Back when, I spent too much time swinging a pickaxe and a shovel, often in the company of men who had scores of years of experience with these class three (as are fish rods) levers. I never saw a one attempt to make his task less taxing by adding extra weight to his pick or shovel to balance it.
Forum: rodboard

Perhaps helium would be impractical. Then how about a small airfoil out near the tip-top, just big enough to supply more lift the faster the rod is swung? Wings would reduce the apparent weight of the rod and minimize the amount of additional weight which must be added to rods to achieve that light feeling.
Forum: rodboard

To achieve that elusive "balance" which is so desirable, instead of adding weight to the butt of the rod how about filling the blank with helium and sealing it in?
Forum: rodboard

Rust never sleeps, and premium rods are likely to be used for a long time. In addition to their light weight and unequaled resistance to damage and deformation the REC ni-ti alloy guides are the only truly rust proof guides I am aware of. This is a real plus if a rod is to be used in salt water.
Forum: rodboard

It's unwise to ignore elements in a fishing system other than the physics of the rod - to ignore stuff like the elasticity, suppleness, and diameter of the line, the mass at the end of the line, or even the connection of the line to the lure, fly, or bait. I really like the no-slip-loop knot to connect (especially flurocarbon) line to a hook (especially a circle hook). I often use loop knots,
Forum: rodboard

Would it not be possible to greatly increase the sensitivity of a fiberglass rod by using very low stretch braided spectra line, and might it similarly be possible to make a crankbait on a graphite rod behave like a crankbait on a fiberglass rod by the relatively simple expedient of spooling up with high-stretch monofilament line? Changing lines would be a simple and inexpensive alternative to bu
Forum: rodboard

Once you have determined your guide placement it is really quite simple and quick to mask your blank and spray paint it with Krylon or the equivalent. A couple of light coats can be applied in a few hours' time, and this white base coat will make light colors, even yellow, seem to jump out. If you try this white undercoat on a piece of scrap and wrap it with your orange thread I'll bet you are
Forum: rodboard

"Mass is mass." Exactly so. The only ways I can think of to change the "balance" of a rod-reel combination is to either add a relatively substantial amount of mass to the butt end of the rod (which seems to be gaining in popularity !!), or to move the handle, but not the reelseat, several inches toward the rod tip. At first impression either one of these alternatives seems t
Forum: rodboard

The other alternative is to buy a really heavy reel, or apply lead tape to a reel you already own. This would "balance" your rig by moving the fulcrum away from the butt of the rod.
Forum: rodboard

Fly casting really is simple and not at all complex. However, in my experience, to fly cast well or to teach fly-casting well is another matter. It would be a beautiful thing if a number on a rod blank or a number on a fly line provided a simple and accurate indication of the best combination for all fly-fishers under all conditions. Simple and universal solutions to optimize performance are extr
Forum: rodboard

By varying the amount of overhang - the length of line outside the guides during the cast - one rod can accomodate a wide range of line weights. The major exception to this generality is a line which lacks the weight in the first 20 feet or so to load the rod at close distances. Some other factors influencing how efficiently any one rod will cast a fly line and at what distance include the lengt
Forum: rodboard

A can of white Krylon and some judicious spraying can make any blank white in a few hours, and less than a sixteenth of an ounce of weight spread out over an eleven foot blank will have an infinitesimal influence upon the dynamics of the blank.
Forum: rodboard

I'm partial to elastic thread, which is inexpensive and available at any sewing supplies store. No worry about too hot/cold or too much/little adhesive or carbon deposits or discoloration or setting fire to your house, just a few turns under tension and a square knot. The guide is held firmly in place but can be easily repositioned, and at the touch of a razor blade the elastic thread leaps off
Forum: rodboard

Tom: I believe it would be more accurate to say that "Shimano does not sell blanks any more." The flat statement "Shimano does not sell rod blanks" is somewhat misleading, for until recently Shimano most certainly did sell G. Loomis rod blanks, and relied heavily upon the "G. Loomis" name and cachet. In fact, we will no longer be able to buy G. Loomis rod blanks m
Forum: rodboard

Will it be possible to buy Shimano blanks which are very similar to the G. Loomis blanks?
Forum: rodboard

Do graphite/epoxy rod blanks break down from environmental factors over time? If so, which environmental factors are the most significant? Stop with the doors-car trunks-ceiling fans-teething puppies refrain. I'm wondering along the lines of heat, rapid temperature changes, sunlight, ozone, solvents, chemical fumes -that kind of stuff.
Forum: rodboard

I have used old (empty) plastic leader spools or line spools - even plastic clothesline pullies - and vacuum cleaner belts to turn wrappers and driers. I find them adequate and very cost-effective, since I don't build a lot of rods.
Forum: rodboard

Suppose I determine the straightest axis for each of the sections of a four piece blank. When I assemble the sections I fear that not all the ferrules are truly centered, which would result in a rod with a varying degree of zig-zag or cast-off rather than the straightest configuration possible. Is there any way to easily, quickly, and still accurately determine the straightest axis of the ASSEMBL
Forum: rodboard

No doubt an accomplished fly caster can compensate for a wide variety of peculiarities in the way a particular rod performs. It is equally certain that such compensation takes time, and this learning curve lengthens as consistency between rods decreases. I assume that increasing consistency in performance between finished rods is not only a function of the blank manufacturer but of the rod build
Forum: rodboard

Ken, My understanding is that the line will continue in the direction the rod tip is traveling when it stops. This direction is not necessarily identical to the horizontal direction the casting hand, seven or eight feet distant, is traveling when it stops. The rod and the forces it faces intervene, which is the source of that subtle quality called tracking and the subject of my question.
Forum: rodboard

Accomplished fly fishers routinely claim that casting accuracy is more important than casting distance. The mechanical component of fly casting accuracy apparently results more from the rod's tracking rather than its modulus or taper. When building a fly rod, especially a multi-piece rod, which is more likely to provide straight tracking, aligning the spines(s) of the blank's segments or aligning
Forum: rodboard

Either solid glass or solid ash, like a Louisville Slugger, should do the trick.
Forum: rodboard

Black, white, and chartreuse should set some teeth on edge. The rod would probably catch as many fish as any other, maybe more, for the owner of such a hideously colored rod would probably fish a lot of underfished waters, where there would be no others to compete or make comments.
Forum: rodboard

Don't go too hi-tech. New York's Salmon river - home of the world record Coho - is all "chuck and duck" flyfishing involving weighted leaders. It's all freestone and if you use a sinking fly line you are guaranteed to get it wedged under a rock and lose your line. I use a 9# rod with 30# backing. This is close to minimum tackle when a +30 pound Chinook decides to head back down the rive
Forum: rodboard

Does anything other than viscosity distinguish "lite" from "high build" epoxy?
Forum: rodboard

Here in Florida about this time of year hi-build changes to lite epoxy in my non-air conditioned work area. When I lived in the Finger Lakes region lite epoxy turned into hi-build around December.
Forum: rodboard

Is titanium carbide a structural material like nickel-titanium alloy, or are titanium carbide guides inserts, or are they made by covering stainless steel guides with a a thin coating of titanium carbide?
Forum: rodboard

I may have stumbled onto a solution for a quick and easy flat finish for rod and wrappings. I masked off the guides on a high gloss fly rod, buffed it with grey Scotchbrite, and sprayed on two light coats of Krylon clear satin finish acrylic enamel. It gave a nice, uniform no-gloss finish. Only time will tell how it holds up and whether or not it will discolor.
Forum: rodboard

Thanks for the suggestions. It's probably the case that the finish does little to protect the blank from clouser/beadhead damage, but I can hope . . . and I hope the finish spreads an impact over a larger area. So many blanks today come in a high gloss fisherman-attracting but fish-frightening finish that the wraps aren't the only or the main source of flash. I hope to discover a light and fairly
Forum: rodboard

I suspect an epoxy or urethane finish on a rod blank decreases impact damage, and I do most of my fishing with a fly rod in water less than three feet deep. I avoid using a rod with a shiny, high-gloss finish for the same reason I don't wear a chrome helmet while fishing shallow water. Until now I have used a gray abrasive pad to kill the flash from the rod blank, but this method produces uneven
Forum: rodboard