Batson has spacing charts on thier website. That will be a good place to start.
Forum: rodboard

If hes going for mostly bluegill it wouldn't make any sense to go with anything over a 5wt. I personally would go with a 4wt for bluegills. A 5wt will handle the occasional bass easy .A 6wt or 7wt wouldn't be any fun for bluegill whatsoever. Lets put it this way....... I catch 12 to 15lb steelhead with a 7wt. Whats a 1/4 pound bluegill gonna feel like with a 6 or 7wt? Like a big streamer....lol.
Forum: rodboard

My limited experience with the 7wt rainshadow (4 piece) suggests that you could maybe even get away with an 8wt line. I would think a 7wt should work fine though with a 2 piece. Just an educated guess however.
Forum: rodboard

I'm wondering if anyone has experience with the minima guides on a salt water fly rod . I'm building one (8wt) and thinking about trying the minimas for the first time. Do you like them, and how do they look on a rod? How do they compare to the standard insert ring single foot running guides (like the alps models) etc.? How do they hold up to the salt?
Forum: rodboard

Whats a good way to get rid of scuffs on a blank? Its not really scratched, but more scuffed as to dull the finish in a coiuple of areas?
Forum: rodboard

I think I have to go with what Bob Meiser says on this one. Advances in weight vs strength alone tell a huge story.
Forum: rodboard

Sounds like a re-wrap to me.........
Forum: rodboard

I find U-40 LS supreme to be a bit thinner.
Forum: rodboard

Heres a good place to start........Batsons technical forum with guide spacing:
Forum: rodboard

#6 ceramic = #4 minima or #6 ceramic = #5 minimu? One size, or 2 sizes?
Forum: rodboard

I'm thinking about trying a set of these for my next heavy fly rod. By the looks of them, it seem I can down size to get the same inside ring diameter. Is this so? what would be the comparison?
Forum: rodboard

Just from what I've noticed with my own casting. I don't think the main thrust of power comes from the butt of the rod. I feel (and I'm no expert) that the power really comes from the mid section of a rod. It must be light enough so it can be fully loaded with "X" amount of line. Rods with super fast tips and a "2x4" the rest of the way dont have the ability to transfer the po
Forum: rodboard

Bob Riggins Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Most of my fishing is inshore snook and redfish. > The standard rod for this type fishing is a 9 > foot, 8wt. I like the 8wt over the 7wt due to > wind conditions you encounter on the flats, but on > calm days I will often go down to a 6wt. My two > favorite blanks are the Batson RX 8+ and the
Forum: rodboard

What would be an ideal flats fly rod for Florida redfish in the 5 to 7 pound range? Better to stick with 9' or 10' ? What would be a good all around weight ?
Forum: rodboard

Eugene Moore Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I believe the results would have been a lot > different had they given each caster 15 to 30 > minutes practice with each rod prior to posting > scores. The faster rods have to be learned to be > cast effectively that's why they didn't perform up > to snuff and they are not for the timid. The TCR
Forum: rodboard

Ran into this article today. What I found interesting was that the ERN of the rod really had very little bearing on how far the rod casted. In fact just the opposite seemed to be achieved. Check it out...
Forum: rodboard

What kind of blank is it? There might be a chance it would fall into a nice 6wt range anyhow. On the other hand if hes looking for a connon it might not be such a good idea. OOPS. Missed you're second post. Chances are an overlined 5wt might be fine or even a better rod for a beginer. Sorry.
Forum: rodboard

Stupid question but what does OEM stand for?
Forum: rodboard

I bought 3 4wt blemmed fly blanks a few months ago. Made a couple of rods for my friends and one for myself. To this day can't determine why they were sold as blems. Nothing wrong with them at all. Other than warranty issues I don't see why someone couldn't have sold them. They were fine.
Forum: rodboard

A rotary tool is invaluble for opening up checks just a hair. Aside from that...what they said.
Forum: rodboard

Can mineral spirits paint thinner damage the finish on a blank? I have not known it to do so but haven't really used it a whole lot. I'm using it to wipe off hand writting that I'm not happy with and it seems to be working. I'm just wondering how many times I can without damage.
Forum: rodboard

WOW!! Look at the firestorm this is setting off allready. I can't wait to write the article and really get things flying....lol. In all reality its gonna be alot of fun. Even if there is no perfect way to do it. At the very least it will bring on all kinds of discussion and some good debate.
Forum: rodboard

OK. I don't think the blind testing of manufacturers names will be of great importance. That is exactly why I am taking this as far out of the relm of custom builders as I can. Most of the people I have talked to have very little if any experience with custom built rods. So bias should'nt be an issue. We will base the tests on much more than just distance casting. Mending might be a bit of a prob
Forum: rodboard

Tom, That is exactly were I am torn on this test. Do I line the rods according to CCS, or do I go with the recomendations? I'm not sure which will help the readers most. In any case we will try to evaluate the rods at short, medium and long distancesin terms of accuracy and feel. I have noticed just with my own testing that a more powerfull rod (CCS) does not always allow me to cast the furthest
Forum: rodboard

I am currently in the process of gathering together an upper midwest expert panel of casters for a builders blank shootout. The panel will consist of FFF Certified casters, teachers, Guides, Etc (general all around great casters me not included). We will be assembling a group of the more popular 9' 5wt med/fast and fast action rods and taking them through some tests as to come up with what we t
Forum: rodboard

I would think that the ones would work just fine. I like the fact that there will be 1/2 the threat work and epoxi on a rod that small. Go for it.
Forum: rodboard

I'm new to the website thing. In fact only been online for a few weeks. I did it as cheaply as possible, and built my own through a company called www.wix.com. Its flash design software, and all you do is drag and drop. Then when you're ready you just assign you're domain and join wix for hosting and you're done. You can go on you're site and do you're own editing when ever you want. Give them
Forum: rodboard

It come in some very stunning colors. I was only playing around with single bands, and i've got to say I think it looks much better than metalic thread single bands. I'm sure some of the folks on the left carry it. Anyone who has fly tying stuff. I put a pic of some of there colors up in the misc. section of photos.
Forum: rodboard

played around with a couple of trim bands with wapsi wire and they look fantastic. Whats the best way to cut the tag ends? I just bent them till they broke and it seems to work fine. any better suggestions?
Forum: rodboard

I also put up a forest green with metalic gold trim for you.........also in the guide wraps photo section.
Forum: rodboard