Friends:

I realized today that I have been building rods off and on for 50 years. If you would be kind enough to indulge me, I'd like to ruminate a bit on this, but also ask a question of the more knowledgeable folks on the board about a particular scenario and rod I have in mind.

Mostly the rods I build are for my own use, but I also give them away to friends, kids starting out in fishing, etc. I don't sell them. Rather it is sort of a life work. Usually I create a concept for a rod in my mind based on the perfect instrument for a given situation, then set about building it. My overall objective is to have the right rods to go anywhere in the world in pursuit of any type of fish, and I'm getting close! (as Walter Brennan would say, no brag, just fact), (please forgive my pridefullness). Not just theoretical - I then go out and use them in the envisioned scenario and location: I have rods for tuna off Baja California, GT's in Sri Lanka, Grouper in Saudi Arabia, Nile perch in Africa, piers in the Florida panhandle, mahseer in Nepal, salmon in Scotland, trout in Chile, Spanish mackerel off southern beaches, smallmouth in New England, sailfish in the Gulf of Siam - the list is endless.... I am blessed to be working in a field that requires extensive travel. Rod design and construction is just a creative wonderful productive way to spend one's non-work time. Its safe to say that anyone looking at my rods wont be dazzled by the wonderfulness of the wraps or how excellently the cork was turned - my rods are working rods: the last time I did a diamond wrap was over 40 years ago. I didn't have a rod lathe until about 10 years ago, a homemade roller setup was good enough, and a separate dryer was made from an old barbeque motor jury rigged for the job. These days most of the rods I build are pure functionality - single color, single wrapped. Mebbe a trim color. If standard nylon thread I don't even use color preserver, so the thread blends neatly into the color of the blank. I'd like to think an astute fisherman would look at the rod and say it might not be fancy but its matched to the situation and ..... thought through.

Anyway, I am building a 5 piece travel surf rod. Rated for up to about 4 oz. The particular application is barramundi in South Australia, and corvina in South America. Normally I would set it up with robust casting guides - old school ceramics (pre-hardaloy, the ones with the light green bumpers) and call it good. On this rod I would run an Ambassadeur 7000c that has seen use since the late seventies, loaded with 25 lb mono. I concede this is old school. However this little voice in my ear says why not consider also setting it up for use with a spinning reel (like a Penn 710 or Diawa 4000 size, loaded with 15 lb mono) for when small lures are the hot ticket, and the wind is in your face, as I don't have the luxury of carrying two surf rods? Soooooo...the question for the board is ought one consider the new fangled "K-guides" or some other guides that would be dual purpose? I don't want to use big spinning guides, because that will compromise the portability of the rod, and they are clunky when Job 1 is the big casting reel. What model guides should I be looking at, and in what sizes? Any input welcomed...



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/01/2017 11:00AM by Philip Engle.

rod length would help as the number of guides for sizing to make it a universal rod for both styles of reels

The best day to be alive is always tomorrow !!
Think out side the box when all else fails !!!
Wi.

I certainly think it can be done, if you use braided line on your spinning reel. The of limpness of braid allows it to more easily pass through a smaller and lower than usual stripper, and will also allow you to use a smaller reel which will have as much or more line capacity than a larger reel filled with mono. Although a 4000 reel with braid may work just fine. The Ambassadeur 7000 is a relatively high profile reel so a larger stripper should be fine. I think I would try a size KW30L or KW25 for the stripper, and a KW16 and a KW10 or KW8 to complete the reduction train. For runners (all the same size) you could use KT10, KT8, or KT6 (depending on the size of the third reduction guide and the type of knots you use. Because it is a surf rod you can push the stripper a little further away from the reel which will help with line passage. Might not be the perfect spin or cast rod but should work for both applications. The only way to find out is to tape on the guides and test cast it. Go with a down locking reel seat.
Norm

The rod is 11 1/2 feet. Reel seat is downlocking cushioned Fuji size 24. 5 sections. Tip is about a 9 tube.

guessing that the tip top will have a 8 ring and your working a duel purpose rod here is what I would use
and not necessarily fuji guides if your using braid you can go to a smaller stripper guide with mono a bit bigger test casts will tell you which is right
stripper w/braid 20 stripper w/mono 25 then a 16 a 10 and all 8's for runners to the tip would fit the bill for me

The best day to be alive is always tomorrow !!
Think out side the box when all else fails !!!
Wi.

Philip Engle Wrote:
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> The rod is 11 1/2 feet. Reel seat is downlocking
> cushioned Fuji size 24. 5 sections. Tip is about
> a 9 tube.

Well, typically down locking for conventional and up locking for spinning.

Except, is you ever expect to cast 4 ounces plus bait with a spinning reel, you may want to consider a casting aid.
The best chance to attach a Breakaway Cannon successfully is with the reel seat up locking.

If you want to cast the 7000 with 25 lb mono, Pro Spec is a good choice. I run 40 lb braid backing and 25 lb Pro Spec on top. With a sinker of 4 ounces, the shock leader should be 40 lb or greater depending on your structure. This indicates a minimum guide size of 10. I use size 12.

As mentioned, a 30L is probably the best stripper size.

Don Becker

Well, I have some of the K style of guides now in hand, and have made a decision. I will not use them on this rod because I am not convinced its the best way to go. Instead, focusing on the main task at hand which is to have a conventional rod that a small percentage of the time can be used for spinning (light line and light lures). New factor that has entered into consideration is also the realization that I use a 9000c instead of the 7000c when the surf is up and the wind blowing - especially in the lower latitudes. It is an even higher profile reel than the 7000c. So with job 1 being conventional, job 2 spinning is far behind. Thus rather than make a rod which is a balance of both but by necessity over-favors the spinning, I focus instead on the main purpose - conventional. So what I have decided to do is go with a different guide type than originally contemplated: the model S Pacific Bay type, which are double braced at the 3, 6 and 9 o'clock positions, without a shock absorber. Previously I was considering the lower height 3-legged Model T Pacific Bays - the style of which has been proven successful on pure conventional surf rods for decades. That said I've upped the stripper ring size to 30 from 25, so the stripper is both higher and larger than originally contemplated. The progression then is 30-25-20-16-12-12-10. Tip ring size is 10. This will work for the application. Thanks for everyone's comments, very helpful in sorting this design out.