You might want to take a look at the St. Croix line of rods I like the Avid #3S63MXF or the Elite #5S63MXF. It's 6' 3" and should have some similar characteristics to the Fenwick. It will be lighter but I think the rod should respond about the same for you. Some don't like the feel of an extra fast tip but I like the sensitivity and with a medium power it makes it a pleasure to handle. Mark
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I haven't seen the article but I often wondered about using the Fuji HPS16N on the end of a size 16 skeleton seat for a removable fighting butt. I see Mudhole has them listed under graphite reel seats on their web page. You might want to take a look at that and see if it will work for you. Mark
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I started using the Batson guides and reel seats at Roberts suggestion and just love them. The bases of the guides take little or no grinding to make them useable. I have used nothing else but Batson's guides since. Mark
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I use a tie strap to keep them round and 6" adjustable clamp to keep them flat.
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Thanks Tom, I went back into the help section and found the adjustment for the resolution. I did find that I was trying to put the text up first and then do the back ground color around the text and it was leaving a void in the center of the letters. I have since started with the back ground and then put the text on top of that and now have crisp letters to work with. Thank You Mark
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I have had the same problem with the smaller rods but the lamination seems to separate on mine. The lower portion is intact but the upper cover comes loose when the epoxy is applied. On the larger diam it seems to hold together better. Mark
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I know that there are several topics on this already and have a dumb question. In the article from Rodmaker Mag they said to set the resolution for the printer to about 500 to 700 dpi. I'm using a paint program to make the label and can't figure out how to reset the resolution. It's currently about 91 dpi and makes a very blurry label. I can't figure out how to increase the resolution and am prob
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I have used them as well and they seem to be a very sound guide. You will like the color as it adds another dimension to the rod. Mark
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One thing you may want to look at in the future is try and dry fit the pieces before glue up and make sure there are no gaps in the joints. If the parts have gaps between or an odd angle in the pieces before glue up you can force them together with a clamp (tiestrap) but when the pressure is removed the parts will relax and can become oval. It's like gluing a board together if one board is warped
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I have worked with wenge on several handles, the wood is very porous and hard to get tru-oil to fill the grain in the wood. I use an epoxy designed for wood, sand and top with tru-oil. The finish is very hard and durable. I also think that tru-oil is blend of linseed and poly. it will harden on it's own without soaking into the wood. It works much better on porous wood to have a smooth surface to
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I have 3 rods that all work great for different presentations. A St Croix 3C70MHXF bait caster for tubes and spinners, a St Croix 6'9" xf for drop shots and Carolina rigs, and a Batson Rainshadow 822.5 as Carolina rod and drop shots as well. I find that I use the spinner rigs about 90% of the time and I like the extra back bone of the extra fast rods on Smallies yet they still have a soft en
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I ordered a size 12 Alps for a 5wt fly rod. I have not gotten around to putting the rod together but looking at the reel seat it seems to be a very sound good looking seat. It may be a little heavier than that of a regular seat but on a 15ft and 9ft rod I would doubt that you would notice the difference. They have a very good lock up and appear to be very sturdy. I think that you will like it.
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Bill - Thank you for the reply. I received your new catalog the other day and it's very informative and well done. I think I'll give one a try on the 5wt and see how it looks. Thank you for the prompt answer. Mark
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I'm building a 8'6" 4wt and 9' 5wt fly rod on St Croix Avid blanks. I was looking at the smallest Alps tri seat for these rods. I don't have one to look at but have been told that the seat is to heavy for a light rod. Has any one used them on a lighter rod that could give me an opion before I buy one? Do they seem to balance well? Thanks Mark
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Tom I tried to use the link and got this error message: <!-- Addme Missing required parameter: a --> It may be on my end I know that our firewall is a little harsh at times. If it's on my end please let me know. Thanks Mark
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Thanks Shawn
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Billy - Thanks for the reply I took a closer look at the receipt for the rod and I see this is a SCI Glass Rod as the description the HJ really had me stumped. I bought the rod at the St. Croix store in Park Falls so it shouldn't be counterfeit. They had some discontinued blanks on the showroom floor, I was in a hurry so I grabbed what they had. The others that I bought were listed as EC70MHF a
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I have a St. Croix blank that has a number on the bag but no tag of line weight or lure weight. The number on the bag is GC70MH.HJ. I was told it was a discontinued Elite blank and it is a 7' blank. I think the MH is for medium heavy but I have no idea of what the HJ stands for. Is this a muskie blank? It has a very large diam butt so it looks heavyer than a bass rod. Any help would be appreciate
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I received a file as well. Thanks Doc - Mark
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Woodcraft has the parting tools and they have many choices. You can find any size at the store but for general use look at the 1/8" size it's the most versatile. Mark
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You may not have to ream the seat, it depends on where you order the blank and seat. I ordered both from Fishsticks 4U, told them the length of the handle and they fit the reel seat to the blank. It made the process a lot easier and the fit was great. I'm sure that more places would fit the seat to the blank if you buy both parts from them. Mark
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I know this may be off the subject but has any one tried to flute the grip or reel seat like a rifle barrel? I wonder how the fluting would feel and if it would save any weight? Just asking. Mark
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I have done it both ways and prefer the Tru-oil. The epoxy gives a nice deep finish however you can't seem to get all the imperfections out of the finish. I have found the best way to apply Tru-oil is on the blank when it is still on the lathe. I apply 1 heavy coat as the blank spins on the lathe and let it sit, come back about 2-3 hours later and buff with OOOO steel wool and re-apply a second a
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Lonny - I have found the hard way if you use a "v" point to open up the frt of a turned handle it will probably split. The v acts as a wedge and if it catches on any thing it will bind and split the wood. The 13/16" and 11/16" fostner bits are hard to find but I think you can find them at "Woodcraft". I ran into a simular problem on a 13/16" hole and used a 3/4&
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Mike - I have built a few skeleton reel seats and found the wood makes for a better transmission of vibration and indication of the bite. I don't usually use an arbor on my skeleton seats (I use a file and taper the fit) and I think the wood mates on more surface area of the blank. I think you will find that the wood feels warmer in your hand than the fuji and I love the look of wood. The one thi
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I usually turn a mortise in the cork fore and aft grip and use that as the arbor . It usually gives you a better fit and finish between the cork and the handle as you can't see a crack of light through the handle and the handle is centered on the fore and aft grips.
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I see Jann's Netcraft has some Shimano's as well as Diawa and Pflueger. I just got a Pflueger 6730 spin reel from Jann's and it was the same price as Cabelas, Bass Pro, Ect. I don't know what your looking for but you can check the site off the lh side to see what they have. Mark
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If you are using the corian as a trim on cork or leaving unfinished you will have to use the micro sheets. If you are using the corian on a trim that will be finished you can take it down to 600 grit and use tru-oil to finish the corian like you would wood or cork. I haven't used jewelers rouge but I would think that it would do the same as the micro sheets the one problem I would foresee would b
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Thanks all I was thinking about the Minnow Imitations and Poppers for the fly. The way you folks are talking I should be safe with 8'6" in either the 7wt or the 8wt. The RX7 looks like the better choice as I don't know how much this will get used and I hate to stick a lot of money into this and find out that I don't like it. I have caught a 21.5" Smallie on this stretch of river and I h
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I have never used a Fly Rod to fish before and would like to build one for my self. I fish alot on the Wisconsin River (Very shallow and fast current) for Smallies. Currently I use a spin rod for Carolina rigs and a bait caster for lures and as usual with Smallies on a river they put on quite a show and a 14" fish will pull like a 6 pounder in the current. I would like a fighting butt and ce
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