For the last 15 years I have fished the salt almost exclusively. I put REC NiTi guides on rods I build for myself (except strippers and tip-tops) because they are bullet-proof. The NiTi lite guides I put on a #7 wt. came off a broken #4 wt. - they work fine with Forhan wraps. How to put Forhan Wrap on a snake guide? Wrap up to the point where you wish to make the wrap(s). While maintaining tensi
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Maybe looks or flexibility? I have had one foot of a thin wire NiTi snake guide which was either struck or pushed parallel to the length of the rod and slid out from under the wrappings. I had to cut the wrappings off the other foot and rewrap the whole guide. You bet I finished the wraps with a couple of Forhan wraps on each leg of the guide.
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Have you perfected your roll cast? I have often fished with an 8' fly rod at the other end of the lake in Spafford Creek. Most of my casting consisted of "flip casts" (no back cast) and roll casts. The extra 18" length of my fly rod was usually more help than hindrance. Say "Hi" to Ron Redneckski if you run into him.
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Have you perfected your roll cast? I have often fished with an 8' fly rod at the other end of the lake in Spafford Creek. Most of my casting consisted of "flip casts" (no back cast) and roll casts. The extra 18" length of my fly rod was usually more help than hindrance. Say "Hi" to Ron Redneckski if you run into him.
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If your purpose in using a 2 wt. is to be more sporting you could use a #1 tippet on a 4 wt., but you would still be equipped to fish a greater number of waters where there are bigger fish and more room to cast - like Factory Brook.
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Anglers may have improperly cast weighted flies with lead or brass eyes. Spey-cast flies travel at high speeds, and even a slight "tic" against the blank can produce a broken blank later on.
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Tough to suggest a blank unless you have seen the user cast. The angler who double-hauls and really loads a rod will want a much different blank than the angler who casts no more than 40 feet.
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The Mudhole Catalog recommends the following guides for a 9' 8 wt: 16-12-6-5-4-4-3-3-3-3
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I built a seven-weight fly rod on an MHXF-907 four piece blank from Mud Hole. Loaded with an 8-weight Triangle Taper fly line it will easily cast a Clouser tied on a #4 hook 80 feet. If there is a fly fishing club in your area you should seek it out. Members will be happy to let you try casting their rod/line combinations. A good experience is better than good advice - and cheaper!
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Graphite rods do better in sub-freezing weather than do guides with inserts.
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The stiffness of fishing line varies with its construction (braid or mono) its diameter, and the ambient temperature. Changes in the stiffness of a line will cause changes in the size, shape and direction of the loops entering the guides during a cast. Consequently, the direction and angle of the line as it enters each guide changes with conditions. Guides look nice when they are precisely alined
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I assume nylon monofilament will be used with these rods. It seems the diameter and relative limpness of the mono line being used should have a considerable impact upon the ideal guide size and spacing?
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With what substance will you impregnate this bamboo, and what is the purpose of doing so?
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One reason people prefer a fiberglass over a graphite blank is the slower action of the fiberglass. Under wraps for guides, especially under wraps using heavy thread and plenty of epoxy add weight to a fiberglass blank and slow it down even more.
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I think David Miller nailed it. When I learned to cast the reel handle spun backward - REALLY FAST! In order to retrieve a plug, spinner, or spoon fast enough to interest a fish one had to turn the reel handle REALLY FAST - and for us right-handers that meant reeling with out right hands.
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I would bet K guide frames are not solid, unalloyed titanium, and I am certain they are relatively expensive - and they may well break easily. There is precious little solid, objective fact in labeling and advertisement for fishing tackle. "Titanium" is one of those vague but important-sounding words so dear to advertisers of fishing tackle - and consumer goods in general.
Forum: rodboard

Are the frames of FUGI K guides 100% titanium metal, 100% alloy of titanium , or an unknown base metal electro-plated with some form of titanium? It's like the difference in malleability between a gold ring, a 15% gold-alloy ring, and a gold-colored ring. It may be possible to safely bend these guide feet and re-align them?
Forum: rodboard

The number of of one-piece rod blanks offered in commercial catalogs has greatly reduced the choice of 2, 3, or 4 piece blanks - except for fly rods, where rod action is the most critical ??! One-piece seven-foot, nine-foot, even twelve foot blanks are all the rage with anglers who apparently drive hook-and-ladder type vehicles or walk to their fishing destinations. Doors and ceiling fans will
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Even mediocre cork for handles costs a fortune these days. I would not burn it very deeply - and double check spelling!
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Me too. There must be five thousand different blanks for sale. Seems like enough choices without having to experiment.
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Why 5-1/2 feet? Is it a trolling rod? A bait rod? a jigging rod? A casting rod? An "all-around" rod? What pond test line will be used on this rod? Does it have to be one piece? Anglers need the right tool for the right job.
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David: You make a good point about line "pound test". The "strongest #10 test line in the world"[??!] is that because it's really an #18 test line - but at least it's a measurable starting point. It may be most fishermen lie and like being lied to, but some prefer verifiable facts to flights of fancy. Many of us would like to know how much weight lifted by a blank at a 45 deg
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I used ball-bearing rollers from an old sliding glass shower door for my home-made wrapper/dryer. They have worked fine for 15 years, and they didn't cost a cent except for the O-rings which stretch and fit nicely into the grooves already in the rollers.
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I built myself a 9wt. TFO - BVK fly rod several years ago and I love it. This rod seems to have acquired a reputation spread by word-of-mouth for breaking easily. These reporters may have high-sticked their BVK's or they may have transported them hanging over the tailgate of their pickup truck, bouncing up and down - there's no way to know. Relying on word-of mouth from strangers is a foolish way
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Terry - I don't see why. You can't get your money back when your fishing line breaks, no matter how many fish you return to the manufacturer! Same with hooks, leaders, swivels, and snaps.
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Just speculating. We get precious little concrete information when we buy a rod blank: length, of blank, weight of blank, color and cost. The rest is pretty much vague generality and hyperbole. Fishlines are rated by breaking strength, buyers demand and rely heavily upon this information, and for a multitude of reasons experienced anglers have had lines break at what they know was below their lis
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Has any blank manufacturer or rod manufacturer provided customers with the breaking strength of their products? It wouldn't be hard for them to clamp down the rod's butt, increase the pull against the rod or blank's tip at a 45 degree angle until the rod or blank broke, and provide the buyer with that information. That fact would strongly influence my decision in purchasing a blank or rod, and th
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REC makes fly rod tip-tops with a nickel-titanium wire eye. The wire is flexible and immune to "metal fatigue" which causes nearly every other metal or alloy to break after being flexed a number of times. You can bend a REC tip-top to shed ice build up as often as you wish without worry of breaking it.
Forum: rodboard

I have often seen average Joes use off-the-shelf rods and reels at distance/accuracy casting contests at numerous rod-and-gun club ponds. I'm not sure how much the rods they use determine the results, but I imagine as much as the tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment used by professional bass catchers.
Forum: rodboard

Probably not much sponsorship in accuracy casing contests either - but these casting competitions are better indication of the quality of the rods being used than weighing the pounds of fish caught.
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