Depends upon what you wish to protect against: mice, oxidation, warping or obsolescence?
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Does a perfectly straight guide train always produce the best cast for all types of lines, from braid to monofilament, and line of any diameter or stiffness? I refer only to spinning reels. With conventional reels "line slap" from line hitting the guides doesn't seem to be a major issue. Maybe that's why conventional reels can cast farther than spinning reels.
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I imagine lead time for a custom rod blank is the reciprocal of the number of orders for that blank. Otherwise, the manufacturer would go broke in a month.
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The last I knew Cortland bought out Diamondback rods, but that was many years ago.
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Your rod does not know who is using it, with what reel, or with what line. Unless you fish in the Carborundum River or make a thousand+ casts a month all year long grooving will not be a problem if you at least use electro-plated chrome guides and rinse your reel and line regularly.
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These same questions are posed frequently. The problem is that there is no scientific, verifiable evidence available to determine the best guide spacing, only personal preferences - AKA "phony news" for some rod builders.
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Light-duty and most freshwater reel seats face a whole lot more abuse from owners than damage from fish.
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Great tip!
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Lefty recommended forming an "O.K." sign with the ends of the thumb and forefinger on the stripping hand, passing the running fly line through this opening, and using this aperture as the "taming guide". This arrangement certainly provides the lightest gathering guide.
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Twelve years ago I bought an 8 1/2' hot-shot blank and built it into a fly rod. It casts surprisingly well and has a ton of backbone but for 99%+ of real fishing situations the fly-rod blanks designed and built by quality blank manufacturers are a better choice. The exception? Bouncing glo-bugs and flies along a river bottom to Chinook salmon.
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Sage has a long record for building high quality fly rods. I can't think of any reason to ignore their recommended guide placement?
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Not much distance casting with a noodle rod - mostly short underhand or sidearm "flips" upstream to start a drift.With a noodle rod you want your bait to drift along the bottom, not stay put. A 1/4 oz. weight, usually less, is all that is necessary.
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A "noodle rod" used to be a long , full flex, light action fiberglass rod used to drift bait, usually fish eggs or synthetic imitations of fish eggs, to spawning Pacific Salmon. Neither casting ability or power were required - except way down in the butt of the rod. It may be that "noodle rods" have evolved into something else, especially when the term is used by people who w
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Is there a point as tackle gets heavier when a conventional casting reel and rod are superior to a spinning reel and rod? I know casting reels can cast farther than spinning reels, but casting reels require more practice to use effectively.
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I got confused about looking for more "power" in an ultralight rod? I'm with you on preferring 2-piece spinning and casting rod blanks, but then I don't have a pickup truck with a tailgate to hang my rods over for display purposes. Modern rod blank designers have worked miracles compared to what was available 20 or 30 years ago. Savvy fly fishers have flocked to four-piece blanks, and t
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Instead of going to the trouble and expense of changing rods he could change hooks - go to circle hooks. No need to set the hook, just crank them in.
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Lynn: Thanks, I read it. The suggestions for guide placement, any brand guides presumably, seem sensible, but the idea that lighter guides make better performing rods is hardly a "new guide concept". That's what confused me.
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What is the "concept" in Kr concept guides, or is "concept" a marketing term only? I haven't built anything but fly rods for several years but I would like to keep up in case I need to build a conventional or a spinning rod.
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Have you considered a conventional reel? In the hands of a competent caster they can out-cast a spinning reel, the star drag on a conventional reel is still versatile and easily adjusted, and a running fish won't twist the line no matter how far he runs.
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Good plan, but it seems after I apply finish to and and let, say, a snakeskin dry and cut it the dang stuff finds a way to shrink just a bit more after I apply a top coat of finish.
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"Titanium" guides go from pot metal coated with a couple microns of vapor-deposited titanium to solid nickel-titanium alloy. There are no solid titanium guides. The NiTi snake guides are an excellent choice for "big fish" fly rods, such as ten weights. They are strong, lightweight, corrosion proof even in saltwater and will allow bigger knots and "twists" to pass thr
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How do you deal with the tendency of snakeskin or other organic wraps to stretch when wet, then shrink when dry?
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Tom K.: Now I get it! Path of least resistance. That makes perfect sense.
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Even with spiral-wrapped guides the line still does a 180 degree turn around the blank. The spiral guides spread out the torque points on the blank but do they reduce the total torque the blank must bear?
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What advantages would a spiral-wrapped stand up trolling rod have over a conventional rod?
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Manmade polymer fishing lines PVDF and Nylon 6,6 lose strength VERY quickly when they are heated, which happens when under tension they rub against guides in a guide train. No big deal in freshwater fishing where long runs against tension (drag) is not a problem. Problems arise in light-tackle saltwater angling with unexpected hookups on BIG fish that run but don't hide. The water quenches t
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The girl who sat in the desk in front of me in public school had her hair tied in TWO FG knots. Why, I don't know.
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Norman: I have successfully used the "Slim Beauty Knot" to join braid to heavy mono leader for several years. Like the FG Knot the Slim beauty relies upon multiple points of contact between the two lines and the friction each point provides. Do you know of any remotely scientific comparison tests which could be used to compare these two knots, particularly tests of knot strength when th
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Does the type of line used, its diameter or its stiffness have any bearing on choice of ideal guide I.D.?
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I have seen handbook numbers for the coefficient of friction, hardness, and heat conductivity of Alox and Sic but none conducted when these materials were wet? Has anyone actually measured these qualities using wet/damp mono, flouro, or braid, on various guide ring materials and stated where these results are published? When such measurements are made and published by reputable researchers I mig
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