Few fly anglers would take much less than an 8 wt. fly rod after steelhead and pacific salmon. You might land some steelhead and salmon with a spin rod built on a lighter fly-rod blank, but you risk fighting them to death. On the positive side, you can find lots of 4-piece fly rod blanks from many price ranges to build into a spin rod. If an angler has to fly to his fishing destination the 4 p
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A blank, be it a spin blank or a fly blank, doesn't react to what it's casting, be it fly line or lure - only to how much it weighs. The choice of a fly rod's action is chiefly governed by personal preference, but it is possible to roughly predict what weight fly line a "spinning blank" will cast best. For the vast majority of actual fly fishing situations I overline one or two weigh
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Apparently people who fish for sport are being excessed by those who fish for money - the ones who wear flashy outfits covered with advertising and blast about in boats similarly adorned. Can't stop progress, but I can't help think, "How public, like a frog." I shun all but strictly charity fishing tournaments so there is little chance I will "win" from fishing anything ot
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Danged if this thread doesn't closely resemble a commercial announcement. I suppose it's inevitable as sport fishing increasingly becomes a commercial enterprise (big-buck tournaments).
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Whether or not we accept the fact we live in a world over-run with parity products; products without significant differences except for advertising claims and price. This fact compels advertisers of everything from detergent to fish poles to claim when you purchase their product you are buying authenticity, status, respect, experience, credibility, expertise, envy - in short, everything except
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The foregoing posts are an advertiser's delight: completely subjective, without a shred of measurable evidence. It would not be difficult to build a fly casting robot which could be programed to duplicate the ideal flycasting stroke, or even the average flycasting stroke. It would be a simple matter to measure line speed (distance) and deviation from centerline (accuracy). This would separate th
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Phil: My point, and that of several other posters, is that advertising of itself creates neither utility, nor innovation, nor a rational economy. Now, if somebody truly does create a new rod blank or new components with significant advantages which can be described by objective measurement then advertise away, and bless you. The problem is that not one rod/blank advertisement in a thousand m
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Phil, you spoke of the ease of complaining "advertising as big bucks misspent." Misspent? Far from it, in fact, very well spent. It is advertising which convinces people to spend $800 for a flyrod which 98% of us could not distinguish from a few $300 rods in a blind casting test. It is advertising which convinces people that the fly rod has been re-invented every year, and they need
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I don't know which if any blank/rod makers are publicly held, but if they issue stock it is possible to compare their spending on research and development to their spending on promotion and advertising. I'll hazard a guess that for the most expensive blanks/rods the investment in R&D lags far behind the money spent on advertising and promotion.
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Torin: I have to admit to a bit of sarcasm when I stated "I assume that tournament fly casters . . . " I also seem to recall that Lefty prefers snake guides on his fly rods, in some part because of their ability to handle the inevitable kinks and loops in a slack fly line before you can get a fish on the reel. Nevertheless, times change and so does tackle, whether due to improvement
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I did not mean to confuse the issue with esoteric facts about fly casting, but there are some significant differences between fly casting and spin casting and the equipment they require. I'm surprised and pleased to hear that micro guides are a big advance in fly fishing, but I would like to caution fly rod builders not to make the same mistake I did. A few years ago I built a 9 wt. fly rod for
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It would be impossible to cast a fly more than eight feet using only #15 monofilament line on a fly rod, and using an 8 wt. fly line on your casting rod would seriously reduce your casting and flipping distance. Different lines, different techniques, different physics, different rods, and presumably different requirementss for guides. Guide grooving would not be an issue for a fly rod unless it
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Micro guides and fly lines may be a poor match. Fly lines are of relatively large diameter to begin with, and the loop or nail knot used to connect flyline to leader and fly line to backing may not pass easily, or at all, through micro guides. This problem becomes more acute in heavier, salt-water type fly rods. Furthermore, I doubt there is any significant weight savings with microguides compar
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Epoxy viscosity is very much influenced by ambient temperature and curing speed. I suspect some products may be more temperature sensitive than others, and I know products differ in curing rate. Still, having some objective measurements to guide us is a wonderful idea.
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Tom wrote that the AFTMA designated only weights for lines, not rods, but I went to: www.flyfishinginformation.NET/AFTMA.html - and found a chart of numbered rods (8 wt., etc) designated to pair with specific weight lines (in grains). The rod weight corresponded precisely to the old (1960) AFTMA grain-weight ranges for fly lines. Adding to the confusion are numerous reports that the AFTMA n
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Tom: Thanks for confirming my point. Every blank manufacturer applies its own subjective judgment to suggest which line weights will function best with its various blanks; there is no standard. Do you know if this is a committee effort at each manufacturer, or if each manufacturer appoints an individual to label the recommended line weights for various blanks? Are there any criteria for
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As near as I can tell the "suggested line weight" of a fly rod blank is pretty much subjective and often reflects marketing considerations more than it provides useful information for matching fly rod to fly line. There are objective measurements of a blank's power, the ERN being one. An objective measurement will not communicate everything one needs to know about the ideal match of fl
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Sewing supply stores sell elastic thread which works quite well for holding guides in place for wrapping. One or two turns of the stretched thread around the blank and guidefoot, a quick square knot, and away you go. One or two turns of thread take up vey little of the guidefoot, and when you have wrapped far enough the foot to secure the guide just touch the elastic thread with a razor and the t
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I've had the best luck with multiple thin coats of permagloss. I don't expect this information is of much use to you at this time and with this rod, but you might want to try several very thin coats of permagloss in the future.
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How would you advise a customer who wants you to build a flyrod to cast a five weight line? A great number of blanks marked "5 wt." will perform far better with a 6 wt. or 7 wt. line. Should you risk confusing and losing the customer by telling him this, or should you keep quiet and risk customer dissatisfaction with the completed rod's performance using the indicated line weight?
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Union Hardware made a variety of products, including fish poles and roller skates. They were bought by Brunswick Corporation and soon went out of business.
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I no longer use winding checks. Ramps look much nicer, and this method enables you to precisely control the size and shape of your ramp without watching epoxy set or fiddling with sags. First build a ramp with thread. This ramp should have very nearly the diameter and exactly the taper you desire at the end. I use D nylon thread, usually black, and whip finish when I get the right size and s
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My memory failed me . I did once have a two-piece rod separate while fishing, and I had to dive down to retreive the tip section when the line snagged and broke. It was a six foot, two-piece, square solid glass spin rod with an aluminum ferrule. I believe it was an Eagle Claw rod. That happened some time in the mid 50's. Since then I have never seen a rod accidentally separate at the ferrule. Ti
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How much difference in "action" can there be between a one piece rod with a #30 guide affixed 27" from the butt and a three piece rod with a #30 guide affixed 27" from the butt on the female ferrule? I have fished man and boy for over 60 years. Fished a lot. I live 300 feet from the ocean. I have never had a multi-piece rod separate accidentally during that time, nor have I s
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After you have built your lightest possible rod do not yield to the temptation to screw a couple of ounces of weight into the butt in order to balance your rod.
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Robert: I did not mean to imply everyone should abandon their cherished one-piece rods. I was only unhappy with and curious about the very real shortage of two and especially three-piece spin rod blanks that would be convenient to take on vacation or to a fishing destination by air. Previous posts have alerted me to some new sources. Thanks, guys. I own several one-piece rods, including tw
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Robert: A four-piece nine foot rod fits in a 30" tube. A one piece six foot rod fits in a 75" tube. The 30" tube can go in carry-on luggage, the 75" tube goes in "oversized" baggage, which is unloaded dead last and usually late from a plane. Flying with a 75" rod/tube will cause a lot of missed connections and headaches. Also, you will pay a healthy premi
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Few experienced anglers would deny that the performance of a fly rod has a greater impact upon fly casting than the performance of a spin rod has upon spin casting. If you disagree, spool up a fly reel with mono and put it on your best (or worst) spin rod. Although one-piece blanks are generally somewhat superior to their multi-piece counterparts, most fly rod blanks today are four-piece.
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Darrin: Wow! If your customer service is as impressive as your potential-customer service you are going to move a lot of product. Thanks for a complete and concise answer. - Phil Ewanicki
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Darrin: Thank you for a considered and informative post. If you wouldn't mind, how does texalium compare to S-glass as an additive to carbon fiber in a rod blank, and how does titanium compare to nickel-titanium alloy as a material for guide frames?
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