When doing a spiral wrap do you put the spine on the bottom or top of the rod? I would think bottom but just wanted some good opinions from use guys. Also when when installing the stripper guide would it still be about 18 to 20 inches from the reel or would you move it closer so you have more room for the transition? I keep hearing about people's line building up on one side of the reel just curious how much you transition the top guide the opposite way to stop that and will it effect your casting distance if you do it?

Makes no difference. The "spiral" allows the lever arm effect of the guides to stabilize the rod.

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Tom

Reading you book here and you suggest your first guide be slightly offset towards the way your spiral is going and it won't effect your reel bunching up, if I read that right? Which leads to my next question how do you determine where your first 180 dagree guide would be?

I ussualy put it 20/22 inch from the face of the reel.
Angle 30/45° (same direction as the spiral).
Work for me.

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Eric
[www.emfishing.fr]

I agree with Eric on distance from reel. Depending on application 20-25" from reel face. The first 180 guide is determined by the type of spiral you are doing. It can be the third guide up to the fifth guide and maybe even further. Just make sure you reach that 180 guide with at least three running guides after at 180 before tip.

Whether or not your line piles to one side of the reel really depends on the type lure you're retrieving. Also, some reels are worse than others in this regard. What you'll have to do is build the handle and then install the reel, tape up the guides and do some test casting/retrieving with the type lures you plan to use. If you do find a stacking problem, you might actually think about offsetting the butt guide away from the side you're spiraling and having the inside edge of the ring sit at an actual 0 degrees. If there is no stacking problem, then sitting the guide itself at 0 degrees, or beyond, may be fine. Only way to tell is to try it. Not all reel-lure combinations will be the same.

My first 180 degree guide is always my 2nd guide. I don't "spiral" anything and never use "transition" guides. The line will automatically go to the bottom if you'll let it - you don't have to take it there. Do a search on this forum for "Simple Spiral" for more information. There are many good spiral wraps systems, of course, so you'll just have to go with the one that appeals to you most.

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X10 on Mr. Kirkman's comment about the angular location of the first guide.

After taping all of the guides in place, I thread the line through the guides and pull out about 100 feet of line. Then, while holding slight pressure on the line from the tip, a reel the line back on the reel with out doing anything to aid the positioning of the line. If the line is nicely stacking evenly on the reel - I will go with that angular alignment of the first guide.

However, if the line is stacking on one side of the reel or the other, I will rotate the butt guide enough either counter clockwise or clockwise to insure that the line stacks properly in the reel.

I start with the angular position of the butt guide at 0 degrees. But if necessary will twist the guide 2-10 degrees either right or left as necessary to insure that the line is stacking evenly on the reel. This may be in the direction of the spiral, or in the opposite direction of the spiral. It depends on the reel, the guides and the blank as well as the positioning of the other guides.

Good luck

Ditto with Roger's reply.

Don Campbell
don@sensorfishingrods.com

Hey guys thanks for the advice has been very helpful!

Thanks trace