Hey Everyone....Wanted to let you know about 2 great deals going on right now: 1. 25% Off Select CRB Supplies & Tools 2. 25% Off Ice Rod Kits BOTH sales end Thursday 10/11 at midnight EST. Interested in rod building ideas for ice rods? Check out our Extreme Ice Rod Builds show on Facebook.... Tuesday 10/9 @ 6:30 PM EST...read more about this event at: Thanks all - hav
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Greetings, It seems that I asked this question before - but can't find it. Perhaps I did not. I have some very thin walled UL blanks. These identical blanks came either in bare carbon fiber unsanded, or painted. Before painting, the surface was smoothed. Everything else is identical. Well, the painted ones are lower powered and just right for some applications. now I want to sand dow
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Ok.. So, first off, i both spin fish and fly fish.. For fly fishing i use my 7'6" 4-5wt. Perfect for the areas i go.. So this isnt going to be screwing uo something i use.. When i first started fly fishing i bought a cabelas three forks 9' 8wt combo.. Its acually what i learned to cast on (i think my shoulder is still sore lol) i got invited to go up to polaski with a few people i knew..
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I am going to build some ice rods soon and I was thinking about using carbon fiber tubing for the handles. Has anyone here used it and if so what size tube would I be looking for? Thanks as always. Mark
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So I had a few break offs yesterday while fishing, partly user error and partly because the rod I was using and drag combo just were not up to par for the conditions. I was fishing along weed edges of milfoil on a northern lake, with 12 pound braid and 8 pound flouro as the leader. My issue was not the 2-3 pounders, it was the 5 plus fish that were snatching and running with my drop shot and pu
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Is there any reason to add a thread wrap at the tip top is it for looks or strength do you need it ?
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Hi! I'm thinging of building an ice rod for lakers/bog trout and walleye/pike etc. The Batson .385X.105X72 blank seems to be the most popular blank for this application? Does ice rods on this blank suit well for a JawJacker and if they do, how long rods can I use with this blank for the jawJacker? 36" or will even 40-45" rods work?
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Ok. With all your help I think I have the KR Concept for spinning rods figured out pretty well. Now I've got a pair of NFC BB805-1 casting rods I need to build. These are going to be used 75% for salmon backbouncing and will also be used to throw 2oz swimbaits for a month or two a year. Reel will be a 300 sized Curado, Lexa or Revo loaded with 50lb Braid. For throwing swimbaits, I'll also be
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I am going to replace some tip tops on some old rods this weekend and give them new life. 3 of them are in between sizes on the tip top tube size. I was going to wrap a layer of thread on the blank to take up some of the space. I was going to swing by a craft store and pick up some nylon upholstery thread for this. After reading bad things about using store bought threads and epoxy not sticking t
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So I’m about to build a carbon fiber Tennessee handle for a drop shot rod. I want to thread the reel on the reel seat and then epoxy it . My question is what type of epoxy is best for this scenario? Can I use flexcoat, thread dancer...etc or is there a bettter epoxy for the job? Thanks guys
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Hi Rodbuilders, We've gone factory direct with our blanks and carbon grips. Through the end of the month, save 50% on all NFC blanks and handles. www.northforkcomposites.com (there's not code to enter, discount is automatically applied in the cart) We've got some new surf, ice-fishing, and offshore/tuna blanks. There have also been some questions posted on NFC, happy to answer - shoot!
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I just used a new build 8 wt fly rod with REC snake guides and tiptop on bones and noticed at times that there was a "screeching" coming from the rod when highly loaded, both on casts and when fighting fish. I think I've heard of this on the forum before, but don't remember the details. Can anyone give details? I'm hoping it's from the tiptop-I can easily replace that.
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Roger, you advised me on this rod on 1/17. 40" casting, 8.5' from butt to center of reel seat. Roughly how far ahead of the reel's level wind would would you locate the butt guide? ( #10 Minima double ft.) Thanks, Lynn
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Like to stay on top of my winter hobbies like rod building and crankbait painting. In the past year has any product, component or technique changed the way you would build a casting/spinning rod? I'm aware and use the Fuji KR concept, but that first appeared a few years back. Made a reverse boring bit for grips on my last casting rod builds a week ago. Thanks, Tuna
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Hi all, Looking to build a spinning rod for trout fishing 2lb test. New Concept suggests size 6 choke and runners, but I want to go as small as possible. Will smaller sizes, say 5 or 5.5 hinder casting distance? Thanks, Nick
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So I have spent some time reviewing all the threads I can find on this site and others about sanding down blanks. I understand the health concerns and I am set up and prepared for this. I also spent a lot of time at the stores playing with different rods the last week and seeing how they react when you put a load on the tip. It appears to me that most rod tips don't really start bending until
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Plan to build a couple deep crank rods using RX6 FT905 blanks and the guide spacing provided from Batson (CB76MH). Budget components for reel seat and EVA grips in hopes to keep them each less than $100 each. Looking for some guidance on a light but dependable (KR concept) guide set for fluorocarbon lines, any recommendations? Thanks. PS, only doing 3 builds this winter, doing more ice fishing
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I've collected data on numerous ice fishing rod blanks and amassed them in a single database to share with other builders. The database provides a quantitative means to compare ice rod blanks based on their dimensions which directly relates to strength/stiffness per inch of blank length. Blanks are classified by material, and material/power. There is also a section with links to ice blank supplie
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Hello all, I received many good comments and help for building my first ice rod, so I thought I should show how it turned out. This is how it looks with the reel I plan to pair up with. Because I want to use the baitcasting reel, I am using spiral wrapping. Close up image of some of the guides. The blank I bought was too stiff (although it said it was "light&quo
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I have a request to build a crappie rod for vertical jigging deeper crappies in 15 to 25 feet of water. The user wants the tip to be quite light and soft so they can visually see a bite. Much like the noodle rods that are popular for icefishing now. He's currently using a Shakespear Crappie Hunter rod which has the soft tip, but it has very little backbone. He's requested a rod with a tip sof
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I have spent more time looking at this site than my wife in the last 3 months.  I have my rod wrapper built (thank you for all the great ideas) and ready to start ordering parts to make my first rod.  For my first rod I would like to make a Sturgeon Ice Rod.  Since I will be using this rod in a portable house and room will be tight I think I will build it to around 42” with a bait caster reel sea
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Hello, Finally I sorted out the blank issue I had and started installing the guides. Now I have a question about the tip guide wrapping. It seems to me that the tip guide is attached to the blank by the adhesive between the inside of the tube of the guide and the surface of the blank. Then what is the purpose of the thread wrapping at the tip guide? Only for decoration? I am not sure, bu
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Hello, I’m new to the forum and rod building, I have an obsession for ice fishing, and now building ice rods as well. My first two rods are fishable but not pretty, I took my learnings from those two and a week later am quite pleased with my third. I am building on MHX blanks. I really like the action and power, and general quality feel of the blank, but I can’t stand the Color, particularly t
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Hello! I am trying to build a first rod (ice rod). I want a rod for panfishing and occasional bass. I have a Fenwick Elite rod (ETI28ML), supposed to be "medium light". I like this rod, but I like a rod that is slightly lighter power more. So I have purchased a blank (CIB-30-MHX) from MudHole, but this blank is much heavier power than I expected, although it says "lig
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Hi Guys, Im new to this board and am looking for advice. Ive tried searching previous threads but have not been able to find what I'm after. I have been asked to build a ice rod for a client for walleye. I am from Northern British Columbia and have never fished walleye so I have no bases to go on. So my question is what is a good ice blank or rod blank I can cut down to 28-30 inches for walle
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Hi Everyone, I am going to start building a sturgeon rod for ice fishing. I have all the components 7' heavy action rod (cutting down to 50"), my grip is extra long (about 16") to fit under my arm for more leverage and my guides. For my guides I went with smaller sizes (16, 10, 8, 7, 6, 6) as I will be fishing out of hub shelter and not worrying about them freezing up. My question i
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Hello, I have never tried marbling a rod before but am looking to start making some attempts. I have looked at some youtube videos but they are all on marbling small sections with many colors. I am looking to marble 4' section of an xh saltwater rod. I want a two tone with a color and black. The rod blank I will be marbling will be black, so am I able to marble just a single color over the black
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This is a SCIII X-fast 6'9" rod that I built 5-ish years ago. I was threading new line on it this morning and found this splinter, I have no idea how long it's been there. It is right at the peak bending point about 14-16" down from the tip. I treat my rods like glass and wonder why this occurred? I firmly believe that a vast majority of rod breaks are user error, but I do wonder if thi
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Why should I use thread finish? I have cheap guides and the rod is there to do a job FOR ME It is a nightmare cutting into and sanding old varnish off a blank, so why bother when something can be fixed well with thread and tape in combination Food for thought for amateurs maybe, of course with high quality guides that should last years a solid permanent proper fixing would be best
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Hello, I am new to rod building I have built a couple rods. I was recently using one of my custom rods with a Rapala, at the end of the day I put the lure on the hook keeper. When I went to use the rod the next time I noticed the hooks really dug in and gouged my epoxy. I have never had that happen with any of the rods that I have purchased. I am using Pro Kote thread finish epoxy. Should I b
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