Check the weight of Mudhole MHX blanks.
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I have very little trouble with noise from REC single or double foot snake guides. The REC stripping guides are a different tune.
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Lightweight REC snake recoils deform easily, which creates another problem. To prevent the snake guide foot from springing out from under its wraps if the guide is bumped along the axis of the rod I have found it necessary to make as long a thread wrap as possible along the guide foot and to compress the guide slightly while wrapping the second foot of the guide. A locking wrap or two would also
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Mike: That's the best tournament report I've heard in some time; family and fun!
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Mike: Thanks for the information. Do you space micros differently than larger guides, especially the stripping guide? I also am curious about your choice of #10 or #15 GSP. What type of backing do you use to fill the spool, or don't you bother? Have you cut yourself using these ultra-thin lines? Heavier GSP offers greater abrasion resistance, a greater safety margin in breakage, and, on rare
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Mike: Some rodbuilders are quite adamant about using the precise term to identify a particular guide or guide style. As long as there is agreement about the exact definition of these guide types the use of these precise terms is probably a good thing, for it reduces confusion. This precision in the use of rodbuilding terms should apply to other rod building components and products. Were th
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The Mudhole MHX 4-piece blanks are responsive, light, and priced very competitively. Of course you will have to build on an MHX blank or obtain a custom built MHX rod since they are not available as a mass production (factory built) rod.
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I went to the Mudhole and bought an MHX six weight blank, which I have finished and can't wait to try - as soon as the heat index drops below 105. I took the old Cabela's rod along, but discretion caused me to leave it in the trunk. I didn't want to put the good people there in the uncomfortable position of taking sides between customers. Furthermore, the vast majority of my fishing is fly fishi
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computer hang-up - triple post
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oops!
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Every year, after a desperate search for new adjectives and greater superlatives by marketing departments, the fly rod is reinvented. The appearance of a "revolutionary" Loomis, or Sage, or Orvis, or Thomas and Thomas etc. is hardly surprising; it's predictable. Except for the introduction of split bamboo, then fiberglass, then graphite, I can't think of any truly "revolutiona
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Steve: I can assure you the guides on my spin rod are not "match guides," if the Mudhole photo accurately portrays match guides. History can be a nuisance when it contradicts doctrine. I'm driving over to the Mudhole tomorrow to buy a fly rod blank and components. I'll take my old Cabela's GSTII 906S rod to Ovedo and solicit Todd's opinion on whether or not it is equipped with micro
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Steve, there is no reason for you to guess at the internal diameter of the guides on my five-year old Cabela's GSTII 906S rod in question. The beauty of objective data is that it can be measured, and this measurement can be confirmed or repudiated by measuring it yourself rather than guessing. Note that Bill's post above confirms the naming, definition of, and use of micro guides on spin rods as
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I readily admit my ignorance of the requirements of pitchin' and flippin' techniques and equipment, but I remain quite confident in my experience and knowledge of most other sport fishing methods, and flyfishing in particular. It seems that micros are being touted as the ideal equipment for all types of rods and fishing, but personal experience and the lack of objective data suggests this is
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I waded through 5 pages of comments about micros. The only objective data I found was the weight of individual micro guides - the rest was subjective "touchy feely" reporting. Comparative data on casting distance is conspicuously missing. I bought a Cabella's 9' Fish Eagle steelhead spin rod five or six years ago. It has micro guides. I can't "feel" an appreciable differenc
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Just exactly what ARE the benefits of micro guides? I've heard a lot of vague talk about "improved performance" but no specifics. The "feel" of a rod is entirely subjective: any claim that micros enhance a rod's "feel" or sensitivity must be taken on faith rather than proof. If micros truly do increase casting distance how about some actual objective data, such a
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I doubt a tubular fiberglass rod could stand the rough treatment this rod will apparently face. When welds and silver solder unions can't stand the strain the rod blank should probably be fiberglass - solid fibergass all the way through. It would be a shame to invest the time and money building a rod with bomb-proof guides only to have the rod blank shatter.
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Since you anticipate guides being broken by getting whacked against rocks you should probably steer clear of a graphite blank also. With all the speculation about smashing rings and breaking welds a solid glass blank looks like the right ticket.
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It's my understanding that "MHX rod blanks" applies to everything from forked-stick bait rods to the most delicate of fly rod blanks. I'm very interested in some specific MHX blanks. I"m not interested in the cachet of the brand, but in the performance of individual blanks, particularly 4-piece fly rod blanks in 5 wt. through 10 wt.
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I would not recommend Recoil stripper guides or recoil tip tops, and fresh water anglers won't realize the full benefit of Recoil guides, which is they simply will not corrode in salt water. I looked in the Mud Hole catalog and there is no way a set of Recoil guides for a fly rod or a casting rod could come to $50. A surf rod maybe, but a one hand spin rod would have to be mighty long to requir
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Paul: Then I suspect the closest thing to Recoil guides would be ordinary, chromed stainless steel wire guides - either single or double foot.
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Recoil guides do not have a "ring." They are wire guides composed of solid nickel-titanium alloy, which does not take a "set" when bent and does not corrode.
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Unless a line is IGFA certified it will break in excess of 10% over its rated "test," sometimes much higer than 10%. This allows advertisers/marketers to truthfully say, "Strongest #20 test line on the market." If you think about such claims they are patent nonsense, for 20 pounds is 20 pounds, by definition. However, you may easily bring the breaking strength of a line down
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My favorite 9 wt. is one I built on a brown SCV blank. As Tom predicts, the finish has worn away ahead of the grip. I am assuming this amounts to purely cosmetic damage and will not affect the rod's performance or durability. I hope the assumption is justified?
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In my experience neither the rod nor the line are the cause of not being able to "keep the line in the air." Here are the causes of this problem which I have noticed, in order of decreasing probability: 1st: An arc-shaped casting stroke, where the fly line describes a semicircle before and behind the caster. This is usually the result of excessive flexing of the wrist. The rod tip
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It's not just the weight of the fly line but the speed at which it moves which loads the fly rod. The double haul adds significant speed to the fly line, and allows the angler to use a lighter line to load his rod. This increase in line speed, coupled with the smaller diameter (less wind resistance) of a lighter line, allows the angler to cast further and more efficiently. I have coached many t
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If you are using a rod designed for salt water fly fishing and you can not double haul effectively I believe you MUST overline by at least one line weight, and overlining two weights is probably better. However, there is no equipment, no matter how expensive or how well marketed, which can compensate for an inefficient casting stroke. Fortunately, it's not as hard as often claimed to become a co
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You won't be doing any casting and a rod between you and the laker dragging 300 feet of wire line will deaden any semblace of a struggle. Why not just hand line? The real problem in the circumstances you describe is line management; getting the line on the reel without kinking it. Back in the day deep trolling the Finger Lakes of New York we would drag Pfluger #4's or Suttons on copper or monel
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If or when competetive fly casters (distance and accuracy) can select the type of gudes on their competition rods, what type of guides would they or do they select? Can anyone answer this question? I would trust the judgment of proven casting experts before the suggestions of persons with casting skills unknown to me.
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I agree with Mike; the difference in weight in practice between singe and double foot guides is trivial in to all but the seriously obsessed. Single foot guides should work just fine on a 5 wt. However, there is no "ring" on a double foot guide. The effective geometric opening on a double foot guide is considerably larger than that of a single foot guide of the same "ring diamete
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