Lessons Learned
smalljaw 01/15/2005 - 06:30 Roll Your Own
The idea for this section is to record all of the questions that I have asked and answered including those that I must ask myself. As a matter of fact I anticipate that the questions that I ask myself will ultimately produce the most interesting information.
Why don't you just buy a pre-built rod you fool?
A couple of reasons. First off, fishing is one of my top five passions in life. If something is related to fishing I can find time in my schedule to dedicate to the activity. The more compelling reason is that in almost all cases I have settled for a commercial rod that is good enough for the job at the time that I needed it. As a part of becoming more disciplined I am going to force myself to think through what I am really trying to accomplish with a certain setup and not settle for good enough. What kind of rod are you going to build?
Good basic question. I have a Shimano Sedona 1000FA spinning reel that I bought on clearance. It is a little lighter weight than I would normally buy as essential gear. Since it doesn't fall into my essential gear toolkit it helps with the waiting component of my discipline problem. Therefore, I am going to build a spinning rod based on that reel that fits into my fishing world (I should write that down!). Looks like the reel is going to be spooled with 4# test. What choices in mainstream blanks that fit the bill do I have? Note: I get the feeling that it is very bad form to advertise specific pricing from the various vendors. I WILL NOT put any vendor specific pricing here. These prices are essentially MSRP.
How long do I make the handle of the rod?
The genesis of this question was where do I place the reel on the rod such that the rod is balanced? Turns out that the prevailing wisdom is don't worry about balancing the rod unless you just can't live with they way that it is fishing for you. Overall weight, especially in the tip, is much more important. I should measure some of the rods that I currently have and probably extrapolate the handle length based on some sort of average size. My gut is telling me that I will like a shorter handle but I really should verify that before I commit anything to epoxy.
What size should the butt guide be?
I measured the spool on the Sedona and it comes up at 37mm for the top and 40mm for the bottom. Using the rule of thumb that the butt ring should be at least 1/2 the size of the outside diameter of the spool then the bare minimum will be a 20. Should I use a 25? I don't know. Maybe I should order both and see which one fits better.
What should the handle length be?
I got a tape measure, placed it between the fingers that I hold spinning reels with and measured down my forearm to the location that "looked right". 9 inches. Then I measured up past the forward fingers and took a 3. 12 inches total. How convenient was that? OK, out to the garage to put the tape to the 6 footer I have out there now and what do you know, 9 inches exactly. The foregrip on the actual rod is a little longer than 3 inches but I think it is a little overdone on that rod. More validation of my gut instincts is really builing my confidence now.
Part of the handle length will be the seat. How much of the handle length will be consumed by the seat?
I am pretty much sold on the Fuji DNPSM18 Standard NPS Style Spinning Reel Seats Stainless FINISH ID:18.0(mm) OD:21/20(mm) Length:151(mm) reel seat. 151mm is about 6 inches. Depending on where the reel ends up sitting in the seat there may not be much left for a foregrip. I am also considering slicing the seat down leaving only enough thread to allow for the reel to be removed. After measuring the part of the reel that fits into the seat (2.5") I think that a minumum of 4" will be used for the reel seat within the handle equation.
The idea for this section is to record all of the questions that I have asked and answered including those that I must ask myself. As a matter of fact I anticipate that the questions that I ask myself will ultimately produce the most interesting information.
Why don't you just buy a pre-built rod you fool?
A couple of reasons. First off, fishing is one of my top five passions in life. If something is related to fishing I can find time in my schedule to dedicate to the activity. The more compelling reason is that in almost all cases I have settled for a commercial rod that is good enough for the job at the time that I needed it. As a part of becoming more disciplined I am going to force myself to think through what I am really trying to accomplish with a certain setup and not settle for good enough. What kind of rod are you going to build?
Good basic question. I have a Shimano Sedona 1000FA spinning reel that I bought on clearance. It is a little lighter weight than I would normally buy as essential gear. Since it doesn't fall into my essential gear toolkit it helps with the waiting component of my discipline problem. Therefore, I am going to build a spinning rod based on that reel that fits into my fishing world (I should write that down!). Looks like the reel is going to be spooled with 4# test. What choices in mainstream blanks that fit the bill do I have? Note: I get the feeling that it is very bad form to advertise specific pricing from the various vendors. I WILL NOT put any vendor specific pricing here. These prices are essentially MSRP.
| Manufacturer | Model | Length | Pieces | Line Wt. | Lure Wt. | Power | Action | Butt OD | Tip Size | Blank Wt. | Price |
| St. Croix | 4S60LF | 6'0" | 1 | 4-8 | 1/16-1/4 | L | Fast | .35 | 4 | 1.2 | $90 |
| St. Croix | 3S60LF | 6'0" | 1 | 4-8 | 1/16-5/16 | L | Fast | .345 | 4.5 | 1.05 | $60 |
| St. Croix | 2S60LF | 6'0" | 1 | 4-8 | 1/16-5/16 | L | Fast | .385 | 4.5 | 1.5 | $40 |
| St. Croix | 2S56LF | 5'6" | 1 | 4-8 | 1/16-5/16 | L | Fast | .37 | 4.5 | 1.3 | $40 |
| Shikari | ISJ 590 | 5'9" | 1 | 4-8 | 1/32-1/4 | Not Supplied | Ex. Fast | .410 | 4.5 | Not Supplied | $76 |
| Shikari | ISJ 600 | 6'0" | 1 | 4-8 | 1/32-1/4 | Not Supplied | Ex. Fast | .415 | 4.5 | Not Supplied | $76 |
| Shikari | PSJ 600 | 6'0" | 1 | 4-8 | 1/32-1/4 | Not Supplied | Ex. Fast | .405 | 4.5 | Not Supplied | $100 |
| Rainshadow | ISB720 | 6'0" | 1 | 4-8 | 1/16-3/8 | Not Supplied | Not Supplied | .430 | 4.0 | Not Supplied | $40 |
| Forecast | *SB720*CG | 6'0" | 1 | 4-8 | Not Supplied | U/L | Mod. Fast | .449 | 4.0 | Not Supplied | $20 |
How long do I make the handle of the rod?
The genesis of this question was where do I place the reel on the rod such that the rod is balanced? Turns out that the prevailing wisdom is don't worry about balancing the rod unless you just can't live with they way that it is fishing for you. Overall weight, especially in the tip, is much more important. I should measure some of the rods that I currently have and probably extrapolate the handle length based on some sort of average size. My gut is telling me that I will like a shorter handle but I really should verify that before I commit anything to epoxy.
What size should the butt guide be?
I measured the spool on the Sedona and it comes up at 37mm for the top and 40mm for the bottom. Using the rule of thumb that the butt ring should be at least 1/2 the size of the outside diameter of the spool then the bare minimum will be a 20. Should I use a 25? I don't know. Maybe I should order both and see which one fits better.
What should the handle length be?
I got a tape measure, placed it between the fingers that I hold spinning reels with and measured down my forearm to the location that "looked right". 9 inches. Then I measured up past the forward fingers and took a 3. 12 inches total. How convenient was that? OK, out to the garage to put the tape to the 6 footer I have out there now and what do you know, 9 inches exactly. The foregrip on the actual rod is a little longer than 3 inches but I think it is a little overdone on that rod. More validation of my gut instincts is really builing my confidence now.
Part of the handle length will be the seat. How much of the handle length will be consumed by the seat?
I am pretty much sold on the Fuji DNPSM18 Standard NPS Style Spinning Reel Seats Stainless FINISH ID:18.0(mm) OD:21/20(mm) Length:151(mm) reel seat. 151mm is about 6 inches. Depending on where the reel ends up sitting in the seat there may not be much left for a foregrip. I am also considering slicing the seat down leaving only enough thread to allow for the reel to be removed. After measuring the part of the reel that fits into the seat (2.5") I think that a minumum of 4" will be used for the reel seat within the handle equation.
