OK, Ladies and Gents, I have in hand one of Cabella’s Traditional II blanks for a 7’ 6" 4 pc, 4w rod in a pretty olive green. I have taken the comments from the resources thread and stuffed them all in a Word document so I wouldn’t lose any of them as well as the the discussion on guide placement. I shall be referring to them often.
I think I am going to go with single foot guides. I can see snake guides restricting the flex of the rod to some degree. It may be minuscule, but I can see it, none the less. A single foot guide will minimize that. I am inclined to use a chart to get some initial spacing and fine tune from there to get the curve of the line just right. The fine tuning struck a chord with me and makes a lot of sense.
I think a trip to Bass Pro Shop is in order to put my hand on as many different rods as possible to see which handle is the most comfortable to me. I may run by Anglers All as well to fondle a few rods that I would have to sell the house to afford. That should give me a good idea on what to order for a handle. I might try turning my own on the next rod.
The only decision left, outside of aesthetics, is the type of reel seat. How does the reel seat affect the center of gravity of the rod? This blank weighs less than 2 ounces as it sits. I can see it being somewhat butt heavy even with a small reel. I would like something with a rosewood insert or seat just because it’s pretty, but is that really going to make much difference? I can see where an up-locking seat that is hooded by the handle will move the hand back towards the effective center of gravity and the reel forward which will bring the center of gravity more toward the hand. I think.
I prefer single foot guides. Half the amount of wraps equals half the weight. Don’t be afraid to ask a lot of questions. There are many qualified people on here that will answer anything you have. It will be frustrating and you will get frustrated, but once you catch a fish on YOUR rod, it makes it all worth it.
My opinion is that on this size rod, you are going to want to go with a reverse half wells grip and an uplocking reel seat. Rosewood inserts look nice and match everything. Take your time wrapping and if you aren’t satisfied with how the wraps look, take them off and rewrap. Epoxy seems to magnify any mistakes you make and once you put the epoxy on, it is a pain to take back off.
Again, ask lots of questions and be prepared to become addicted.
I’m already addicted. Fly fishing is rapidly becoming my “golf”.
Why the reverse half wells? I know very little, as in nothing, about the various handles and the why of each. I was going to go to the nearest fly shop and fondle :shock: expensive rods to find a handle I liked the feel of. then order one like it. I could fondle cheap rods but it’s not the same. I have one of those.
I believe the reverse half wells is the “standard” for 3-5 weights, with the full wells being the “standard” for above that. BUT that doesn’t mean you have to go with the “standard”!! Take a look at differant rods out there and choose what you like, it is your rod :lol:
I can’t speak directly to the 7’6" for 4 wt, but I can tell you that the 9’ for 8 wt in the Traditional II is a CANNON and the oversized double foot snake guides used by the friend who build it out have no discernible effect on the blank. Not saying you are all wet, just saying …
Also, I think you will find it easier to use / wrap double foot guides on your first rod. If you haven’t checked them out, take a look at Snake Brand guides. More expensive than most, but worth it, and the feet are ready to wrap with no preparation. http://www.snakeguides.com/cart/
In case you haven’t run across it, check out stretchable string to hold the guides in place as you space them, align them, and start wrapping. Very easy to use and a flick of a razor blade releases them nicely when you are ready to remove them.
John
P.S. Most rod builders are quite comfortable going with nickel silver hardware and wood reel seats on rods this size. Unless you have a need for an exceptionally light rod, nickel silver and wood will almost certainly give you a more aesthetically pleasing rod.
Do double footed wire guides “restrict” a rods “flex”? Certainly it does. But the problem lies in the fact that the caster cant tell any difference! It can be proven “scientifically” but cant be proven in “actuality”.
And you hear from sources that single footed FUJI guides weigh less than wire snakes ( double footed). My set of reloading scales goes down to 1/10 of a GRAIN…and trust me…there isnt jack squat difference ! Let alone if there actually WAS…then go to single footed wire guides! But you can hear that wire guides are “rougher”……causing drag. But evidently those people have never heard of terms such as “point” or “line” contact…because thats all that the line actually comes in contact with a guides “ring”.
The fun part of rod building, other than creating a tool that works for YOU…is weeding out the “old rumors” from the “supposed improvements” to get to where YOU want to end up.
I have a little 7’6"-2 weight here built on a Rain Shadow blank that I put single foot wire guides on…and I use a 3wgt DT line on it ( never ran across a 2 wgt line anywhere) and at 30 feet its a little cannon. I dont need anymore than 30 ft casts when I fish a 40 ft wide stream here…:D…and with a 1/2 Bluegill on it I scream out to the wife to “get the gaff”.
Kevin,
That’s the joy of building your own rods! You can do what EVER you want to do! Go, look, get what sparks your heart … and do it!! Have fun!
Betty
I have a 4wt Cabela’s Traditional II rod and it’s been a great little rod for the money. As far as guide’s , one of the builder’s here had a great point when they said if you straighten out a single foot guide , you’ve got the same material as a snake guide , no differance in weight. Just my 2 cent’s.
I agree a single foot probably does weigh the same as a snake guide, but with a single foot, you only have half the amount of wraps and half the epoxy which will make the overall weight of the rod lighter.
And THAT is exactly why I’d recommend ReCOIL guides. Bend 'em flat and they pop right back up. And they are actually cheaper than most TiCH guides.
My personal preference is snake guides. I like the look better, but thats just me. As for the double foot guides affect flex? Are you kidding?? do you think ANY given 1 inch section of the rod flexes more than a few hundreds of an inch at the tip or a few thousands of an inch if any on down? This MIGHT be a minuscule issue at best if one was to lay a solid thread wrap base the entire length of the guide, attach guide and wrap guide feet on top of base wraps with a contrasting thread. Of course you’ll probably never see a fly rod like this, but it is common on boat, surf and trolling rods.
As far as weight, I never thought about a single foot having just as much wire if not more, but that makes sense. Yes there is then: double thread and double finish, so yes a double foot over all is probably lighter BUT if total weight of a finished rod is in single digit ounces and:
1 once = 28 grams, and
1 gram = 15 grains, and
If I figured right then 1 grain = .00238 of an ounce and if Sully’s scales show the difference negligible in the 1/10 grain area between ?
I bet even the best of the best cannot discern the difference of a few grams? and we’re talking 1 few 10th’s of a gram???
For you hunters/shooters, think about this. A 12ga pump shotgun has a hefty kick right? But have you felt a long gun kick when you’re shooting at large game? H3ll I rarely HEAR my guns going off when I’m shooting at game. Adrenalin overload tends to do that to you. Same on the water. When you get a fish on, and your adrenalin spikes, your body tunes out many senses.
Now that I managed to start a heated discussion over single foot vs. snake guides and see that the difference is miniscule AND given that the wraps on snake guides will give a more “balanced” look for a first rod, I chose a set of black snake guides.
All of the components are ordered. I didn’t get extravagant with anything this time around, but it should look nice. Unless I totally screw up the guides, it should fish nice, too. My total cash outlay will be only slightly more than ordering a basic kit, but I have a much nicer seat and grip than I would get with a kit and the black hardware as well as my choice of thread colors.
Thank you for all the input! I am sure I will have lots more questions as I go forward with this.
I ordered a Pacific Bay A7, black, with a rosewood insert. The grip is a reversed half wells with dark trim at both ends and inlet. Winding check is black aluminum. The handle stuff is from J. Stockard. Black guide set, hook keeper, and tip from Janns Netcraft. I haven’t settled on the thread color but have a couple of shades of green, tan, and gray on the way.
BassBug: Thats why I many times use the terms “in reality” and “in actuality”. Reality states that something “does”…actuality states that “it dont matter a rats rump one way or the other”…
Do BOTH wraps on a snake guide add weight? Sure! Does it matter because of the little amount it adds! ( Take a guess what my answer is…lol)
…causing drag. But evidently those people have never heard of terms such as “point” or “line” contact…because thats all that the line actually comes in contact with a guides “ring”.