A few months back I built a "salmon/steelhead" spinning rod from an 8 weight blank that I had spare. It is nice for casting light rigs but is definitely as light as I would go. I'm planning a silver salmon trip to AK later this year and wish it were built from a 10 weight.
Forum: rodboard

I agree with John above. I don't understand why a graphite seat is the best option for spinning rod but not a fly rod. For me, at least, the most important thing about a reel seat (on any rod) is that it 1) holds the reel well 2) is durable 3) light 4) inexpensive. How it looks is pretty unimportant. A fishing rod (yes even a fly rod) is first of all a tool, not a status symbo
Forum: rodboard

I have been on the lookout for 2 different travel blanks but have not been able to find a supplier. Temple Fork Outfitters (http://www.templeforkflyrods.com/conventional/spinning.html) seems to sell finished rods that would be suitable but I would prefer to build something myself, 1) 4 peice, 9ft or 9ft 6in, 6-12lb line for drift fishing for steelhead. There's lots of suitable blanks in 2 peic
Forum: rodboard

I can't really contribute with any advice on how to easily split the tube, but I was wondering why even bother? On the last 5 or so rods I have built (light to medium spin and fly) I have just bound on standard single foot #6 fly guide instead of gluing on a tip. The standard guide even with the binding and expoxy seems lighter than a tip and the rods seem to be more responsive. I haven't trie
Forum: rodboard

I'd appreciate some advice on a rod to build for for Great Lakes steelhead. I'd like a single rod to handle drift fishing (usually with spawn sacks) from the shore of Great Lakes tributatries and casting spoons and spinners good distances at the river mouths. This rod will probably also get a trip to Alaska chasing silvers. I figure on using a spinning reel loaded with 10lb mono, maybe 12,
Forum: rodboard

Gavin, About a year ago I built a Dan Craft Sig V 8'6 3 wt 4 piece for myself and like the results. Here's what I did and why. It's based on hunches not science. Others probably strongly disagree. Because I build so few rods I have no way to make sound comparisons to the results achievable using other methods. Used 8 (cheap and heavy) hialoy ceramics + tip - I hate the the noise and li
Forum: rodboard

I think this debate about ceramics versus snakes is like the pre-CCS debates over whether a rod is medium, medium/fast or fast tapered. It will go on forever without numbers. I'd like to see weights of all the readily available #6 and #5.5 ceramics and comparably sized snakes for both guides and tip tops. It would also be nice to know how much a square mm or square inch of binding covered w
Forum: rodboard