I personally think glossy black blanks look sharp. So if you do finish the graphite with one of the poly coatings, post up the pics please! It's hard to imagine that Perma gloss is going to add any significant weight. As an aside--I fished the Kenai sockeye run last year with 8wts, and for this year I'm building a 9wt that I got from Utmost just for a bit more lifting power in the curren
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The TFAT or TFST are almost a perfect match for the regular Recoil guides.
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The TFAT or TFST are almost a perfect match for the regular Recoil guides.
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LOL. Glad I'm not the only one. While I had the order screen up on the computer, I called Mudhole in reel (sic) time and the girl on the phone asked me if I had clicked the free shipping button. DOH! Drew
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Their fly guides are the best, both single and double foot. I have no experience with their stripper or spinning guides. Drew
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I don't know what moderately priced means to you but Batson's Rainshadow RX8 fly series sounds like just what you want. They are fast, crisp, lots of reserve power to fight the fish. Extremely nice for an import. If you are on their website, the price listed there is discounted 25% if you buy from Utmost (and maybe others). I'm a hobby rod builder, but these are what I build to give to my fi
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I know nothing about Florida fly fishing so read this with that in mind: A 5wt 9 foot fly rod is sort of the standard issue for all types of basic fly fishing. It's light enough for trout and pan fish, heavy enough for big trout and small bass. That's where I would start. An 8'6" 5 wt is a bit on the short side, but will still work. You will give up a bit of casting and mending distan
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Eric is right. An RX8 and an RX6 are about as different as you can get. The RX6s advantage is that it's cheap and still fishable. The RX8 is more fun to fish, but then it's twice the price and deserving of better components. I personally love the RX8 8 wt blank. I've built 3 since July, all for fishing in Alaska (1 for me, 2 for friends). It compares favorably to my Z-Axis when throwing
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I had sort of the same issue as my reel has very little "upsweep" and ended using the 27x method. To keep it off the ferrule, you can adjust the input of the spool diameter, which will move the guides around on the rod. At least, that's how I did it. If the program let you vary the 27x between say 24x and 30x, that would allow you to do the same thing. If I was reading the blog
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Jim Ising Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Concerning the KL, KT connection. Fuji "linked" > these two guides to form a complete set. We think > they separated them as a casting guide and a > spinning reduction guide, but they actually form a > continuous "set". When you need a KL10, reach for > a KT10 and you're cover
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I posted up a few weeks ago about the sale that Mudhole has going on the leftover St Croix 2010 SCV rods and whether it was worth a few extra $$ over the 2011 SCIII. I ended up buying the SCV 9 foot Salmon/Steelhead blank. So I needed some guides to go with it, and about the time I was planning the rod, I started playing around with the Fuji (Anglers Resource) new GPS software. This makes p
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Kevin-I would recommend you use traditional double foot snake guides for this rod, here is why; Double foot snake guides are typically stronger(due to their double binding onto the rod) and they tend not to get hung up in brush as much. You are dealing with a new fly fisherman who's casting may be less than perfect and who will likely value robustness over an tenth of a gram of weight saving.
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Unless he is fishing for King Salmon, a 10 weight is a lot of rod. If he's fishing for Silvers, Sockeye and steelhead an 8 weight will do it. The Rainshadow RX8 makes a great rod for Alaska conditions. It's got more power than your average 8wt-more like an 8.5 weight. I have also fished a TFO TiCro-X 8wt up there and its a decent rod, but I'd give the nod to the Batson Rainshadow, which fee
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That's good info Jim, where does Alconite fall out number wise? It has become my go-to guide, especially in the titanium frames, and your own website makes it sound more fracture resistant than SIC, which is why I tend to use it. Does it have different properties than Hardloy even though they appear to be the same material(Aluminum Oxide)? Here is a Wiki on SiC:
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Epoxy the plug in place and sand flat when it dries. You almost can't tell there is a plug there. Drew
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Todd R. Vivian Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Drew, > I have to agree with Roger on this. I think you > will find different actions between the SCV and > the Lami. What type of application do you intend > it for and where are you fishing it at? > > Todd I'll be taking it to Alaska for our yearly trip there for Cohos in the 10-15
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I'm with Eric. I'm also confused, is it a rod or a blank? If it's a rod, what is it? Have you cast this rod yet? Do not rely solely on ERN/ELN/ESP whatever. It's a very imperfect science. There is no numeric formula that can substitute for casting it yourself and seeing how you like it. My take on the CCS thing is that is gives you a guideline and a starting basis for comparison, but
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I have used that exact guide set, and can promise that you will be disappointed. There is too much of a gap between the 30 and the 16 to make a good NGC rod. If you do plan to use that set, order an individual guide #20 and a #12 of the same type guide. Then apply the NGC spacing principles and you will end up with a really nice rod with about 8 guides on it. The beauty is, it's easy to do yo
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Thanks. I will look at Lamiglass, that is a good suggestion. I have never fished built or used a Lamiglass blank, so worth looking into. The reason I am interested in the SCV rod is I have an SCV fly rod that is the best I own. I was thinking the Salmon/Steelhead would be worth a try, and I'm interested in comparing it to my RX8 salmon/steelhead rod that I made for this year. I have my
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I have wanted to build a St Croix salmon/steelhead blank for awhile and Mudhole has the 2010 SCV models on sale for 25% off. So an SCIII with the same specs can be had for $140 and an SCV (from 2010) is $153. I am thinking it's worth the $13 to get their top of the line blank even if it is last year's model. Just wanted to see if the forum had any thoughts here. Specs: Salmon/Steelhead
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Batson makes great blanks. My favorites are the RX8 Salmon/Steelhead blanks, and the RX8 Fly blanks. Sadly, the RX8+ Fly blanks are no longer available. The RX8 blanks fish like high priced blanks for less than 1/2 price. Drew
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As it happens, I'm building a spinning rod right now. That software is really fun to play around with and compare to what I actually did. I am going to use it to lay out my next rod. Minor suggestion: I would like to see the 27X be an adjustable variable, but you can kind of fake that by making your spool diameter smaller or larger. Suggestion #2: It would be cool to have it lay out the
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Been building about 2 years here just rods for me and friends, ie still a novice. An inexpensive blank for #1 is a great idea. Keep it simple-1 color thread, no trim, rubber winding check. The Tom Kirkman book is great. Get that and read it. Keep it as a reference. As someone else said-it's the best $15 you can spend in rodbuilding. The Batson videos are much better than the Mudhole
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I put it on thin and fast, and still stop the rod immediately for a couple of minutes after to wick off any sags. With that said, essentially every wrap will develop a small sag and require some taken back off with the spatula. I use a thin finish (ProKote) if that matters. Removing the sags in this manner really improved my finish, as in, made all the difference. If I had to guess, your fi
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You NERBS do nice work. I wish I could attend one of your Saturdays. 3000 miles is just a bit far! Drew Billy Vivona Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Here you go on grips, posted this a few hours ago: > > 88038&set=o.198581950187042&type=1&theater
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On fly rods, I put my first guide at 4-41/4 inches. So while 3 1/5 is close it isn't totally crazy. Maybe the tip section on the rod is really light. Funny-at the lower end of the market, you will not save any money building your own rod. And, a TFO rod would work awesome and probably save you money. So it isn't about saving money, it's about fishing with a custom rod you made yourself, wi
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Why the insistence on a 2 piece? I've salmon fished in Alaska every year for the last ten and never once regretted having a 4 piece rod. It's more convenient in every circumstance and has no down sides. What kind of salmon are these that you will be fishing for? Of the ones you list, I would have a slight bias toward the St Croix but don't have any data to back it up. Based on the 2 MH
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Glad you lived to tell the tale. That's a dangerous river with the fast current and the drop off just out from the bank. Where was your drag in all this and why didn't the king just take line? That Kenai river Sockeye fishing is fun. I was not lucky (or maybe I was) enough to catch a King, but my friend next to me did. He is not an experienced fisherman, and his drag must have been set pre
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I have used mostly the Rio lines "streamer tip" or some such name. I have found I can cast my 8wt with about 300 grain sink tip lines. You should have no issue with a 10 weight. Most of these sink tip lines have suggested rod weights associated with them. But I have found you need to experiment. Some rods do not handle the heavier sink tips well, I'm not sure why. The Type I-I
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The sink tip lines tend to be rated by weight not necessarily by line weight. Plus, there are other variables like how much of the line is weighted and the like. If you use something standard like a 24 foot sink tip, you will probably be in the 400 grain zone for a 10 weight rod. I don't think there is such a beast as "weight forward sink tip" because any sink tip will, by it's nat
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