My purely anecdotal experience regarding rod length is that while longer rods are indeed more sensitive, there is a point of diminishing return. For me, the tipping point seems to be about 8 1/2 feet. Meaning that a rod of 9 or 10 feet or more seems less sensitive than a rod of 8 or 8 1/2 feet. My point of reference is a particular steelhead/salmon presentation where small crankbaits are m
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] The 25mm heat shrink works well for the handle, maybe 30 or 35mm for the but. Turn the urethane foam 0.65”-0.70” smaller than the rings you intend to use. I’ve found that the 23.5mm or 0.925” retaining rings/ handle diameter feels the best in my hand for all rods, so I turn a foam cylinder as close to 0.855” as I can. I’ve been wetting the foam with epoxy before placing and shrinking
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I've taken to putting Tennessee or split Tennessee handles on all my spinning rods. Either foam-core carbon fiber with heat-shrink tubing over the reel foot and retaining rings, or just heat-shrink tubing over urethane foam, with rings holding the reel foot. The heat-shrink compresses just enough so that the rings stay put. I'll use EVA on the ends in a flared taper, then position the reel
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I'm with Lynn. We're not solving anything important here, only having conversations we can learn from. I defend Phil's right to be wrong and post evidence of such on the internet. Phil, you just keep doing what you do. It makes for entertaining conversation.
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Sorry, Mark Talmo, it's you that is mistaken. The Great Lakes are as full as they've ever been. Florida too, as mentioned. Others, like northwest Ontario as well. While I don't doubt your assertion that the areas you've mentioned are dry, it doesn't indicate a shortage of freshwater on Earth. It simply points to the fact that God didn't put it where you think he should. Things come around thou
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I taught myself to flycast at age 12. Just asked for a fly rod for my birthday, got one, and took it from there. Never read an instructional book until I was in my mid 20's. Though, from time to time, I did read one of the incredibly pretentious articles about flyfishing in magazines like Grey's Sporting Journal and others. One day when I was about 17, a grown-up carrying a fly rod approac
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Fresh water is not in a diminishing supply, Phil. You are completely wrong. The truth is, there's more of it here on Earth with every gallon of gasoline and oil I burn in my 2-stroke, 225-horsepower outboard, and there is irrefutable scientific proof of this fact. You're welcome! However, Since Permagloss is a water cure urethane, there may be slightly less of it with every coat of Pe
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Phil, give me a week or two to prepare some line graphs for you.
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If one hauls correctly the first time, one does not need to double haul. Simple math tells us that these double-haul casters have a mere 50% success rate in fly casting.
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I frequently build spinning rods with foam-core heat-shrink tubing Tennesee handles. Use a heat gun in building every one of 'em.
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Jigs with beaked or curved points tend to get unsnagged more easily. A change of direction usually pulls it free, especially in wood. Letting current, waves, or wind take slack line, then a sharp tug works quite often. Since we're building rods, may as well pour some jigs, too. I'm a big fan of Eagle Claw 500BP Li'l Nasty, Gamakatsu Jig 90 Big River, and Victory 11149 V-Loc hooks. Owner 513s,
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Why the need for speed? I say slow down and enjoy the process.
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Norm, I don’t think that is what Tom is talking about, in an exact sense. The idea is to eliminate the 5.5, and adjust the butt guide and 2nd guide to achieve the proverbial bullseye. Mark, Fuji did not do what you’ve described; automatically provide the perfect size and spacing. While I realize we are perhaps attending minutia that doesn’t need to be addressed, they have come up with
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I just wish these blanks would come with premium boxed packaging.
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I'm with Tom K. However, the first question to answer when building a spinning rod is to determine what reel is going to be used on the rod. Try it without the 5.5M. I might build it with a 7H, maybe even a 6H, instead of the 8H, especially if I was going to use a Daiwa 1000 sized reel. Daiwa reels seem to have shorter stems and a little more upsweep than other brands, allowing you to
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Phil, at $127, it seems like an advance in price, that's for sure lol. I feel like the premium boxed packaging will be a game changer. So, we've got that going for us, which is nice. Kevin, in all seriousness, I hope it sells well for you!
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My formula is to make the rear grip extend nearly to the elbow and not beyond, when the rod is held in a position to cast and fish. Perhaps a bit shorter for light and ultralight rods, where leverage for casting isn't needed.
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Hopefully, a four-way seat is being designed for release in about a year.
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I find that specific, focused, builds for myself and friends that I fish with, to be quite easy. I'll have a specific vision of what I want to create, and a plan with a materials list to build before I start, Most of the time, I've worked out all the details in my head while fishing, rather than planning in my rod shop. Where the difficulty lies is building to someone else's vision. Especially
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Phil, it occurs to me that your memory is sharp enough to remember where and when you bought your first blank 66 years ago, yet it seemingly fails in remembering that you asked this same exact question, with the same exact post title, a few weeks ago. Or, that you made a very similar post about the subject on December 14, as well. The first blank I purchased was about 1982, from Cabel
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Purely of rod building curiosity, Phil, when is the last time you bought a blank? Was there a blank-buying spree after your last inquiry of this type in January, and are you about to go on another? If so, I’m looking forward to more questions regarding these planned purchases.
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A trick that has made my PG finishes even and consistent is to apply it by hand, not under power with a power wrapper. With a flat brush, apply it with one 360 degree turn of the rod, or two180 degree turns, and no more. Move the brush over one brush width, and repeat until the wrap is covered, At that point, get the brush off of that wrap, and move on to the next. Do not turn the rod with th
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Was there any actual fishing done in the judging process, or are these just well done, finely crafted pieces of folk art that look like fishing rods? Oooh, whoops... Did I just say that out loud? (Laugh)
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If that’s the case, use Alconites for the entire set. SIC reduction guides will not likely net any performance or longevity gains.
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Welcome Jeff! It sounds like you may have some tools, skills, and knowledge that rodbuilders will find interesting and useful.
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I'd suggest a Point Blank PB761XXHF extended to 8'. However, if the MHX price is a limitation, this blank is more expensive. It is a better blank in my opinion, than the MHX blank. Even when extended 6-8 inches, it will be quite a bit lighter than the MHX SW80M. I'm building one right now to fish muskies, extended to 8' or a little more, so I have a little experience with it. Speaking of m
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Phil I'm truly sorry that you've never had the opportunity to be in a fishing situation where a custom rod could show how it can outperform a mass-produced rod. 65 years is a long time to wait. I'll offer you an example for consideration, one of many that I have. I built a 13-foot centerpin float rod for my friend Andy. I put recoil guides on it, for the simple reason that they are easy to
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The easiest way is to mask the area off, and use this, Kyrlon Color Morph spray paint.; Then, cover the area with epoxy when dry. Pearl-Ex Interference pigments mixed in with Testors clear, painted over the desired base color will work as well, but you'd need an airbrush and the accompanying accessories.
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Phil, in thinking that the best a custom rodbuilder can do is make a prettier rod, it's my opinion, based on lots of first-hand empirical evidence, that you are completely missing a huge aspect of custom rod building. I'll just leave it at that.
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It seems to me that in not answering my inquiries, you are deferring your own opinions to those you consider "experts". Why not just defer the construction to "experts" as well? I'd say that personal opinions are every bit as important, if not more, as these "facts" you speak of. That is why I asked. After all, it is the rodbuilder that has to use these facts to
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