Have any of you used it long enough to comment on 'yellowing'?
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"Very small guides" on an ice rod? Real small guides on an ice rod here in Iowa create an 'ice up' issue. I use small, curved hemostats and pad the the guide with a thin layer of 'closed cell foam' prior to grabbing it. Tapering off the end a little does make the wrapping much easier for me.
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Bill, I like your thinking here.
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Is there a shop / company where you can send the bottom section of a 2 pc fly rod and have it matched with a similar top section. I have a butt section of a 9', 5 wt but I am not sure who the maker was. I had an old Sage Discovery top section that fit it perfectly but it got shattered this summer. I currently have an old 4 wt top gerry-rigged a little at the ferrule to fit it. It fishes ok
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Chuck, I fish for Bluegill 2-3 evenings a week all summer in a half dozen farm ponds here in central Iowa. I use a 3wt, 4 wt and a 5wt. All are 8 1/2 or 9' and I am fishing from small boats. I find the longer rods a must for this type of fishing and although I am targeting big Gils I do not refuse to set the hook on bass, but sometimes the 3 wt just doesn't have enough gusto to drive a little
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You mean open face spinning reels aren't supposed to be on top?!? Darn, seems like everything trickles back to us Iowans kinda late from California. Hang in there Tina; if it don't feel broke, don't fix it!
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Jim, I have re-done my favorite SC111 four times and my SCV is currently down to bare rod as we speak. No Canada trip for me this year so I will re-do it for next year with micros and a lighter Tenn handle. Time and coordination is all I need this late fall.
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I have a butt section of a 2 pc , 9' fly rod. Not certain what make it is. Is there any place out there where you can get a matching tip section simply based on ferrule fit?
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You're in a rod building shop when the roller wheels on your work-swivel-chair will hardly work cause they are constantly gummed with thread, feathers, metalic strands and tape.
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Who is currently carrying the Pac Bay Minima 4 fly guides? Thanks
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Thanks Tom. I need to finish a rod ASAP and I found I did not have a matching double foot # 10 guide for my # 12 stripper. But I do have a single foot for it.
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I have always used another double foot guide (one size smaller ) than my double foot stripper guide, for a tamer. Usually put it approx. 41/2 " forward of the stripper. Have any of you used a single foot guide for the tamer? Reasons and thoughts are welcome. Thanks
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Have tried lots of different materials and epoxy too. I have settled on 5 min TM Gel. I get very consistent results dripping it on and simply carefully tilting and turning the rod by hand for a few mins. I sometimes lightly move a little speck or two with a thin bodkin while it is still runny. It does not have to come out perfect! After the epoxy dries, you can go back and carefully eye-ball
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I have two former students graduating this year and both have earned college scholarships for softball. My little Grizzly lathe is not really capable of turning wood, so asked my ol buddy Mike Barkley if he could turn a couple of mini bats for me. Typical Mike..... he'd never done one before but said he'd give it a try. I then wrapped them in school colors with feathers, metallic trims, angle
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Casting Distance has often come up in a variety of venues pertaining to rod constructuion. My own experiences with rod layout, spine and guide spacing/size has caused me to conclude that casting distance is affected rather minimally one way or the other. And as my eyesight / reaction time has slipped with the years, the maximum distance casts I can get out of my rods very rarely result in a
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Good to touch base with you last week. Thanks for taking the time to hang out for a while. I know how much you have been looking forward to this weekend. You've had a long, tough winter; enjoy the show!
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Lets say your buddy was born in '1959". I sometimes go to a 'Stamp and Coin' shop and purchase a penny of the same date when someone was born. A 1959 won't cost much. I then inlay it in the butt piece of the rod. If you want to get even fancier you can feather inlay the guys initial over that. Makes it really special and only takes a couple more hours.
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Bill, avoid gators this week!
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For a true custom builder, I think we need to be constantly vigilant that we aren't 'Gaining on Commercial Builders'!
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Just what I did Tom. Rushed it and botched it. Right after the post I was looking at it again and just went DUH! Thanks
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Duh! Ray, you hit it right on the head! I rushed this puppy for a friend and did a quick doctor late last night. Think we'll make it a one piece. Thanks
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Doing a little repair work for a friend on a broken rod. Made it into a two piece using a old piece of fiberglass for the ferrule. There is just a little loose play in the fit. The ferrule is on the butt section and the top piece is the male. What do some of use to tighten the fit just a smidge? Thanks
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Thought I had an extra stash of ThreadMaster regular. Discovered it was another brand. I have several rods to finish in the next few days and I am rather low on Regular TM.... but I do have most of a set of TM Lite left. Have any of you mixed approximate equal portions of TM Lite with TM Reg? What results did you get? I certainly can experiment but if that goes south I have used up what lit
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Mike, I just posted a couple pics of a simple, effective method I have evolved to.
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Roger, my own humble, evolving rod building/rod wrapping thoughts. The more electronic, high technical,expensive, high horse power, factory made machinery involved in the building of a rod, the more it falls into the second of two catagories of"Custom Rods". Catagories: Custom Rod made using mostly human power, human touch and skill, hand made tools and some basic electronic tools....
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Is this going to be a spinning rod? Split grip on a cork handle offers a nice area of blank for a great snake skin wrap! Looks great and the true feel of cork remains. Jeff, I posted a photo of a Diamond Back on a small split grip. Owner really loves it!
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I am so low on components and rod building materail that I actually went through the trash last night to find a tag of Silver thread for an inlay. Really looking forward to this weekend!
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Tom, I do subscribe to RodMaker and I love it. I can appreciate where you are coming from on this and I should clarify that by 'unsuccessful' I did not mean real botched up. Perhaps it is more unique to me than I thought but even after carefully reading and following excellent tutorials my first attempts rarley hit a level where I feel they are perfected to the point I would like. I carefully
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Been there, done that! Almost every initial attempt at a newer technique in rod building has become more of a learning experince than a successful experience. I now relish those hands on lessons. A builder friend once told me, " You can seriously adjust the rules, once you thoroughly understand the rules!" I agree with most of the other posts here that you would be wise to go back t
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Various color covers for DVD's and CD's make great looking and functional rings for a Tenn Handle. Keeps the reel seat from digging in to your cork. Rubber/cork truck -car gasket material (get the thin) make wonderful highlight ring for handles. Experiment and enjoy!
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