It is very easy to get confused when reading about things that are not in your field. Most anything bad to do with epoxy is all about contact with your skin. It isn't anything to do with vapors. So keeping the epoxy from making contact with your skin is the big thing. If you dig a little deeper you will discover that the contributing factors are key. In particular the practice of washing y
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Bobby, I'm at the same place. I have the blanks, grips, handles....but that is it. I think I have decided on guides. Of course I'd like my fist rods to be the best rods I have ever owned. Towards that end the best advice I have heard is to forget about looks and work on function. The 27X rule for spinning rods makes the guide placement easy. If you stick with single foot guides (with no und
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Glad to know MNSG is still a good choice. I was planning on 8's and 10's for the running guides and I'll get a 25 too. That only leaves thread and finish to mess up. I won Billy's "3 worst colors" contest so you never know:) I'm putting my money on the finish (darn gremlins).
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Where can I find complete specs on Fuji guides, especially weights? I'm assuming (from what I have read) that keeping weight to a minimum is an important goal. Titanium is basically beyond my budget. I have two rods to pick guides for, rclb80xl and rclb70ml. Let's say I'll fish 20# and 40# on them. I need guides large enough to handle a Bimini twist on the main line with a surgeon's knot t
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One day your favorite shoe company goes out of business. Then someone buys their name. Now your shoes are made somewhere else and don't feel the same. Next you are out on the street, shoeless, with blisters, window shopping and feeling like you have to go with a big name brand to be happy. I think everyone's first experience with graphite was eye opening. There was no going back in spite o
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Why would superior hoop strength equate to a better blank? Just sounds like more scrim and resin (not to mention weight) to me. Russ
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Karry, do you have break strength rates on your other blanks? I'm mainly interested in the rclb and rcjb series.
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I can live with a compromise. I'll go on the side of fishing fighting and let the casting suffer. I'm guessing that means getting the center line of the reel closer to 12" or so? Please correct if I am wrong. It might sound pathetic but if all you have known is off the shelf stuff one might not know what is best. Likey I'll fish 17-20# and I do want it long enough for a two handed cast
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I have an eight foot blank that I intend to put a penn 525 mag reel on. I'm not looking for a surf rod but casting distance is a factor (for pier/jetty/bridge work). I also want to use the rod on a boat. Most of my salt water rods have 10-12" of butt foam with a 2" butt cap. On this rod I'm considering something like 16-18" to center of reel seat (from end of butt). I don't wa
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When I asked the same question Karry suggested the rclb series. Reading between the lines I got the feeling they would stand up to salt water fishing better. I have picked up two blanks but have not built them yet. I'd say thay are under rated and to count on fishing them near their maximum line rating.
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Okay, new guy warning here......but isn't CP "required" unless you are using NCP (or black) thread? Heck it has been a long time since I did a rod but back then white thread would become clear thread without CP. Is that no longer the case with epoxy? What about the embrodiery threads and silicone....or is that no longer a problem? Russ
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Don't feel bad Gary. I had just about decided on a blank (RCLB70ML) and someone suggested the American Tackle. Now, within the last hour, two different guys have raved about that AT blank. I don't suppose anyone has fished both? Dang, here I go getting my mind changed again.....too many decisions for a first time builder:) Heck I can't even figure out what guides to get! Russ
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The other part of the question might be, "How much are you willing to spend"? An 80 or 130# class trolling rod with roller guides and curved unibutt isn't going to be cheap! If he really fishes for what you say in NW Florida then he has a big boat and is running hundreds of miles offshore. I'd imagine he has everything he needs. Maybe what he doesn't have is something closer to an
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Okay, lets think about this. She uses a spinning reel....so she's probably afraid of casting reels and birds nests. I'll assume she casts it normally and not upside down as that would be a feat! She retrives with the reel upside down....so she likes to use her right hand to reel in the line. Hmmmm....putting that altogether....ever consider a spincast?? They are easy to cast (with either h
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Dang, and I thought saying, "use whatever colors you want" was kinda like saying "I trust you and give you complete artistic license". I guess I just learned better:) Guess I better send a CAD drawing and artistic rendering huh?
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I think it depends a lot on the style of fishing. With smaller fish I generally fight the fish on angles, especially those that like to jump or run me into structure. When it comes to bigger and/or faster saltwater fish I'll always try to fight "on plane". I'll move my body and even the rod in my hands to get the best angle to pressure that fish (and run up and down and around the
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Pink, light green, and .....stuck between yellow and medium blue. Russ
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Funny you should mention as mine arrived yesterday. So did Tom's book and I started with that. The guides will be this weekends reading material. Bill, mine is PDF based and you can print all the articles out. Russ
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Richard Kuhne Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > What size and type rod are you building? Along the lines of 7 foot, 30-40# class, for live bait and some bottom fishing. Always fished mono in the past but curious to try braid. Reel is an Avet LX and I'll be fishing in SE Florida. Russ
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I just read the thread about adding a "toe" to single foot guides. The important point made (to me) was about picking a guide suitable for the rod being built. Still not sure what I should do differently as the fisherman though:) So, before I make a mistake, are single foot guides suitable for an acid wrapped salt water rod and if so, up to what pound class? Which guide series wou
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Thanks again guys. I signed up for two years of the magizine and ordered Tom's book. I just emailed mudhole and asked to be notified of any cancellations. Now I just need to decide on my first project. My most immediate needs are at total opposite ends. Either a 40 pound live bait rod for an Avet LX or a 4 pound ultra light spinning outfit for panfish and salt water bait catching. Anyone
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Thank you all very much. I feel blessed to have stumbled upon a forum full of such gracious gentlemen. I think we have all seen places where beginners are ridiculed and labeled “googans”. Wrapping the rod seems like the easy part. Knowing which blank, handle, guides, etc. for each type of rod is the part that overwhelms me. There seems to be such a bewildering amount of choices these d
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Okay, sorry for such a stupid question. But seriously, is it best to pay for a class? Can one get by reading some books? I can handle wrapping guides but don't have a clue on diamond wraps and such. Mudhole offered a class in Fort Lauderdale but it was sold out by the time I found out about it. Perhaps there is a member here in the Hollywood, Florida area that would be willing to help? Or
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