Thank you to all the members of this site who have answered (and answered and answered…) the numerous, mine included, questions and posts concerning Spiral-Wrapped rods. Even though you are all every convincing, it took me a while before giving it a go. Now that I have experienced the difference, all the future salt conventionals I wrap, at least for myself, will be spiral.
But they are virtually nonexistent out here in the South West. In fact, I have never seen one on the numerous party boat trips I have been on nor in any anglers arsenals I have met. The only one I have ever seen out here was on the rack of a predominate tackle store and when I inquired about it, the owner stated it had sat there for over three years! Every time I take an Acid Wrapped (as all the deckhands out here refer to them) rod on a party boat, a minimum of one of them notices and comments. But when I ask, none can explain why no one out here uses them.
I have only caught one decent sized fish, a 25lb yellow tail at Catalina Is., with one of my spiral wrapped rods, but that is when the attributes really begin to be noticed, especially minimizing rod torque. I am not certain the difference would be as noticeable or even required for the trout I encounter in the Eastern Sierra though.
I was and am so pleased with benefits of the spiral wrap that I even accepted an invitation to go bottom rock fishing with some buddies to the Channel Islands near Santa Barbara to see how my spiral warpped rod worked in a different venue. It is no secret I prefer the excitement of sport, top fishing rather than bottom fishing where cranking 20oz of lead and lethargic fish 300 ft up from the bottom is the norm. While I am certain the leverage of the bent rod combined with the guides placed on the bottom reduced some of the rod torque, the torque created by cranking the reel ( even a narrow Diawa Saltist LD20) dulled the benefits gained by the spiral wrap. Even though I must have looked a bit silly, pumping the rod, as when top fishing, afforded relief from my arthritic grip on the rod. While admittedly dramatizing a bit, there is more to rod torque than the guides being on the wrong (top)side. Any solutions other than power reels? I would employ someone to take me behind the barn and shoot me before using a power reel.
~ >*))))))><{

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

You will find that the greater the load on the rod, the more stable it will become. The weight and position of large reels certainly contributes to rod instability, but again, as the load on the rod increases (hopefully from a large fish) it will become more and more stable, at some point even stabilizing large reels and cranking torque.

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Tom,
As always, thank you for your reply. All your comments and opinions are based from a wealth of information and experience which is invaluable to me. I feel safe in assuming everyone else agrees as well.
Maybe I need to build a wimpier rod which will put a full 90*bend in it while only cranking up 15lb of lead and bulged-eye fish. Nah, I don’t do enough bottom fishing to justify the effort. I guess I’ll just have to man-up and maybe have an extra beer to help numb the arthritic pain.
On that last bottom trip, there was one guy who was very eager to show off his new power reel which he was obviously very proud of. I was embarrassed for him. But then, I was embarrassed having to pump my rod for that 8lb ling cod.
Has anyone ever thought of a semi paddle shaped foregrip or such to reduce or help control the tendency of the rod to twist? Oh no, here I go over thinking again.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

You can make your own shaped grip - something along the lines of a triangle, that reduce the hand effort required to resist rod torque. We've covered this in some of our articles on grip ergonomics. A bit of work with a round grip held against a belt sander (use a belt sander held upside down in a vise) on three sides should give you a rough idea.

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Mark, Since you're from the left coast you might remember rail plates. They are rubber coated flat plates that bolted to the rod above the fore grip. I used one for rock cod fishing on party boats with a Sabre rod, Penn 6/0 reel and 80 lb dacron line. We used sinkers up to 5 lbs and fished up to 600' deep. Rested on the rail they kept the rod from twisting and saved your body from lifting all the weight. The reel also had extended handles with a bicycle grip.

Alex,
Thank you for the reply and informative information which is appreciated. Along with spiral wrapped rods, I have never seen a rail plate as you described.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.