I have been given an interesting problem and would appreciate any help and advice from this forum. A friend of mine is into Kayak fishing for light game fish ie; Yellowtail Kingfish, Cobia, Tuna etc off the East coast of Australia. He and his friend have been using composite blanks in the 5'8" - 6'6" range and have been landing some really great catches. The problem they are finding
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Craig I also would recommend the GUSA blanks as great for Barra but I also wouldn't go to far past a Samurai NV7. The blank was specifically designed for Barra. It is a 6' blank in the 6-8KG range and is exceptionally tough. That would be my personal pick. Regards Mark Outback
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For drying, I have a microwave oven motor, the one that turns the turntable in the oven. The motor is wired up to a switch and power cable which just plugs into the electrical socket. I have a large diameter piece of PVC which I use to mount the butt of the rod into. If it needs some packing I just use some masking tape to add to the diameter of the butt of the rod. When I begin applying my finis
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I double wrap all my heavy salt water rods. A grade thread for the underwrap and then 2 layers of size C for the overwraps. Many anglers now use heavier braids which place a huge amount of stress on the guides. I double wrap to provide that little bit extra to protect the threadwork. As for "footballs", what a load of rubbish. I recently posted a feather inlay done on mettler thread on
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Michael you can contact me on.
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I've tried 2 on my last couple of salt water jig blanks and reckon they are great. I will not go back to some of the other higher profie brands unless a customer specifically wants the other brand. Great service from Ross as well. Regards Mark Fisher Outback
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Billy this is a very interesting thread you have got started here. Like you and most of the other guys I am thinking more and more with my planning of future rods. Sometimes before going to sleep I will be thinking about some new colours scheme or handle I want to build. This usually ends up with me getting out of bed and writing down the idea. The problem is when I go back to bed, the idea just
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Jim, How many coats of CP are you using? Have you stired the contents before applying? How thick do you coat the area with CP? Have you thinned it in any way? I have been using Gudebrod and U40 with great results. For feather inlays I use 1 coat of CP for the base layer of thread. Then, depending on the number of feathers being layed, I usually use 1 coat per layer. When I have finished lay
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Hi Michael, I haven't had any issues "yet". Remember there are quite a few Fly Tying fishing stores and craft store who use a lot of Exotic feathers which most import. I know Kates feathers ar as clean as any you will get so there shouldn't be too many problems. It may be a little harder if you import a full skin (eg pheseant) Thanks for the compliments on my rods. They were a hobby
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I have had a few dealings with Kate and Siskiyou Aviaries over a few years now and do not believe you can have better customers service. They really are outstanding. Even all the way to Australia. Regards Mark Outback Rods
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I have used a piece of size A binding thread run around the blank a few times and back on itself to hold down that #@^*% feather. Once the CP begins to get tacky , very gently remove the thread. There may be a few small bands where the thread was but your next coat of CP covers that. Don't tie it too tight. Just enough presure to get that feather to stay in place.
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I don't really care how they do it but they build great blanks. I have built 6 or 7 to date and I don't have a bad word to say about them. The only one that ended up in two pieces was when the the owner accidentally threw his lure into a River Gum. As he was trying to flick it clear he stepped backwards onto a round shapped strick. The stick moved under his foot and he thought it was a brown snak
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No problems at all. I use Color Lock all the time and the threadmaster covers beautifully.
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Bill and Andy, thanks for the reply. Andy, I have been using your tThreadmaster and I am really happy with the results from it for threadwork. Personally, I have had no problems at all with the Glass Coat yellowing any more or less than any of the other epoxies I have used. Once the epoxy is on the rod, they all yellow to some degree. A lot depends on how much the particular rod is used and how
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Just wondering if any of the sponsors have any bottles of Glass Coat left on their shelves or storerooms. I know Glass Coat went out of the epoxy business a while ago but I have found their product the best, IMO, for covering feather inlays. Before anyone recommends Threadmaster, I use it already but like it for covering thread and guide wraps. The Glass Coat is simply great for feather work.
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Personally, I like my tartans to be based on a double diamond formation. If you are going to try a fly rod I think the diameter of the blank will be to small to get the detail in a double pattern. The idea is to have areas where the colours cross each other and where the white reg A thread causes the colours to lighten from their original shade. If, on a fly rod, your diameter is to small, you wi
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Just thought I would add my thoughts on this one. I have tried a tartan in the Black Watch style and I wasn't impressed with it at all. The whole set up was too dark to really have any of the colours stand out except the NCP trim. I used dark green, black and dark blue in mine and used a light green base colour. When the finish was added it just looked too dark to pick up any highlights. The best
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