Going to try my hand at a spiral wrap on an 8 ft medium (15-30#'s) salt water rod. Looking from the butt end, does the spiral go clockwise or counter clockwise? None of the literature I have read says which way to go.

What is the group consensus on the number of guides to go from 0 to 180, not counting the butt guide or the first guide in the 180 position?

I do it in the same direction as your reel handle, the reel than protects the spiralling guides.

I think it does not matter which way, I built mine on the same side as the handle so I can lay the rod down on the other side easier.

2 transition guides

You may want the butt guide not at 0 but around +or- 5 to get the line to lay in the middle of the reel while retrieving.

Salt water rods are not often layed down like a bass rod would be. My spiral always goes to the left for a right handed angler to make laying the line onto the reel easier but I really do not think that it matters very much.

I agree I put my spiral to the left on a right cranking reel. Seems easier for me to reach and control the line this way.

Mel Shimizu Wrote:
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> Salt water rods are not often layed down like a
> bass rod would be. My spiral always goes to the
> left for a right handed angler to make laying the
> line onto the reel easier but I really do not
> think that it matters very much.

I also do mine to the left for a right hand person and to the right for a lefty. The objective is to keep the line off the rod while using smaller guides (micro), to me the path of the rod moving over the shoulder and slightly more to the left is forcing the line away from the blank better. But with that lame explanation I really don't think it is all that important but rather something you are comfortable with. When I set my rod and reel on the ground (only if I have to) I rest it on the handle in a somewhat upright position where the flat side of the reel will not be laid flat and exposed to dirt or sand on the ground so the wrap to the left is perfect for a right hand reel.

One thing to do before you wrap the guides is to have the reel on -- pull out line and put weight on - Then with pressure on the rod reel line in - The idea is to have the line tend to fill the center - or close - on the reel So you don't get build-up on one side of the reel spool

Bill - willierods.com

By the way, often when doing a spiral wrap, the butt or first guide needs to be set at an angle other than 0.

I have found that even with a reel with a line centering guide that if I have the butt guide set at 0 degrees with respect to the reel, that the line ends up stacking on one side of the reel.

If during testing, but before wrapping, I will move the butt guide to an angle other than 0 - so that the line ends up stacking in the center, rather than on one side of the other. Test and if you find that line stacking is an issue, move the guide to be at an angle of either + or - 5 degrees and retest. If with you rotate the guide clockwise, the stacking gets worse, then rotate the guide counterclockwise. But, with a bit of testing and first guide rotation, you can find the location where the line stacks evenly across the reel.

On the most of my spiral builds I find that I need to rotate the butt guide to 5 degrees in the direction of the spiral.
But, test to be sure.

Good luck

If you are not using a level-wind reel, I would recommend you direct the spiral opposite the reel handle. This will make it easier for you to level the line onto the reel...you'll have more "push" & less "pull" with your thumb.

Gentlemen,
Thank you for your tips and info. I think I know enough now to be dangerous.