You could also try the "slim beauty knot".
Forum: rodboard

Recoil solid Nickel-Titanium guides do not offer improved corrosion resistance; they offer complete corrosion resistance. Words matter. I have found this is not necessary if I thoroughly rinse my rods with fresh water immediately after use in salt water Every time. Some people don't do this.
Forum: rodboard

Rod guide advertisers use the term "Ti" guides like soap advertisers use the term "new and improved". Neither claim means much of anything. A solid titanium guide would cost more than $100 - each. A pot metal guide covered with a microns-thick vapor deposit of a titanium compound could probably be sold at a nice profit for less than five bucks. A solid titanium alloy guide wil
Forum: rodboard

I second the RECoil snake guide recommendation. They will not break or corrode. They are lightweight. They bend but will not bend out of shape. They are a solid nickel-titanium alloy all the way through, not a vapor "titanium film" deposited over base metal. They are pretty much bomb-proof, but pricey. The REC stripper guides are squeaky-noisy and the REC tip-tops are ugly, in my opinio
Forum: rodboard

There is no need of a rifle sight on a fish pole to improve accuracy. As long as the rod does not have loose grips or a loose ferrule it will deliver the weight or bait in the same direction every cast. A competent angler will learn to compensate for a rod which does not cast precisely in line with the rod's long axis, just like he will quickly compensate for a crosswind. Advertising alone does n
Forum: rodboard

The principles of fly casting are very different from spin and bait casting. So is the tackle and its requirements. So are the anglers. For example, over 20% of spin/bait fishers can cast farther than 40 feet. This is not true of fly anglers. The main task of a fly rod stripper guide is not to avoid friction but to reduce tangles in the fly line, which why many fly casters are looking to larger s
Forum: rodboard

A primary function of a fly rod guide train is to clear the inevitable loops and tucks in your line when you shoot your cast. A gradual decrease in the diameter of a guide train expedites this function, and besides, it looks nice.
Forum: rodboard

For my own (saltwater) 9' 8 wt. rod i would go with snake guides: 16, 12, 6, 5, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3 I might upsize to a #20 gathering guide.
Forum: rodboard

When it comes to fishing tackle I am more interested in data, facts, and proof than in beliefs or marketing. I recommend measurable facts such as hoop strength., coefficient of friction, tensile strength, diameter, rather than vague claims such as "stronger", "faster", "more sensitive", "lighter",
Forum: rodboard

8 wt. rods see some bulky line/leader connections and, hopefully, some big fish. Small guide openings can be a pain when threading a rod and a disaster when a hooked fish makes a dash after the leader has been reeled into the guide train. Because of their geometry snake guides have a larger effective diameter than ring guides of the same nominal diameter. Any fly fisher who can't easily cast 70'
Forum: rodboard

An historically accurate Seth Green rig requires the use of a wind-up victrola.
Forum: rodboard

I would bet that in a double-blind experiment no angler could reliably distinguish whether or not a rod was built on the spine. However, fishing is an activity founded in faith, hope, and trust - even superstition! If building on or off the spine or imagining you are doing so increases your satisfaction and confidence why not do it?
Forum: rodboard

Many years ago a manufacturer made a product where the reel and the rod were all one piece. It was called The "Great Lakes" combination. It was slightly more successful than rods without guides with the line passing through the hollow center of the rod blank.
Forum: rodboard

My experience has been that the prime consideration for a tuna rod, even "light" tuna, is lifting power, while casting power is the chief consideration for a rod for stripers and blues. These two qualities are not very compatible in a blank.
Forum: rodboard

Then I would suggest your option #6. Of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Many experienced anglers dislike the look of thick, shiny finishes on their rod blanks.
Forum: rodboard

What is the chief purpose of the refinish, appearance or function?
Forum: rodboard

If it makes you happy to spine a rod then do it! It's easy to do, takes less than a minute, and won't hurt a thing. If you believe it improves the rod's performance, even better! Belief is a powerful thing.
Forum: rodboard

When building a fly rod for someone I would like to first consider the amount of experience and ability the user has, even before the angling venue and target species. Then economics intrudes.
Forum: rodboard

Old timers, even older than I, preferred faster rods for dry flies and slower rods for streamers and nymphs. Many of these guys were highly skilled fly-fishers.
Forum: rodboard

The extra Forhan wraps cost me about 30 seconds each, but I have practiced. I figure a few extra minutes at the rod bench might save me or someone else a fishing trip. I never managed to slip an "escaped" guide foot back under its wraps.
Forum: rodboard

Herb: By hand, without a bobbin. When you get to the point where you wish to make your Forhan wrap (s) you leave 8 or 10 inches of slack and cut your tying thread. Make your wrap(s) around the guide foot and the blank with one hand while you maintain wrap tension with your other hand. Complete the whip finish as usual. I don't know how else to do a Forhan wrap?
Forum: rodboard

The geometry of a snake guide allows a snake guide with the same nominal diameter to pass a larger obstruction than a ring guide of the same diameter. Leader connections and backing connections featuring loops or even nail knots require larger- and heavier- ring guides than their snake-guide equivalents. If you use those excellent REC "lite-weight" snake guides I suggest a couple of For
Forum: rodboard

A thin coat of high-viscosity epoxy before the finish coat helps to avoid the issues you face.
Forum: rodboard

It's awful tough for an individual American rod builder to match the price or the quality of low end fly rods produced by automated machines tended by poorly paid workers.
Forum: rodboard

Test to make sure the guide rings are large enough for the leader-to-line and the line-to-backing connections to pass through smoothly and easily.
Forum: rodboard

Not much info at americancastingassoc.org - just GLX orIMX or Ironfeather blanks?
Forum: rodboard

Do competitors in distance fly casting buy ready-made rods or do they have them custom built? If they have rods custom built I would appreciate hearing what components they prefer and any special construction methods they employ.
Forum: rodboard

I use a cheap "pencil style" electric soldering iron to heat the tip top. The iron lets me keep the heat-melt adhesive from boiling, and if the tip-top needs adjustment holding the pencil point of the soldering iron against the tip-top barrel allows me to carefully limit how hot it gets so I don't compromise the heat-sensitive adhesives which bond together the graphite fibers in the rod
Forum: rodboard

Check the specs on hot-shot blanks. They might be what you are looking for?
Forum: rodboard

There is considerable difference between an E-Glass blank and an S-Glass blank, just is there is considerable difference between a 3rd generation and a 5th generation graphite blank - just in the characteristics of the structural fibers, let alone the matrix.
Forum: rodboard