They are my favorite grips, by far. I can’t quite warm-up to the solid carbon ones. I dislike having to fabricate them for butt caps, or the inverse, though. The meager selection of butt caps currently available are really basic with mismatching contours and service life. This gets to what still needs to change in rod building, which is fully Integrated components within a line. The company that
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I recoated one rod in about 20 hours, and another in 24 hours, with great results. I couldn’t be happier with this product. I never had a poor result with Andy’s previously developed products, and Generation 4. kicks those efforts up to what seems like near perfection in mixing, air release, application, leveling, and drying. I did use a tent and mini heater each time. I really liked how Generati
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I’d say it is close to a three-way tie for significant changes: 1. The choice and improvement in guides has been quite outstanding. That titanium frame, thin ring option s clearly amazing on higher-end builds. This technology really does surpass that of ten years ago. The top online store series is an incredible value/performance ratio that just wasn’t available ten years ago. Filling these op
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If your replacement rod is from a reputable maker, I wouldn't lose confidence in it. I've heard a few people disparage the rods of every good maker I can think of as being fragile time bombs that can't land a quality fish without breaking. I only know of one rod series from a top maker that actually was this unreliable. That was just over thirty years ago and these were reformulated fairly quickl
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I have more than five rods from each of these two rod making lineages (both have changed ownership or corporate structure), with each rod being for a different use. With the exception of my fly rods, it's rare that I fish with a blank from another maker. I also wrapped most of these rods. I have rods from the specific series you mentioned. I have never found a consistent advantage during building
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I'm stuck in the middle of the fence between better grades of cork and CFX Carbon grips. Clear cork is so attractive, comfortable, and familiar, but it's getting hard to find and very pricey. CFX Carbon grips have a nice, sensitive, secure feel and are well shaped. I really wanted to like the solid carbon grips, but after building and fishing one, I'm still not there. Mine doesn't feel like a com
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I start by rolling on two dowels on a flat surface (while trying a few different spacings between the dowels), then bend and rotate, and finally eyeball for the most straight plane. I mark each step with China markers. The first two steps usually get me very close, and the eyeball test either confirms or leads to a small tweak. I have more confidence that I am correctly feeling the spine when ben
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I've used the Mudhole elite chart (the one laid out for using more guides than the standard chart) on moderate, moderate fast, and fast action casting blanks. At first, I started checking the chart's spacing against storyboards from attempts at static loading. The proportional, progressive, and close spacing of the chart closely matched what appeared to be optimum across this wide range of action
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I bought an HW-1 recently. I had built about twenty-five rods using the old "C" clamp with spool/tensioner welded to the side system that was sold in the 1980's, and a bobbin holder from my fly tying tools. A buddy has let me use his power wrapper a few times, too. The one I bought still has the tension rod configured to point rearward. There seems to be a small range on the tensioner s
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I finally got my razor reel seat on Tuesday to go with the rest of the G2 kit (I couldn't quite figure out why you kept marketing these on this forum while you hadn't filled orders from several weeks ago). I've got everything assembled and will be putting the thread finish on tomorrow. Neatly epoxying it all together was a breeze. So far, I'm very impressed with the quality of the components. Ev
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1. Being able to add lightness. 2. Enhanced casting distance. 3. Developing your own personal style. 4. Splitting the cost of a nice rod into multiple "parcels".
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My G2 Carbon handle kit was delivered two or three weeks ago, but I've been awaiting the Razor reel seat. It's the only missing piece of my build. Do you have an estimate of when that will go out? Thanks,
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I had the 9" casting grip option delivered a few days ago. I like it a lot more than I thought I would. I was concerned about the tactile feel. I let it and a cork grip cool down outside (42 degrees) and then handled them both. It wasn't inherent to me that one had a colder feel than the other. The cork grip texture felt a little more secure to maintaining a hold than the carbon, but not a l
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I use the Matagi Aluminum butt-cap from VooDoo Rods on the CFX casting grips. The outside diameters match down to the hundredth of an inch. They look much better than the foam cap to my eye. I've gotten very thin on the tenon, but have yet to go through or split. I've been prepared to just cut the tenon-off if this were to occur. The inside diameter of the Matagi cap is just slight over .6 inches
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Thanks Don, I've now got a G2 Razor reel seat and the G2 Carbon grip on order. I'm much more impressed with the reel seat than the grip. I'm reservedly giving the G2 carbon grip a try, simply because your system is completely integrated. I really like the CFX Carbon grips, but it's a job to machine the tenon to fit a butt cap that is different than the one foam option that's available from Fu
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When will the carbon grips and the blade reel seats be available through Mudhole? I'm assuming they will have them early. Thank you.
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It's nearly as important to have an idea of the lures and fishing techniques that will be used when selecting a rod for musky fishing as it is for bass fishing. My musky lures range from one to eight ounces. If you have to do a build with less specific information, I'd suggest building a fast action rod whose sweet-spot is in the middle of that weight range. It'll work well for jerkbaits and othe
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You make some good points. I am still surprised when I hear or read someone boasting about how hard they are on their gear. My perspective has long been that one of the key traits of outdoor professionals, and advanced enthusiasts, is that they take care of their gear and use it appropriately. Some combination of setting the drag correct to the capability of the gear and knowing when to back-off
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I'm getting ready for a halibut rod build and going for ring guides and tip. This rod is replacing one I have with a roller tip. It's a rod I'll never use for trolling. Trolling many rigs causes a constant back and forth movement of braided line through the guides as the tip pumps up and down. A roller would seem to still make sense in this scenario, especially with heavy rods and rigs. I can see
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It sounds like this man has certainly "paid ahead". You could cut three inches off the butt of a Rodgeeks 7'3" X-Comp and have a tough, medium-fast rod. They aren't super-light, but they are better than a broomstick. The new Fuji Fazlite guides should be durable. They are fairly well priced. I've thought about butt-wraps with Kevlar fly tying thread, but I have never had a need to
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One curious thing with a person you don't know is a red flag, two starts to be a warning light, and a third adds a siren to the mix. It seems curious that a small-framed guy has broken over twenty heavy-weight rods (if they were all flipping) in the butt and mid-sections on what I'm assuming to be largemouth bass. I'm not sure you could accidentally do this so consistently, setting hooks into Tar
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Ironic, I'm currently building on a blank that St.Croix only offered built with the "Xtreme" molded grip package (SCV72MM). I wanted to avoid this particular factory configuration. The Legend Xtreme rods, that are built on blanks used in other Legend series, are far heavier. It seems that the difference in guide-trains would only account for a minor portion of this mass. There appear
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Hello, I've only made one post in the decade or so that I've been perusing this forum, but feel like it's time to do so again. I just simply want to say "Thank You" to the sponsors and the frequent professional contributors. I've ordered from or used the products of about half of the listed sponsors over about 30 years of infrequent builds. I've always been happy with the service and
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I had my local dealer order two spools of "Elite Brown" gudebrod thread from St Croix when I ordered my SCV blank. It matched perfectly, without color preserver. The price was right on with other colors from other sources.
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