Have any of you had any problems with Berkley's new Nanofil un- filiment fishing line for spin reels. I see it has little to no stretch and 'may dig into baitcast reels during agressive hook sets'. Wondered if there has been any problems with grooving in guides or rod breakage.
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I posted a response on 'Graphite Rod Tip Repair'. My name is listed as the last responder but the post is not there. Puzzled!?
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Mr Barkley, you are a 'stand up' guy with some guts and a lot of rod building and life experience. My respect for you grows.
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Like Mike, I keep various sizes of scrap pieces available and snug them into the butt piece. Makes things very easy.
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The Rx6 is a very good beginner/intermediate blank Mick.. Easy to cast, handsome and rather durable for the rookie type abuse-mistakes beginners make. I agree with Sam that one wt smaller (5) might be a little more all-around versitile for a beginner. I like the looks of the Tamer and the theory of what they add (however, don't know if it's that significant) . But I put them on all my fly rods.
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I just couldn't resist Ray. "Did you have him put a custom weave in your hair?"
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I just couldn't resist Ray. "Did you have him put a custom weave in your hair?"
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I very much wish I had NOT rebuilt my first rod. I now have a Sage, Batson RX8, St Croix that I have beautifully custom built for myself. But the rod that is my meat rod, is my very first blank build..... A Cabelas 9', 2 pc, 5/6 wt. I have pictures of that first build and I have to say it was just 'pretty ok' but it was the BEST I could do back then. It was like an ugly baby .... but it was my u
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Watch those same folks swing a baseball bat. Hands criss-crossed wrong with about 7" of space between them. A febble downward chop swing as the wrong foot steps forward. But a smile on their face at any contact. Don't attempt to teach them to fly fish and giving them a simple bow & arrow could result in the loss of their eye. Coordination & intelligence are definitely related!
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Jim, but what if the fish can't wait? I know, I'll just get out my little SC111 and accomodate them!
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Will be using a 1000 Shimano with 6-8 lb test. Practice casts have been very smooth. This rod will be for me. Thanks for the reply Tom. I'm going to put TM on it tomorrow and will fish it this weekend.
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Wondering if any of you have run into any complications/problems using a Micro Wave Stripper on a spinning rod. I put one on a med light spin rod and it cast just fine. Looks nice. Haven't had a chance to fish with it yet. Just wondering what experience any of you have had. Thanks
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Get a Forecast Rx6 8' 5 wt 4 pc blank. The last 3 pieces make a sweet 6 ' pack rod. Build a light Tenn. Handle (with a fiberglass insert in the middle that fits into the butt pc of the 6' rod) wrap the end of the rod for added strength at the insertion. Play with the size and spacing of the guides a little. You can create a very adequate, light multi pack rod. You'll have a nice throw- most- any
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Watching Joe is what got me to buy/try a spatula. The one I still use is flat on one end and a spade on the other. I mastered it very quickly and find it to be a very fun, consistent & easy part of my builds today. The 'dripping' on of epoxy greatly lessons the potential for bubbles and the edge of the spatula allows for some very even/straight applications. Most of the time I am quite comfor
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Will have two opportunities this summer to fish Canadian and Minn lakes that have both smallmouth and largemouth. I have a good trolling, jigging rod for the walleye but I am told we will be casting, from the boat into weed pockets with topwaters, buzz baits and some crank baits for the bass. I would like some recommendations for a 2 pc spin blank for this kind of fishing. Will be using 1000 or
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I like the simplicity and feel of 'Waterproof 1/4 " Adhesive Tape'. Easy to find also.
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However it comes out, fish it, enjoy it and don't re-do it. Let it stand forever as the 'Brad # 1'. As you improve, you will truly appreciate where you started and how far you have come.
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Whatever you do, after you finish it...... keep it. Don't sell it or give it away. Keep it as the "Brad #1". Fish it and thoroughly enjoy it. But never 're-do' it! Let it stay as the fun reminder of the foundation to your rod building hobby/habit. I wish to the heavens I hadn't re-done my fisrt rod. It would have been such a great example/reminder to me of how far I have progressed in t
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I rebuilt a Sage 3 wt. Was in very good condition when I got it. However, I was shocked at the size/thickness of the silver/steel snake guides on the rod. The wraps were single color and nothing special. The handle was fine but nothing to write home about. Gold Reel seat was fine. Cast great but I knew I could easily make it sweeter and lighter. Stripped everything but the gold reel seat. Th
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I want to second what John said about the lateral weakness of birchbark. Once it is all glued up it takes very little lateral pressure to snap it. When I am doing ther final reaming for a birch handle, I tape it long way and also wrap it spirally with masking tape. It is a beautiful, solid handle when finally glued up on a rod.
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Did you learn anything from trying to dunk wearing 'pink rabbit slippers'? Get better and have a Great Holiday!
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Gene, did you wrap the bottom threads tightly, medium tight or rather loose? As soon as my bottom two threads are definitely secured, I then loosen the tension as much as I can while still being able to keep the two adjacent to each other as they go on. At the end of the wrap I pick the tension up to securely lock them down. This allows me to carefully go back and move the threads around with a
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Prepping your guide foot well (thin, smooth, symmetrical, to a point) is a key ingredient to ease of wrapping. Also, tight tension on the thread at the beginning wrap on the point of the guide foot can create a problem. If the first wrap on the guide foot wants to snap under it, I usually go back and lighten the tension a little and try again. If it just won't take then the whole foot is not 'f
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Prepping your guide foot well (thin, smooth, symmetrical, to a point) is a key ingredient to ease of wrapping. Also, tight tension on the thread at the beginning wrap on the point of the guide foot can create a problem. If the first wrap on the guide foot wants to snap under it, I usually go back and lighten the tension a little and try again. If it just won't take then the whole foot is not 'f
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It was a fun and informative gathering. Was very nice to see some new faces too. Scott's presentaation on trim wraps with a nice highlight demo of a 'nailknot' thin metalic wrap was slick. The fine array of rod building raffle gifts were greatly appreciated. Companies donating and supporting 'grass-roots' get togethers like ours are truly appreciated. Big Thanks to: Mid West Rod & Reel ( Bi
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I would use white and black on the bottom. Maximimum contrast! Move it around a good amount to get the 'wavy effect'. Put at least 2 coats of finish on that underwrap. Wrap the opposite way with a green nylon and sacrificial thread for the top wrap. Pull out the sacrificial thread. Put cp on the top green wrap. Then cover with a couple of coats of finish. Should be a beautiful Green tiger at th
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Did you use a sacrificial thread on the top? Also, Dark Blue and Silver are not strongly oppositional colors. You want that base wrap to be very contrasting colors.
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Whatever you end up building, sign and date it. Fish it and enjoy it. Learn from it and appreciate it as the 'best' you could do at that time in your development as a builder. You don't have to start out as an experienced builder. Above all .... keep it and don't re-do any of it. Use it as a measuring stick to your improvement. I re-did my first rod but to this did regret that it is not in its
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Totally makes sense to me about the 4". Appreciate the feedback. Have never put a hook keeper on the split. Would seem to me that it might be in the way of the hand gripping if it were too close to the front of the split. I may experiment a little with that. Any thoughts on the placement for the hook keeper? Thanks again
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I do not use Baitcasters. Don't seem to have the coordination to keep the bird's nest effect from happening. Have done repair work on several though. I plan to build a 'spiral' 6'6 or 7' for a close friend as an Xmas gift. I want to do a 'split grip' but am wondering the pros and cons of a split grip on Baitcaster. I have splits on most all of my own spin rods Thanks
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