I got my Hook and Hackle Catalog today, and have been drooling over it all evening, when something caught my eye. If you don’t get the catalog, you should, but if you don’t there are a lot of small articles written by I assume customers of theirs. If you’ve got the catalog, page 16 caught my eye on the lower left hand corner. It says that when you are assmebling your rod sections “Do not twist the sections as you assmeble them.” It even goes on to say to pull them straight apart and not twist them apart. (even suggests using a piece of old inner tube to help grip the sections while pulling them apart) I’ve never heard this before and I have always twisted my sections together and twisted them apart. What do you guys think? do you twist or not?
thanks,
hNt
PS Or do you do like the Isley Brothers and “Twist and Shout”
PSS And in case you are wondering, No, I am not old enough to remember the Isley Brothers, but I still know who they are.
Were they referring to bamboo rods with metal ferrules? If thats the case then yes, straight on & straight off. NO TWISTING!!! For graphite and glass rods with spigot type connections, I normally connect them straight on & off also. For graphite/glass with male/female connections, I first connect them 1/4 turn out of alignment, seat the two parts solid, but don’t over tighten, then I twist the top section (close to the ferrules), bringing all the guides in alignment! I have connected both spinning & fly rods this way forever. Having said that, if someone knows for sure that I should not be doing the 1/4 twist, let me know, and I will stop! You can always (within reason) teach this old dog a new trick!
Harry Murray has a video on YouTube in whnich he says you shouldn’t twist rod sections together. Since more than one manufacturer’s website says twisting sections is okay, and a tech at Sage told me that you can twist sections together with all the force you’d like, I usually give them a slight twist. I have several rods, and know them fairly well. Some rods have sections that all stay tight throughout an entire day, and other rods have a section or two that seems to loosen after a while. It’s the sections that I know are likely to loosen that get a twist to help hold them together. Twisting sections that easily stay tight are simply pushed together, and some of those section can still be hard to seperate.
P.S. I’m speaking of graphite, and treat bamboo rods with attached ferrules differently.
Like others have said, I never twist on my bamboo nor my fiberglass, but I usually do on my graphite. I have talked with reps from various rods and have gotten mixed answers from them regarding graphite rods. Meaning some have said no to twisting while others have said yes to gentle twisting. I do the 1/4 turn right at the final push, works well. However, when I do get a couple sections stuck together, I don’t twist when taking them apart. I use the two person, four hand straight pull and the pieces come apart very easily.
If you cut a couple pieces of non-skid material, like shelf liner, then you get a better grip on the rods.
Fishdog54, I just reread the tip in the catalog, they don’t specify what the rod is made of. Or for that matter whether the ferules are metal or not. I got to thinkiing about this some more today, when I started trying to learn fly fishing, I remember casting once and the tip end of the rod coming off! I got it in ok and nothing was broke and I think that is when I began twisting the pieces together. Now at that point I was learning to cast and my forecast look like someone trying to smack a tennis ball out of the court, so that could have been my problem. I’m still learning to cast, but my forecast has improved. Some anyway. Now though I’m begining to wonder if I should just put the rod together without twisting and would it stay together ok.
For those who don’t want to have to twist, I have heard that the waxing helps to keep the pieces together, as well as make it easier to get apart. One of those things that don’t make sense.
Thanks for the two very good pieces of advice. I have some of that non-slip material. I’ve seen it sold as a product to help open jars and as a non-slip material for tool cabinet drawers. I will put a couple pieces in my vest. Also, I agree that if you want to preserve the nice tight fit of your ferrules, clean them at least, before you put the sections together. Question: should I be putting wax on the male section even if I’m not having any problems? I’m thinking that the wax will help cut down on abrasion if both sections were being constantly joined ‘dry’?
Dave, I have personally never used wax on the ferrules, but I know some people do all the time. I have seen some rod companies that furnish a wax material but Sage never has done that. I was always afraid of a buildup of wax in the female section of the ferrule, but then again that may not be a problem. I suspect it is a matter of personal preference. I do clean both sides of the ferrule before I slip the sections together, usually use a soft cloth and just wipe the sections down. While I am casting throughout the day I always reach up and make sure my sections are still tight, normally about 4 times during a full day of fishing. I have had the tip section fly off on me in the past, scares the devil out of you that is for sure, but luckily the fly caught the tip section and the tippet held. That is why I check the sections. Maybe using wax would prevent that, I am not sure. I just know how gummy wax buildup can get and I didn’t want to subject my rods to that. Do what you think is best, try the wax if you want to, if you don’t like it, don’t use it. Main thing is, get out there and fish, ohoh, seeing you are from PA, maybe you better wait until it thaws. :).
