Single footed guides will work well. Put a double footed guide at the butt, and the rest, single foot #6s. Be sure to know if he’s taking fly-in trips, because a two piece rod is more practical if that is the case.
Forum: rodboard

Gotta disagree with you, Mark. If “wholesale” exists, it’s got to be for the volume buyers. Otherwise, the result is increased retail prices, because everyone’s getting a discount. Then, you’re hurting the rodbuilding beginner, before he ever gets to the point of starting a business.
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Given that the line flows off of a spinning reel spool best if it flows to a point directly in front of the spool, you cannot do any better than Tom K’s original method of using the upsweep of the reel to determine the choke point. All that is left to figure out is height and size of your reduction train. The caveat is for reel brands that have long stems and/or little upsweep. Compromise is n
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One should consider the line diameter and type, as well. It is a significant factor,; for a given reel, different line diameters and types affect optimal guide placement.
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I'll second Tom's opinion about Tru-Oil and Perma-Gloss. The trick to Perma-Gloss is to put it on with one pass, and do not touch it after that. No second passes until it dries/sets. It's pretty standard for all urethanes, but especially so with PG. Tru-oil is much more forgiving. You can put it on by dipping your finger and wiping it on if you wish. The Perma-Gloss is a nicer, longer l
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Michael Danek Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > One thing that could be improved would be to not > need to sign back in every time to respond. I > will consider again your offer to publish TNF in > the magazine. That's settings on your device, not the website.
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> But you're still here. Why? Can't speak for El, but I'm still here hoping for the final, definitive post on the relationship between rod spine and guide placement.
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Though I live in a town right on Lake Michigan in eastern Wisconsin and have caught my share of Great Lakes smallmouths, I caught that particular fish in an inland lake in northern Wisconsin. Fortunately, I've had the opportunity to develop confidence in the use of spybaits for several different species. Perhaps my 150% more sensitive custom rods played a part. lol.
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Les, attempting to keep this somewhat about sensitivity, spy baits seem to me to be a good test of, and practice for, a fisherman’s ability to detect bites. The bait is moved quite slowly through the water column, and doesn’t make much contact with cover. No obstructions simulating bites to sort through, yet still requires focus on what the lure is doing because speed is important and the retrie
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Tongue firmly in cheek, I use a set up like this. The line shown goes to a rod at the other end.
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I think it worked very well; this discussion has made me, and seemingly other rodbuilders as well, think about rod sensitivity, how it's defined, and how it applies to fishing situations. In my opinion that is a rousing success. Read the very first sentence of Alek's post. Then, read the second sentence of Alek's post: "The below is meant to kick off a discussion on a topic that gets a
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David, I think you are off base with your first paragraph. Let's not forget that this is a wide open public internet forum, and not a focused technical discussion where confined pretenses are established and accepted. Aleks stated definitions in his post for his part and a start of the discussion. I think the whole point of having a discussion is to challenge definitions, applications, and pre
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Michael, in spite of all that, I feel very confident that I know how to build what I can call an extremely sensitive rod. More sensitive than any production rod offered in the market, and I'm sure that many experienced rod builders here feel the same way. In a practical sense, perhaps that is the benchmark we should be looking for.
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The MHX Elite NMB812XF, NMB862, and NMB862XF all make great jerkbait rods, depending on the length desired. I prefer the longer blanks, but I work a jerkbait with the rod held somewhat horizontally.
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El, do you mean of the finished product, or of a cut-down piece of a foam core carbon fiber grip? I'm just beginning a musky rod, and it will include some carbon fiber 'highlights" in the handle. I'll take some pics of the process as I work on the handle this weekend.
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The answer, as Tom has said, is yes. I've done it dozens of times, likely hundreds, to make grips of multiple materials, and adding carbon fiber highlights, for lack of a better term, into handles.
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Out of curiosity, why the desire for a 7-footer, and no longer?
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Musky fishermen have taken to using long rods in the past several years, 9, 9 1/2, even 10 feet. Most are made intending to palm the reel instead of holding at the fore grip, and use long rear grips; some 17”-18”. I find that 17” is too long for me, because I reel right handed, and switch hands after or during a cast. A long rear grip gets in the way when switching hands. Many simply cast lef
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Having built hundreds, and used dozens, of musky rods built to cast 3-5 oz lures, a couple thing come to mind. Foremost, 9” is much too short for a rear grip. I consider 12 3/4” is an absolute minimum. You just won’t have the leverage to cast large baits with a 9” rear grip. I’d go longer than 13” to even the 15” range, if the reel is to be palmed when working lures, instead of being held
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Should we all throw in ten bucks in a pool to see who can get a famous tournament fisherman to use one and tout its advantages?
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By hand, lathe off. Often with the tail stock retracted, because I previously slipped the tubing over the foam from the tail stock end of the mandrel. Just be sure to reestablish the tail stock before parting off the excess when cool. Don’t over think it. You’re just using the line Ike a hose clamp on the mandrel to force the heat shrink to compress tightly to the contour of the foam all t
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Rick,, in my somewhat limited experience with BFS, I think that 1/32 oz will be pushing the low limit for even the high end BFS reels. The ability to cast 1/16 oz is attainable, though, and my opinion is that a 3/32 oz jig is the most versatile of all for FFS crappie fishing. However, if 1/32 is what you wish to do, that S841 blank would be a good blank to build on, as it will load with a 1/3
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Neil Toland Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Joel Wick Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Heat shrink tubing over foam core works well, > too. > > Very fast and simple. > > Wish I knew your secret. I've tried heat shrink > many times over foam core but never got the ends > where I
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David, light baits are important because "floating" a lure while slowly moving it horizontally, using just the resistance from the line is very effective for neutral fish. With Forward Facing Sonar, as Rick has mentioned, fish can be found in small numbers hanging around small pieces of cover, and still be fished efficiently. Literally, a 4-foot-long tree branch in 20 feet of wat
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That S841 will be too light, I’m afraid. It a great ultralight blank, though. I might suggest a light MHX blank fron the Elite-X or Elite Pro series’s if you can swing it.
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Stan Daubinawski Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Adding to this question. As someone who hasn't > gone steelhead fishing before. What length do you > recommend for a rod of this type? I wouldn't be > doing this in PNW but rather in WI for Great Lakes > tributaries "Steelhead". Thanks 10'-11' would be a good starting point for a s
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Heat shrink tubing over foam core works well, too. Very fast and simple. I never cast the foam on a mandrel, just use a vertical walled baking pan with release agent spray for a mold. I cut the foam into blocks with a small band saw, then bore the blocks 1/16” undersized for the mandrel I am going to use. Force the mandrel into the bored hole, and turn to shape.
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David, in your wall of text (lol) you've summed up much of my opinion. Questions to ponder about the debate we are not having; if a fish feels a spinner spinning with its lateral line, is it sensing vibration, or changes in resistance? If we feel that same spinner through the line, rod, and reel, are we feeling vibration, or changes in resistance? If it is a large wobbling spoon, where ea
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chris c nash Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > After all is said and done there will be > individuals that will pick up the least sensitive > tested blank and say for them it's the most > sensitive lol. Very true. Who's to say these vibrations we feel doesn't travel up the line, through the line as it passes through the guides, to the bail or
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