The (Italian made) Gatti blanks I have handled display noticibly less spine than most, if not all other blanks I have handled. What does Gatti do or use which accounts for this apparently reduced spine?
Forum: rodboard

Is there any way of measuring the amount of stored energy which could potentially be delivered when a bank is flexed by a known load? It is, after all, this stored energy that we are chiefly paying for when we buy blanks which will be used to cast for distance. The amount of stored energy which the completed rod actually contributes to the cast will vary with the amount of weight added to t
Forum: rodboard

The great majority of posts advocating microguides have been from confessed bass anglers or people who apparently assume micro guide rods will be used with baitcasting reels to fish for bass. I'm beginning to suspect that the advantages of micro guides are diluted somewhat when used by open-face spinning reel anglers, and I know that micro guides have some serious drawbacks when used on fly rods
Forum: rodboard

A great deal depends upon the adhesive used to secure the grips and reelseat. If boiling does not work I have resorted to sawing off the blank about three inches in front of the grip, and rotating a large, coarse rat-tail file on an electric drill inside the remaining section of blank to ream it out. When the blank wall seemed to be thin enough I grasped the blank in front of the grip with nee
Forum: rodboard

Chuck: We all have our own favorite techniques. I DO want my line to float and to be highly visible while my bait is dropping. If it pauses I strike. I think this visual technique is widely used, and for those who do braid is preferable to fluro.
Forum: rodboard

The question about the advantages of using a full spool of flurocarbon line was a good one, and an unanswered one. As someone once observed, fish don't swim back up the leader to check the line's visibility before they strike. A fluro leader joined to braid with a slim beauty sinks nicely and works fine.
Forum: rodboard

Bill: You say Micro Guides will "reduce the frequency of" backlashes for "many baitcasting reels." Which reels qualify, and which don't? I will take one of my reels that qualify, or borrow one if necessary, and borrow a microguide rod and try your suggestion of relying entirely upon my reel's centifugal brake system (minimum setting, with no thumb involved, per your inst
Forum: rodboard

Thanks for the explanation, Colin. I'm unschooled and unskilled in spey casting. I have noticed that in overhead casting whenever the rod's forward speed decreases the rod immediately begins to unload. The only "power stroke" I am familiar with is an attempt to accelerate the rod, and I know in overhead casting power (speed) can not be added to the forecast until the backcast straighte
Forum: rodboard

I do not understand the concept of the spey backcast being the "power stroke." Casting distance is proportional to line speed. Line speed depends upon the velocity of the rod tip and the stored energy in the loaded rod. Does the additional energy stored in the rod through a "power" backcast excede the lower speed of the rod tip resulting from a less "powerful" (slow
Forum: rodboard

I rarely have a problem with "wind knots" in GSP braid while using a spinning rod, although my surf rods definitely do not have micro guides. The vast majority of GSP braid tangles I encounter with casting reels are commonly called "backlashes," which are particularly bothersome when casting into the wind (beeze). I'll bet I'm not alone in this. Nothing can be done with guide
Forum: rodboard

It's not particularly unusual to see people fish with an open-face spin reel facing up and reeling backward. A spiral wrap would be just the ticket for such folks. Perhaps this guy flips his spey rod upside down and retreives line by reeling backward? I'd love to see this. Even more, I'd enjoy an explanation of how weight should be added to the rod to balance the upside-down reel.
Forum: rodboard

Close the bail by hand when you use GSP braid on a spinning reel, and keep tension on the line with your free hand when you do so. It will become automatic, and it should reduce your problems.
Forum: rodboard

In the relatively little worm fishing I have done for bass I relied more on my sense of sight than my sense of touch, precisely as I do while nymph fishing. I watch for the line , not the rod, to move or stop moving. If I relied on "feel" to catch fish on nymphs the fish would be quite safe from me. Perhaps touch sensitivity is over emphasized in bass angling and a discussion of balanc
Forum: rodboard

The practice of adding weight to tools for increased sensitivity should revolutionize the design and production of dental drills, scalpels, and engraving equipment.
Forum: rodboard

Emory: I thought more weight would reduce sensitivity too, but reports from people who claim to be involved with professional largemouth catching claim that bulking up their rods in the right places actually increases sensitivity. I have no experience whatsoever with professional bass catching for pay so I am reluctant to contradict the experts.
Forum: rodboard

Joe: In defense of your customers, they may have requested a heavier blank in order to cast a #16 treble integrated with four ounces of lead, and they may have demanded perfect balance to achieve the sensitivity necessary to determine when the treble comes in contact with the side of a fish, and they ordered a plain rod to preserve anonymity if the rod had to be hastily abandoned. Or maybe not
Forum: rodboard

Do you know how your customer proposes to clear the ice out of the center of the blank, or does he plan to use these rods only in above-freezing temperatures?
Forum: rodboard

Since the spinning reel is mounted behind the casting hand and the casting reel attaches in front of the casting hand that means how you achieve a "balanced" rod is much different for each type; almost opposite. One type requires the reel to be heavier and the other lighter, but I can't remember which is which. And of course there are different requirements for how close/far from the b
Forum: rodboard

Chris: I heard of a guy who took the "balancing by adding weight" scheme to its logical conclusion. He bought the heaviest reel he could find and filled the butt section of his surf rod with lead until it balanced perfectly. Unfortunately, he was not able to fully test the capabilities of his new surf outfit, but as soon as he recovers from his hernia surgery he plans to soldier on.
Forum: rodboard

Chris: Builders who add weights to balance a rod claim this addition reduces effort in casting and reduces fatigue from retreiving. Your scheme to tie an anvil to the butt of your surf rod should work just fine, in fact great, since the effort/fatigue from casting and retreiving with a two pound surf rod is many times greater than the demands of a six ounce one-hander. You can detach the anvi
Forum: rodboard

If the tip of the rod is a bit heavy Joe could restore balance by simply adding more weight to the butt. That way he can have the best of both worlds; a tough, durable rod and one that balances perfectly.
Forum: rodboard

The mechanics of snatching spoonbills can't be much different from the mechanics of snatching salmon. When snatching salmon was legal in tributaries of Lake Ontario the snatchers would usually use one or two-piece solid glass rods eight or ten feet long. You could hoist a refrigerator with them.
Forum: rodboard

I have never epoxied a tip-top but I have screwed up with epoxy in just about every other way possible. I have always immersed the offending epoxy bond in boiling water, usually for five minutes or so, and simply pulled the bond apart using gloves or a hot pad. The blank never got hotter than 212 degrees, which is a very good thing.
Forum: rodboard

The brands which sell dreams rather than fishpoles have enjoyed the most commercial success: "Soulful, Sensitive, Fast, Powerful, New, Exclusive, Exciting, Feather-Light, Responsive, Delicate, Patented, Revolutionary, Balanced, Smooth" - yadda, yadda, yadda.
Forum: rodboard

If anyone would like a subjective evaluation of a rod or a blank I would be willing to share my list of snappy adjectives, but you must promise not to become angry.
Forum: rodboard

I have used braided nylon backing and it cut my fingers when good fish went on long runs. It stretched and put considerable pressure on my fly reel spool. Such pressure can deform and even fracture reel spools. I have used teflon-coated braided dacron ( salt-water Micron backing) and it works fine. I can't see much advantage to teflon coated braided nylon over teflon impregnated braided dacron.
Forum: rodboard

We humans spend a signifcant part of our lives carefully avoiding the truth. Perhaps the objective CCS data debunks the fanciful claims of marketers and damages the dream world which is so attractive to all of us. Would you rather know you have a rod with properties identical to a slew of other (and maybe cheaper) rods, or would you rather believe you have a "sensitive, responsive rod with t
Forum: rodboard

With orange or yellow thread I measure and mask the wrapping areas and spray on a couple of very light coats of white paint before winding on the guides. The orange (or yellow) wraps really "jump out at you."
Forum: rodboard

Marco: Do you and Terry mean the rod balances with all the line wound on the reel while you are carrying it, or when you are casting with thirty feet or some other amount of line in the air? If you mean it balances while you are actually using it, how do you plan to allow for the varying weight (resistance) which will result from different length false casts, the use of different lines, usin
Forum: rodboard

It is possible by fiddling with weights to "balance" a fly rod, which I take to mean that a particular point on the finished rod will be a balance point. That point will change when a reel, or a different reel, is affixed to the rod. That point will change when a line, or a different weight line, is employed with the rod. That point will change when a length of line, or a different le
Forum: rodboard