Tangles in your line always seem to happen just as that first bonefish run occurs. Double foot snake guides are the most forgiving of small tangles. A couple of weeks ago my fishing buddy got a kink in his line and had a bone literally rip two single foot snake guides off his rod before his leader parted. The extra two or three feet casting distance you MIGHT gain with ceramics, the extra si
Forum: rodboard

I have built and kept three flyrods with REC snake guides; two have ceramic insert stripping guides, one has REC "double loop" stripping guides. The rod with the REC 2-loop strippers "sings" a lot more than those with ceramic strippers. Keeping lines clean does reduce unwanted noise, along with other unwanted stuff.
Forum: rodboard

The graphite fibers in a blank are bound by a polymer, I believe, and many polymers are known to be sensitive to temperature. The "jet fighter" analogy seems to be a red herring, unless the graphite/polymer matrix used in fish poles is identical to that used on supersonic aircraft? Emory's speculation about temperature gradient seems plausable, much more so than an IMX fighter jet.
Forum: rodboard

Some (usually high-end) fly rod blanks seem to become considerably more susceptable to breakage when they are used in sub-freezing weather. Does cold cause graphite to become more brittle? It's common practice, at least for me, to dip the rod tip in running water to remove ice build up in the guides. Could the graphite/matrix absorb water and freeze, making the blank more brittle? I can't see h
Forum: rodboard

I can appreciate why a progressive action 9 wt. rod might be found lacking, since a common duty of 9 wt. rods is to make long casts into the wind with large flys. For me, tip action rods are better suited to this task than progressive action rods. My late, lamented 9 wt. Gatti was built on a 909TA (tip action) blank, and I certainly had no issues with it being too willowy. Mudhole, where I b
Forum: rodboard

Ken: "How fragile" is a tough question. My Gatti shattered when a redfish 50' or more distant made a run; no high sticking here, but I had been casting clousers in the wind and may well have "ticked" the blank. Still, I have to believe the power, light weight, and thin walls come at a price. Comparing the "feel" of blanks is highly subjective: I think a lot o
Forum: rodboard

I built a 9 wt. 2-piece Gatti five or six years ago. It was the most powerful, longest casting fly rod I have used. It was also quite fragile . . .
Forum: rodboard

B-flat epoxy ramps serve their purpose and look a bit better than purchased polymer winding checks. However, if a plain black thread ramp or an epoxy ramp is covered by tightly wrapped and burnished metallic thread or with flashabou and overcoated with a thin layer of ordinary guide wrap epoxy, then the ramp will glow with a subtle fire in direct sunlight - a nice touch for a custom rod.
Forum: rodboard

I have had good results first building a ramp with thread, then applying several coats of the same lite-build epoxy I use on the guide wrappings - and turning on a drier, of course. This is not for those in a hurry, but it does produce a winding check which exactly matches the guide windings.
Forum: rodboard

Before you wind minima guides on your 8 weight you might save time and trouble by taking the #8 or #9 line you plan to use, fasten a leader to your line (nailknot or loop), and see how well this connection passes through the tip-top and smallest minima.
Forum: rodboard

I was under the impression that "graphite" referred to carbon atoms arranged in one specific crystalline form, and any other geometric arrangement of carbon atoms results in something other than graphite - like diamond. Am I misinformed? If all graphite, like all asprin, must by definition be alike it would appear that advances in rod blanks are due entirely to new resins and new tap
Forum: rodboard

I have three flyfishing friends who have undergone surgery to repair rotator cuffs which "acted up" after an extended fly casting session. Each of these unfortunate sessions involved a 12 weight rod and line. I'm guessing readers of this site have friends with similar experiences. Perhaps the readers were unfortunate enough to have suffered such a problem themselves?
Forum: rodboard

I have three flyfishing friends who have undergone surgery to repair rotator cuffs which "acted up" after an extended fly casting session. Each of these unfortunate sessions involved a 12 weight rod and line. I'm guessing readers of this site have friends with similar experiences. Perhaps the readers were unfortunate enough to have suffered such a problem themselves?
Forum: rodboard

I have owned and used a 7 1/2 foot 4 wt. Cortland Sapphire rod for over a decade. It works fine. I believe it was built on the same IM6 graphite as a host of rods in all price categories (but different marketing claims, of course.) Cortland came out with the Sapphire line of rods around the same time that Cortland bought out the Diamondback Rod Company in Stowe, Vermont. The Sapphire rods may ha
Forum: rodboard

A 12 or 14 foot leader puts enough distance between fly and line so a heavy rod can effectively fish a small fly, but it's a lot like hauling around a box of tissues in your turbocharged diesel one ton dualie.
Forum: rodboard

Paul: I have a Cortland DT7 sink tip and it has developed cracks up and down its length, except I can't see any in the brown sink tip portions. The cracks display a bright green discoloration. This line is several years old and also a personal favorite, but I have never used Armor All on it.
Forum: rodboard

Why pick five weight rods to test distance casting? Sure, in some circumstances anglers are anxious to wring every last foot of distance out of a five weight, but I suspect the vast majority of actual casts made while fishing are less than 33 feet in length. At such distancs a "cannon" is more of a hindrance than a help. If the distance test had been conducted with nine weight rods t
Forum: rodboard

I suggest before you build your rod you should get the weight and type of line you will use with this rod and join a leader to this line with the type of connection you prefer. Then get a micrometer and measure the diameter of this connection. You may find that micro guides will not allow the leader/line connection to pass through. For several reasons the majority of fly fishers prefer snake gu
Forum: rodboard

Harry: Gotcha. That's why I suggest you begin with a whole stack of removable weights and continue casting and removing weights until the best configuration is discovered. Starting from the assumption that additional rod weight is absolutely necessary, I think this is the ideal proceedure.
Forum: rodboard

If we all fished with mechanical casters then testing with one would be of significant value. Lacking that, the next best method is probably to achieve a general consensus from as large a sample of casters as possible, and hope our own tastes and casting strokes fall within the range of this sample. Of course, it is necessary to take care that different rods rather than different lines are being
Forum: rodboard

Larry: I have been carping (?!) about under rated fly rods for some time now. I agree with you, rods are frequently mis-rated. However, if you compare two rods using different lines on each one you WILL be comparing lines as much as and probably more than you are comparing rods. Take your absolute favorite rod and match it with the wrong line and it will cast like a dog. However, a competent c
Forum: rodboard

Try adding as much weight as you can to the butt and gradually removing it as you continue casting. See which weight configuration feels best.
Forum: rodboard

What "weight" blanks do you plan to compare? It wouldn't make much sense to compare a 5 wt. blank to an 8 wt. blank. I think you should follow the recommended line weight for the blank(s), and use the same line and leader for all rods. According to J. S. Mills' rules of inductive reasoning you will be using the method of difference. You must eliminate every possible difference between
Forum: rodboard

Isaiah: My advice is, unless your goal is creating more muscle definition in your casting arm you should refrain from adding weight anywhere on your rod, particularly leveraged weight at the tip of your rod. Line speed, not rod weight, will load your fly rod.
Forum: rodboard

I can suggest an antidote for obsessions with fishing equipment. Spend more time fishing. The more time I spend on the water the less I am concerned with most details about tackle, but the more I am concerned with the habits of fish, the strength of knots, and the sharpness of hooks.
Forum: rodboard

The holy grail of advertising is to convince consumers that last year's product is not only outdated but far inferior to the "new, improved model," which everyone must purchase immediately. Every year the fishpole is re- invented several times, either with a new taper, a new scrim, a new graphite, a new reelseat, a new guide set, a new butt cap or a new purpose, such as "a bobber
Forum: rodboard

Isaiah: It depends upon whether you are bait casting, spin casting, or fly casting. With fly casting the more weight you feel at the tip of the rod (during the cast) the better your rod is performing. More "tip weight" = more line out = longer cast. If you want a fly rod to balance when you are just holding the rod and not casting it doesn't make much difference where you add wei
Forum: rodboard

A "slim beauty" is close to a 100% knot and of no larger diameter than a figure-eight knot in your leader. It does not take much line to tie. The slim beauty is popular with guides in Florida. You can Google "slim beauty knot" for tying directions.
Forum: rodboard

Bill: Well stated.
Forum: rodboard

Generalizations are untrustworthy, perhaps including this one. A set of micro guides for a given fly rod definitely do not weigh 80% less than a set of REC Recoil snake guides for that fly rod. In fact, the micros might weigh as much or more than the Recoils, and be less durable and less corrosion resistant to boot. The "open loop" design of snake guides also allows the passage of lar
Forum: rodboard