Thanks for all the responces everyone. I sure hope a source becomes available in the near future,before many of the currently available back issues run out.
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I was wondering if anyone knows of a source for purchasing RodMaker Magazine back issues in Canada? If not,are there any US sources that would ship this magazine north of the border? Thanks everyone. Tony
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Amboyna is a GREAT match for the rust colored thread.It is also one of the most stunning burl woods out there and looks fantastic on the higher end seats like Venneri,Bellinger,and REC(check out the rope knurl hardware). I put a Amboyna Burl nickel silver Bellinger ULSB seat(upslide style) on a 3wt Diamondback Classic Trout blank a couple of years ago and matched it with rust thread without CP
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You can always just recess one of the flush mount models if you find something similar.That's what I did on my first rods(a couple of original Loomis IMX's) a few years ago by simply using a Dremel tool and barrel grinder. I used the Pac Bay A7 seat with the graphite barrel and spacer and black hardware.It is an extremely light weight seat that looks very similar to the GLX seat when recessed.
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I'm not sure if it's the ring material or the frame,but I do know that the zirconia ring/TiCh plated guides I've used seem considerably heavier than some of the other ceramic guides I've used including the titanium/SIC Fugi Concept guides,various Hialoy ring guides with black or stainless frames(from various maufacturers),and some unknown guides with silver(not TiCH) ceramic rings and black coate
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I too have had a couple look like they were bent to one side,so that one side looked a bit flatter than the other.Fortunately I noticed the difference in shape before gluing it up and was able to aligne the grip so it looked even on each side when viewed from the top.I had the slightly flatter side facing up fitting against my palm and the more curved side down as it was a tad more comfy than the
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No experience with Quarrow(always wondered about them though),but have built on a few matte grey finished Kilwel Presentation 9ft 4pc blanks and was very pleased with thier performance. I've built on the 5wt,6wt,and 8wt models and found them all to be very light in weight(much lighter than I expected actually) with reletively thin walls and medium to medium fast actions.I thought they were exc
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I have to totallly agree with what has been said here so far. I too have noticed the difference in sizing,with the 1's being a tad smaller than normal,and the other sizes being slightly larger than normal. The heavy wire version has about the same wire thickness as your typical wire fly guide,but is still lighter and much more flexible(especially if comparing snake guides),so I think they a
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I've definitely noticed that they are heavier than other ceramic guides I've used,and much heavier than wire guides,but as far as noise goes,I find extremely quiet,as quiet as any ceramic guide I've ever used,and far quieter than any wire guide.
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The Recoil guides & tops are made of a nickel titanium alloy,which is very light weight.The guides and tops are the lightest out there I believe.I match a Recoil top to any rod that I am putting Recoil guides on,just because I don't like the look of a ceramic top on a fly rod with wire guides.That said,even though the Recoil top is lighter,I think that a ceramic top would probably be of some
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I'm curious as to how most guys set up fly rods for static testing. I built something to hold my rods,and it works "OK",but could certainly use improvements.Holding a spinning or casting rod is easy with a simple PVC pipe mounted on an angle,but the position of the reel on a fly rod makes inserting the rod into a tube difficult,unless you take a PVC pipe or something and cut out a sl
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I just double checked the sizes of the Recoil single foot fly guides and single wire tops,and I also compared them to the size of my single foot chrome guides. The size 1 Recoils are sized about the same as a size 1 standard single foot wire guide(they "aren't quite" as wide as a standard single foot wire guide,but seem like they maybe "just a hair" higher off the blank).Th
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I really like the SF Recoil's on light flyrods and prefer the heavy wire version(not much weight difference between them and the light wires,plus they match up with the tip top wire thickness better and seem to be a little less squeeky,to me at least) for most rods. I put them on a 5wt Dan Craft FT a while back and used 2 double foot Fugi gold cermet guides,followed by single footers from 4 do
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I've never seen any that have copper rings but I sure would love to! One of my favorite trim colors is copper and a guide with a matching ring would be great.Black frame & copper rigs would be sweet.
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I fish in BC,Canada and use a 10ft 7wt(works better with a 8wt line at close to mid range) Dan Craft SIG V for my light duty steelhead/salmon rod,and a 10ft 9wt Loomis GLX as my heavy duty,big water rod.That said,I am starting to switch over to 2 handers as a steelheading rod on medium to large waters.Either the Dan Craft FT(either the 10ft 7-8wt or the 9ft 6-8 wt blanks,depending on your needs),
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True Oil makes burl cork look fantastic and makes them quite durable.One or two coats will only darken it slightly and provide a slight sheen,where as multiple coats will make it darker.The more coats you add(lightly buff between coats with fine sandpaper or steel wool),the shinier and darker it will look.You can make it look like a piece of burl wood if you want. I really like having a regula
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Hey Daniel,I have the 9ft 5wt FT.It's a VERY powerful blank(it does everything and anything my other 6wt rods will do,and is considerably more powerful than any of my other 5wts),yet the tip section is very light,crisp and sweet.You definitely don't want to add unnecessary weight to the tip section of these rods.The rod has a wonderful feel to it and is without a doubt one of the best all around
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I think Bob Venneri's seats,especially the Esopus models,are arguably the nicest nickel silver seats on the market.Beautiful machining and stunning wood choices,plus they are in the same price range as the other major brands.Unfortunately,it has apperently become extremely difficult to obtain these seats from the source,but if you can find a rodbuilder who has some they would part with,I would de
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I too would also recommend going with the FTL considering thier performance for the dollar.Otherwise,out of the blanks you listed,I actually like the Forecast 4pc 7ft6 4wt best as it loads nicely with a 4wt line within the distance you mention.That said,my rod is the previous teal blue model,not the new RX6,so I can't comment on how the ERN or action is on the new models,or if it has changed.I do
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Brian,the SIG V is an excellent all around blank(as is the FT with the right line on it).It will work great in close,or out far if the correct line is put on it for the rod's power.I would email or call Dan Craft,explain to him exactly what kind of rod you are looking for,the size of flies you usually use,and the distances you plan on fishing,and I'm sure he will be able to help you select the be
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I've always found the XP to be a tad stiffer than I would like in lighter line weights(5wt and down I prefer the SLT to actually fish with),but it's an awsome rod in the heavier ones(6wt and up). The 9ft6 7wt and 8wt XP's are VERY popular salmon/steelhead rods out here in BC,as are the 10ft 7wt and 8wt versions.I have no idea what the new Z-Axis will be like,but you can't go wrong with a XP in
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IMHO the Dan Craft SIG V or FT blanks are comparible to the best name brand blanks out there,even though they are a fraction of the price.I like them as much or more than my high end big name rods(Loomis IMX and GLX,Sage XP,SLT,and VPS to name a few that I have) and they are FAR better than the Launch or Accent.. Do a search in the archives and read what others have said about them.Sounds lik
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I sure hope things work out for you Bob. You do beautiful work and your seats are BY FAR the nicest I have ever used.
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Anything 6wt and up I would definitely go with the titanium framed SIC Fugi's,and if possible,go with the Concept frames(the Concept stripping guides are VERY light weight and look great).These guides are super slick and virtually silent compared to wire guides. On rods 5wt and under I would go with the Recoils.They are incredibly light in weight and you will notice the difference in how your
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I like REC and Venneri's checks best out of the ones I've used so far. REC offers several different patterns,with my favorite being the rope knurl.They have seats with hardware to match this knurl pattern and I think it's one of the most unique and beautiful patterns I've seen.It's also easy to keep clean as dirt doesn't seem to get stuck in the grooves the way it can with straight or diagonal
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Like Bill,my favorite slide band seats(and my favorite screw lock seats I might ad,especially the Esopus) are Venneri.The Up/Down slide is a great little seat,as are the downslide models,but my favorites are also the upslide seats with the flaired wood end and nickel silver butt plate.All of Venneri's seats are GORGOUS and they hold a reel very well(at least they do for me). I've also had some
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I love them! I wrapped one on a spare section of rod blank when I first got them to test them out.I found could pull it out if a safety wrap was not used,but with a Forhan Locking Wrap on it I couldn't and I know I put A LOT more pressure on it than my leader under tension to the reel ever could.I wouldn't hesitate to use them. The best thing about them is that they fold away when not in us
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I use them on pretty much all my personal flyrods and have never had one come close to pulling out. As mentioned,use a Forhan locking wrap on it(see Library for directions).
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I am strictly a fly guy,but my favorite blanks are by far the Dan Craft SIG V and FT's,especially in the 4wt and up range).Absolutely nothing can touch them when it comes to performance for the buck IMHO.They can hold their own against the best high end blanks in the industry even though they are a fraction of the cost. For small stream rods(4wt and under),I have been very impressed with both
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The SIG V blanks are extremely light weight and lively.Phenominal blanks IMHO.ANY weight on them in the tip area is noticable though,more so than any other blank I've built on,so I would go with the lightest guides possible.I would go with either all titanium frame SIC Fugi Concept guides(the double foot guides are so light compared to other guides that you can go up a size on the stripper withou
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