The "name" you give to a finished rod (fly, spinning, jig-and-pig, etc.) is less important than its measurable qualities. I would guess the vast majority of anglers can't explain the measurable difference between a fast-action blank, a heavy power blank, and a square-lip crank blank. Marketers have done their job. Several years ago I built an 8 1/2 foot Rainshadow Hot-Shot blank into a
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I am not familiar with "line slap" pertaining to fly rods/lines. I assume this occurs while the line is shooting during the cast. Where does it occur on the rod blank, and does using a different line change the amount of slap?
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I think it depends on the opening where the line comes out. They use round guides for round openings and oval guides for oval openings.
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OOPS! I meant 90 feet, not 90 inches.
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I built a 6wt. rod on a 9' MHX blank a few years ago. With a WF7F line and a small popper I can still get it to cast 90". I have no fears recommending that blank for performance or price.
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Ditto Ken's solution. It doesn't take as long as you would think, and if you pack your threads as you should always do the end result will be every bit as good as a wrap made with an electric motor.
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I hold a small, pencil point electric soldering iron against the tip-top tube until it moves. I don't scorch the finish or over-heat and weaken the rod blank that way.
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The epoxy (?) coating over the thread wraps on Inexpensive factory rods tends to crack and peel with use. Do different types of rod builder's epoxy have different degrees of flexibility, or different lifetimes for their flexibility? Does using CP increase the tendency for the epoxy top coat to crack or peel? Guide foot corrosion quickly follows cracks in epoxy over thread wraps.
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Elastic sewing thread. Cheap and easily available at sewing supply stores. Wrap and knot. No residue, no slippage, touch the taut thread with your razor and it leaps off the blank.
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Once you have used alignment dots on a 4-piece rod you will want them on your other rods. They are unobtrusive, quick, and practical. What's not to like?
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I use elastic sewing thread, available at any sewing supply store. Cut an 8" piece of elastic thread, stretch it as far as it will go, wrap it around the guide and blank, and tie it tight with a square knot. You may have to take a couple of Forhan wraps if you are using single foot guides. The elastic holds the guides stationary and the 6 or 8 turns of the thread will keep the guide from bre
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You probably can't see the shock waves in the line you cast but an observer or camera viewing the cast at a 90 degree angle can. I too suspect that taper design and the harmonics they produce in the rod blank may cause one rod to cast a smoother line than another. And shock waves can be viewed, recorded and measured, not just "felt" or "sensed" or imagined. I can still cast a
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Casting style can make a difference in guide placement. When they cast many experienced fly fishers form a circle around their fly line with their thumb and index finger and place this circle right next to the rod blank. This forms a sort of taming guide or gathering guide and reduces the angle of the line entering the first rod guide from ~90 degrees to ~15 degrees, which should influence the si
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Rod marketers and/or engineers have addressed much more intangible problems such as "feel" and "sensitivity" and "soulful action" to name but a few. Shock waves are concrete problems, visible to both the eye and the camera. They may be entirely the product of the expertise (or lack thereof) of the caster, but I can't help but hope that a better rod could at least min
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So-called "shock waves" in fly lines during a cast are detrimental to both the distance and accuracy of the cast. I think these waves are generated in the line while it is in the guide train, not while the line is in thin air. Is there any way the number, placement, or size of fly rod guides could minimize the size or number of "shock waves" in a fly line while it is being cas
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Roger has the right idea. The guides, their placement, the rod, the line, the reel, and the caster combine to determine the best choice of each. Results are the best guide.
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Jared: I did not do well in school in the class with all those numbers, so I suspect your conclusion about area is correct. Most rods I build are for use in salt water, so I take care to ensure the spaces between the guides, the wraps, and the blank are completely filled with epoxy. My thinking is this will discourage corrosion of the guides and create a perfect radius of support between the bl
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Jared: I did not do well in school in the class with all those numbers, so I suspect your conclusion about area is correct. Most rods I build are for use in salt water, so I take care to ensure the spaces between the guides, the wraps, and the blank are completely filled with epoxy. My thinking is this will discourage corrosion of the guides and create a perfect radius of support between the bl
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Redfish have the same size, feeding habits, type of mouth, scales, shape, and put up the same type of fight as carp. A rod built to bait fish for carp in the mitten would work well for Texas redfish if the components were resistant to salt water corrosion.
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In smaller sizes and blank radii the advantages of concave foot guides fades away, due to geometry. I just came upstairs from wrapping a spin rod with Apex guides with concave feet. I would not pay more for #6 concave foot guides on that spin rod, or small, small "s" snake guides on a fly rod.
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In smaller sizes and blank radii the advantages of concave foot guides fades away, due to geometry. I just came upstairs from wrapping a spin rod with Apex guides with concave feet. I would not pay more for #6 concave foot guides on that spin rod, or small, small "s" snake guides on a fly rod.
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In smaller sizes and blank radii the advantages of concave foot guides fades away, due to geometry. I just came upstairs from wrapping a spin rod with Apex guides with concave feet. I would not pay more for #6 concave foot guides on that spin rod, or small, small "s" snake guides on a fly rod.
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I have used a rotisserie motor from an old barbecue grille for some time now as as a drying motor.
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What is the difference in materials or shape between "Snake Brand Guides" and other snake guides? I always fiddle with guide feet before wrapping them.
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I have a 6WT. MHX rod which I pair with 7 WT lines. It seems to be a high quality, medium fast blank. I use it mostly for shad fishing, casting weighted flies on #4 hooks with 1X leaders 60 or 70 feet. How well the MHX or any blank suits an angler depends upon the species and size of fish being pursued, the casting ability of the angler, the size of the flies used, distance cast, and type of le
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When a wrap is 3 or 4 turns from being finished cut the thread long, secure the completed wraps with pressure from your thumb, pass the cut thread around the guide foot, around the blank, around the guide foot, etc. before pulling the thread end under the wraps. I don't think the weight saving afforded by single foot guides noticeably improves rod performance. Do distance fly casters use single
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I have. I still really like those recoil snake guides for their light weight, durability, and immunity to corrosion, even in salt water.
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Fine wire snake guides are vulnerable to accidental deformation. REC fine wire guides will spring back into shape unharmed. Because they are so springy I use forhan wraps on both legs of double-foot light REC snake guides to prevent one leg from "flexing" out from under its thread wraps from an accidental impact.
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The Snake Brand website says only their guides are made of "high quality stainless steel" - which is not particularly informative, especially for builders of fly rods used in salt water. I would much prefer 316ss to 303ss or even 304ss. I wish manufacturers of guides and all fishing tackle components would share objective data pertaining to their products. That would enable rod builders
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Repeated mentions of 4/0 and 6/0 wrapping thread and bamboo lead me to believe Snake Brand guides are intended for light-duty freshwater use?
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