboard

I cast pretty far with the traditional guides but I've been intrigued by the concept.
Forum: rodboard

Great tip, Michael. I've only done one rod with trim bands. Just couldn't get them to stay put until I did exactly what you described. Don't forget to apply CP first if you want to keep the thread color.
Forum: rodboard

I found out pretty quick that I can't build a rod cheaper than I can get one from the fishing and hunting stores. I think I can get what I want if I build it myself. I've never spent more than $75 on a rod before. Now I have at least that in components and many rods with $200 just in components. I wouldn't have it any other way now.
Forum: rodboard

Its one guide. Cut it off and re-wrap it.
Forum: rodboard

I built two of those exact rods. Get Black Hole to send you the build sheets and replicate that. Really nice rods.
Forum: rodboard

Go for it. It works the same as non-metallic. As you get to the smallest diameter of the blank it tends to "crack" a little. Try to wrap it without having to pack and burnish as much as possible nearer the rod tip,
Forum: rodboard

The 703 is a great choice for trout and reds both in spinning and casting.. Its a little heavier than a comparable xray but still very light. Just got back from Fourchon this morning with a bag full of speck and red filets. I've got the X-ray set up for casting a 1/4oz jig and the 703 set up for spinning/braid/12# mono leader, and a 1/8oz jig and a trick worm. Don't tell anyone, but the trick
Forum: rodboard

Thanks, Norm. I am going with the 2" butt, the 2" grip and the 1" fore grip. I was a bit confused by the tenons on some of the grips. Just butting the tenonless grips up against the top and bottom of the reel seat sounds easy enough. For my personal jig poles I like to place the spinning seat flush with the bottom of the blank and add a rubber plug. A 6" tapered EVA gr
Forum: rodboard

These will be just for flipping and vertical jigging. The reel seat could be used for any number of small reels and or spools. You're right about the slop. They don't cast very well. I'm using 7'-8' two piece blanks for casting the small jigs both direct and under a cork. I want to experiment with the carbon fiber grips on these rods.
Forum: rodboard

I plan on building several jig poles on a NFC 2-piece fly blank. It has a .31 butt diameter. I've never used the NFC carbon grips but it would be a nice addition for these rods. Looking at all of the possible selections on the NFC site is overwhelming. The plan is to use a split grip configuration with a small fore grip. A small graphite spinning reel seat will complete the handle section.
Forum: rodboard

Thanks, guys, but I need the guide spacing for this specific blank. It isn't listed on NFC's guide spacing chart.
Forum: rodboard

Looks like I'll need to do a static test
Forum: rodboard

Does anyone have the guide spacing for this blank set up as a casting rod? I can't find it on the NFC site.
Forum: rodboard

I love the unhanded blanks and so do all of the people who get one that I build. Easy to wrap and look great.
Forum: rodboard

Can't say anything about the 692, but I have built a dozen or so 703-1 Deltas. They look similar. Awesome blank for speckled trout both in the casting and spinning configuration. Specks are salt water walleye. Same lures, rods, and line.
Forum: rodboard

On a special request build I always do it for material cost only or just donate to charity events or family and friends. I've thought about marking them up and selling them but that would require an LLC and other headaches I don't need. Besides, It takes me about 6 hours over 3-4 days to complete a build. At that rate I could only build 50 rods/year at about $150 - $200 profit per rod. Thats
Forum: rodboard

Really like the way that looks. Seems like it would feel just as good. Did you machine the cork for the reel foot?
Forum: rodboard

Looking at your 2nd photo, Insert the loop 10 wraps earlier and that problem will disappear.
Forum: rodboard

I use a dead stick with a tip-up for pike, big walleye and burbot. A little larger reel loaded with braid and a stiffer rod seems to work the best. Its basically a small winch. That rod he has is a "dead" stick and would be perfect.
Forum: rodboard

Cut it down from the butt and build a 39" dead stick ice rod.
Forum: rodboard

My rod building life changed for the better the day I started putting the loop in early. I solved the occasional tie off end fuzzies by wetting my finger a little and "pasting" the cut end to the blank before wrapping over it.
Forum: rodboard

I ain't scared. Just kidding. Just ordered 2ea C602 salmon blanks, 3 more Delta 703-1 and a couple of Zentron ice blanks. Figured out pretty quick in this game that blanks are rarely perfectly straight. Follow the advice of the very knowledgable rod gurus on this site and everything will be fine.
Forum: rodboard

Maybe rust free guides could solve your delimma.
Forum: rodboard

For that specific rod I would use an old rod and strip it down, cut it and build it back. What do you really have to lose? It seems to be an experiment anyway.
Forum: rodboard