wazatherfisherman

Thanks Pete glad you enjoyed it. I still have a small handful of Varmac's and also re-built one of my Blackfish rods with them for the same reason re stoppers- especially since using those small rubber stoppers -I always put two on so you have a visible indicator for previous depth changes- but they could get stuck on small inserts, hence the Varmac's

Hi Mike glad you enjoyed it, the sizing is a bit of a mystery to me because they measure the guides by the outside of the guide ring- not the inside and not including the metal frame! This gives a possible small variation in actual ring sizes, but is used universally by manufacturers. "A" thread being the thinnest grade, provides the neatest bind by far, but can be tricky to run over guide feet on the transition when moving from blank to guide because many guide feet have 'squared-off' ends. When buying guides from some of the large USA companies they come with 'pre-ground feet', where they have ground an angle on the 'toe' of the foot (the leading edge each side that are first contact point for the binding thread) A neat trick to remedy this without filing/grinding the feet yourself is to use clear sellotape to both lock the thread and travel over the foot. It provides a flawless transition to bind over and negates any height differential between guide foot and blank. It's totally invisible also and in a way provides another level of attachment that keeps the foot in place. I'm going to put a photo on in tonight's next chapter showing exactly what I mean. A simple 'binding bench' can be made by taping two long-neck beer bottles together- use two sets of two and rest the rod in the gap! -Works fine and you can drink your 'lathe' once finished!

Following on from part a)- building the butt end, our rod had been left to dry with the butt cap, grips and winch glued on, now for the guides. Guides or 'runners' serve several purposes on fishing rods. They keep the line attached to the rod- yet off the blank, provide a contained area during casting- which aids with accuracy by keeping line-travel uniform and they determine that the blank's action is utilised to it's full potential by following the curve of the taper, as well as providing a contact point for fishing line that is greatly friction-reduced. When I build a rod, after finishing the butt-cap, grips and winch-fitting (reel seat), the next thing I do is put the tip on. Today's rod tips are pretty much all just glue-on types, so are simply glued on. I still use 5 minute Araldite for this purpose as it provides both a great bond quickly and also enables easy removal of the tip whenever it needs replacing. Others may use glues like the hot-melt type, but I've seen some of these fail over the years, so I stick with the Araldite which has never let me down. It bonds quickly and securely and when the tip needs replacing due to either damage or wear (ALL tips wear and 'groove' with constant use) it can be heated with a cigarette lighter or similar and the glue softens, enabling easy replacement by just pulling the tip off with pliers (because it's hot!) The hot-melt type is very handy for instant repairs while out fishing, as the stick form is easily carried, heated and applied, but for initial build I stay with the Araldite. When selecting a tip, obvious choices are simply the exact same type/style as the rest of your guide-train, however, most guides these days have an insert of some type to reduce friction and there can be advantages in selecting a plain type of tip with no insert at all. When building for side-cast reels for example, the insert-less tip can be a good idea due to the fact that for 75%+ of fishing scenarios, there will be a swivel as the closest rigging point between the rod tip and the rest of the rig. I doubt there's any fishers that at some point haven't wound their line a bit close and some part of their rig/lure has come into contact with the tip. Worst case scenario of this can result in the insert being either damaged or popped out and swivels are usually the greatest culprit of causing this. While night-time bait fishing for Bream on the darkened low platforms of the ocean rocks or break-walls, torch light was 'banned' near the water, so if you got snagged or lost a hook, when retrieving your remaining rig (which was basically just the swivel as the hook and free-running sinker were gone) it was common to have the swivel wound into the tip, occasionally resulting in 'tip-pop' where the insert is forced out of the tip frame. This of course can ruin a fishing trip unless you carry a spare tip or two and glue- ("lipstick-type" glue sticks are tiny and invaluable for temporary yet instant repairs). It can't happen with an insert-less tip- just something to keep in mind if building primarily for bait fishing or night-time use. A neat fit is required and most guide/tip manufacturers have a large range of tip sizes with both different sized rings and also different sized pipes (the tubular section that goes on the blank) The general 'rule of thumb' is to select a tip that has a ring size suitable for what you're doing with it, for example: large enough to accommodate winding a wind-on leader, joining-type knot (such as braid-to-leader knot) or even 'stopper knots'/beads easily through it if that is the purpose. In years past it was common practice to do a small 'under-bind' of thread on the blank to create a protective barrier between blank and metal tip, but isn't necessary if you buy a pipe size that fits on snuggly. Measure the size of the pipe length and make sure it's entire length will fit on the blank before applying the glue and then tip, check alignment with the hoods on the reel seat while affixing the tip so they match up. Leave to dry, the 5 minute Araldite has usually well and truly set within about 20 minutes, with no problem of the tip moving while the 'set' glue continues to harden. Now for the guides. In general terms, guides should be placed on a blank in a position so as that your fishing line running through them will follow the curve of the taper without any extreme deviances. Try to imagine your line curving around in as smooth a curve as possible when the rod is under load eg: when fighting a fish. Of course it's not possible to exactly match this curve (or you'd have guides on everywhere!) but the general positioning idea is to have your fishing line curve as to match the rod's curve. This enables a nice even 'shock absorption' effect and utilises the blank's taper to it's maximum- therefore maximising both the rods power and the strength of the fishing line being used. Once, it was generally accepted that only in game fishing were there rods built to match line classes exactly, this gradually changed over the last 40 or 50 years to the point that now pretty much every build has been refined to cater for a 'smaller-range specific' of line class. This information when choosing a blank/rod is used to match up rods to exacting line classes and to utilise the maximum strength of your line. In turn, the relationship between line-curve and rod-curve becomes relative, so guide placement along the length of the rod is important. For building a rod on blanks up to 7ft (2.1m) -for reels other than overhead/baitcaster- you will find that somewhere between 6 and 8 guides will help you achieve the 'line-curve' you're looking for. Guide sizing for general purpose rods should be something like: a) 2 x size 8 and 1 each of 10, 12, 16, 20 with the largest (or 'stripping guide') either a size 25 or 30 -or b) 2 x size 6, then 8, 10 12, 16, 20, 25 The numerical sizing refers to ring diameter and I rarely use guides any smaller than size 6 or 7 which are for light to ultralight use. Size 6 may even be a bit small for winding joining knots through the rod towards the reel. Using 2 of your smallest choice guides instead of just one is useful to keep the line close to the blank as you work from the tip down. General guide sizes are as follows from small to large: 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 16, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50. Smaller and larger sizes are available, but normal range is between 6 and 30- the larger 40's and 50's are for rods over 10ft (3.05 meters) and smaller than 5 for ultralight rods. Without knowing exactly which blanks are being used, a couple of spacing ideas are as follows: 1) For a 'Medium-fast' 7ft spin rod -1 each of sizes 7, 8, 10, 12, 16, 20 and 25 with spacings measured down from the tip ring in mm: 90, 100, 105, 140, 155, 200, 280 2) For a 'Medium' 6ft spin rod- 1 each of sizes 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 25 with spacings: 105, 125, 145, 170, 225 and 250 3) For a 'Fast' 7ft double handed spin rod- 2 x size 8, then 1 each of sizes 10, 12, 16, 20 and 25- the 25 can be substituted with a 30 for reels size 4000 or 5000 4) For a 'Fast-Multi-taper' 8ft built with low-mount for side-cast reel i each of sizes 8, 10, 12, 16, 20, 25 and 40 spacings: 85, 110, 125, 160, 195, 250 and 350mm After tip has been glued on, the best general advice on guide spacing is to put your reel on the rod and tape the guides on with a couple of wraps of masking tape, put line through and put a working curve in the rod. Get someone to hold the rod and view the line-curve from side-on. It's easier to see if any guides need to be moved a little while viewing from side-on. Once you're happy with guide placement, you're ready to bind (or 'wrap' as it's known) the guides on and do the finishing coatings, which we'll cover in the final chapter coming soon.

Hi Larkin they are indeed a spectacular creature especially with all fins extended and they have large interesting eyes. They also 'croak' while in your bag after capture- no hiding them from those who know the noise. Hope it's a good year for them this year, certainly don't hear much about them these days. Get those Mado's out fellas because they don't get the attention from everything else- which become "pest-species" while after Dory!

No worries Mike- any info you need just ask. With Dory it's only about the eating of them! Leatherjacket probably fight harder!

Fantastic Bob- a great variety of fish and a tour of the Harbour, young Harrison (and Nathan) will remember the day for the rest of his life. "Can we go again tomorrow" just says it all

Hi Bob can actually one-up doing that carrying Yellowtail effort. Went to Rose Bay wharf to catch some Yellowtail to take down the cliff at the Mattens below Dover Heights as they'd been almost impossible to get for a couple of weeks off the rocks. The Kings had been thick at the Mattens and the local population of mostly larger Yellowtail had 'vanished' during that time (as had the Pike), getting one of either was a guaranteed strike, so we started at Rose Bay and got about 20 lollipop sized ones and caught a cab to the clifftop as we were still too young to drive and travelled by train/bus from the Western Suburbs. About half a dozen cabs refused to take us with the bucket of water (no wonder!) but finally one guy agreed to take us the 2km to the top provided we nursed the bucket (it did have a lid on it!) Took about twice as long as usual to get down the cliff, then really struggled around the 'boulder walk' before finally getting to the destination to fish. Quickly changed the water in the bucket as the aerator had fallen off the bucket and smashed just 100 meters from our trip base. Same as the day at White Rock, when we went out to the edge to check out the spot, there were more small Yellowtail schooled up than we'd ever seen, sitting like a cloud on the surface! The things you do when you're young P.S Sorry Mike not trying to hijack your thread, I've followed your reports with much interest as I've fished the bay at Iron Cove for over 45years

Hi Mike I'd like a dollar for every time I had to wade to get to White Rock, so as to be there for the peak time (the run out tide). It fishes well this time of year, so maybe try it again, as it would fire after all the rain has pushed the fish down to the lower harbour. Plenty of different species along that stretch and not very 'snaggy' if you're on the biggest ledge- it's sand bottom with a few kelp patches. For the record, I once carried almost half a big white bucket of water with about a dozen small Yellowtail that I caught off the zoo wharf, all the way there via another spot on the inside of Bradleys Head called "Two Rocks" and had to wade waist deep with all the gear by myself. When I finally got to White Rock I had to have a rest before fishing and jumped the crevices out to the main ledge, only to see about 10,000 of the same small Yellowtail schooled up. Could have caught them there! Massive effort, but I had to laugh- never bothered carrying them in there again!

Good effort Mike and interesting reading all your posts

Hi Larkin maybe it was a Dory- they like to sit near pylons, kelp patches and along the fence/net of saltwater baths once they've come in from outside, as they use these positions to assist in camouflage when stalking prey- due to only having a 'short attack range' in regards to speed of movement. They do move that big mouth at lightning speed once prey is in range though. It's always a good idea to burley when using live bait- because bringing baitfish around and getting them excited while feeding, creates activity which in turn attracts all sorts of predators/next steps in the food chain. JD's often appear around Yellowtail schools, waiting for one to stray too close to them. Interestingly, once Yellowtail have been attracted to the burley then a JD or two have arrived, we have still been able to catch the Yellowtail regardless that they are sharing close proximity with the JD. This might indicate that although wary of predation (by staying a couple of meters from the 'floating' JD) the Yellowtail instinctively know they can escape. If Kingfish, Tailor, Bonito etc turn up, often the bait turn more attention to 'survival' rather than food and are a bit harder to catch or flee completely. Just an observation- they all share the environment after all. As for live bait size, like Yowie said they'll eat whatever comes into range, often things as long as they are. I've caught them on foot long Yellowtail set for bigger fish and they've had a few inches of the tail sticking out of their mouths- you wouldn't be able to push the Yellowtail totally within them, but they certainly took them. Personal favourite baits are Mado's and Trumpeters (so use a tiny piece of peeled prawn for baitfish bait rather than the old favourite hamburger mince for Yellowtail). I reckon that JD are well versed with eating these 'less desirable' species because they can probably catch them easier than the speedy Yellowtail and no doubt eat them much of the time. Small Black Spinefoot ('Black Trevally') are also a common stomach contents as are small Reddies/Luderick/Tarwhine. I like a Mado in the 7-8 cm range if I can get one and they are common around wharves, pylons etc. Slack tide either high or low is the best time. When I was in my teens, once Autumn/Winter was upon us, JD could be relied upon to turn up at old favourite Zoo wharf on the slack tides. Don't forget to use light leader and put your 2/0 suicide through the mouth of the bait and out through the front of the eye socket for best practice.- and good luck! they are well worth the effort if you like eating fish, in my opinion Australia's best eating fish

Hi Larkin in good years they appear prior to Easter, often in conjunction with the appearance of Hairtail which have been around now for over a month. The only question would be was the fish hiding next to/passing the pylon or actually feeding off it?- in which case it would most likely be a Fan Belly Leatherjacket as they do have similar colouration, however there's no mistaking the dorsal fin rays of JD's. Worth putting a live something out at slack tide!

Hi Pete I still have Dale Clemens book Custom Rod Thread Art which is a great book on binding. I've written down my recipes in a note pad for easy reference also, so no mucking around with guide spacings any more I thought -until Microwave guides arrived and changed all that! I also used metho as well as solvent but found the latest EVA from the USA doesn't seem to stretch very much, which I suppose is good for longevity but heaps harder to slide over larger diameters. I once slid a new rear grip Hypalon on from the butt so as to avoid taking the runners off a 9108 -it was a mighty stretch but a few minutes in the solvent and it stretched like a rubber band and went on easily, would never attempt that with the new stuff. I bought a bulk-buy of tapered EVA grips a few years ago and although real nice 'solid' quality, I've had a few problems pushing them on over larger diameters and had to ream them out a fair bit for easier application, which is time consuming.

Took me 3hrs to get the guides off a rod last year because the whole blank had the coating all over the entire surface and it was genuinely like glass over the blank and bindings, plus it was graphite. Still use soap for grips (didn't have any solvent lying around to try) Have microwaved successfully also but have had a couple of epic failures with that too!

Hi Mike glad you enjoyed it, there are two more parts of it to come! While on holidays and travelling through Coffs Harbour many years ago, we went to the giant tackle shop for a look and in the 'bargain bin' there was a Traverse X baitcaster with a snapped off tip (only tip itself) for the bargain price of $20! Already owning a spin version of almost the identical rod I 'had' to buy it (and a tip)- nice rods indeed

Hi Noel I remember when coloured Hypalon came out and it was the 'thing' I have some EVA in orange that I got to put on a purple blank- looked too weird so I put black on. My rod lathe is over 20 years old and I wouldn't risk the motor sanding EVA on it now. Still have 3 x JS980's - 1 each spin and o/h and 1 half done to be finished 'one of these days' LOL

There are plenty of advantages in making your own rod other than building it for the exact purpose you want it for. Have you ever bought a rod that although works how you'd expect it to, just doesn't seem to feel 'right' when you hold it? The most likely causes of this can usually be attributed to things like: it's either top or bottom heavy, the grips are too long or short, there aren't enough guides, or the most common of all- the rod has been built at about 90 degrees off it's 'backbone'. What is a backbone? A backbone (also called 'spine') is the invisible 'join-line' of the materials used in rod blank construction and all fibreglass and graphite rods have at least one which is dominant. They are pretty much a straight line that travels the entire length of the blank, from tip to butt. When the blank is put under even a minimal curve or load, the backbone naturally turns to be on the underside or ground-side. This natural turning occurrence remains true for the life of the blank, however, it does not change position from it's original location. Why is this important? There are several reasons this can be important a) the blank will pull naturally to have the backbone underside and if the guides have been placed on the 'side' of the build it will be evident in the feel while holding it as there will always be a 'pull' back to the underside. This is more of a 'comfortability' and alignment feel than a flaw in the functionality of the finished rod. b) it determines which side of the blank the runners go on- if building for spinning reels, centrepins, fly reels or side-cast reels the guides are set up on the underside of the blank- if building for bait-cast, overhead or spin-cast reels that are seated on the 'top' of the rod, the guides are placed on the opposite or top of the blank with the backbone on the underside. c) the rod tip will naturally return/recover from it's casting flex to realign itself with the backbone, if for example the guides have been placed on the 'side' then the tip will recover sideways after casting which can cause 'line-slap' sideways -this might be of minimal concern, however as most casting is done with an 'up-down' trajectory, you will lose some distance as the friction caused by sideways movement is opposed to the 'up-down' movement. d) rods built on the backbone seem (in my opinion!) to retain their shape far longer and also last longer. Although I can't provide any hard evidence of this, trust me, rods built on the correct alignment spine-wise have always lasted longer- this statement is based upon comparison of a couple of 'shelf rods' I owned including a Butterworth 'Super Barra' with spinning reel mount and the same rod blank that I built myself for an Alvey only a couple of months later. The latter used far more often and caught 10 times more fish lasted years longer- the reason? The shelf rod had guides fixed at pretty much 90 degrees to the backbone, putting that extra bit of stress on it against the natural curve. Most shelf rods were not built on the backbone, rather, wherever the mass-producing builder put them, with no regard to checking. As I haven't bought a shelf rod for many years, I can't attest to manufacturers now building on backbones or not- they certainly never used to. As @DerekD said in his great post about buying a new rod, when buying a built rod off the shelf/rack, the best advice is to handle a few carefully before choosing, to ascertain the individual feel of them, as there is often major 'feel' differences between the same rods- possibly attributed to not being built on the backbone. There has always been the argument that a rod will generally 'realign' itself after a reel has been seated in it's winch fitting. This is true to an extent, provided that the guides aren't affixed at too radical an angle, because the weight of the reel will negate the alignment somewhat. A simple test of gently bending the rod prior to reel being attached will provide the evidence by feel- try it! The backbone is not a moveable thing, but the 'realignment' with reel is about weight and not changing the invisible backbone. BUILDING OK, technical stuff aside, it really isn't that difficult to build yourself a nice rod, so let's go through the steps to do so. What you'll need: Blank, Winch fitting (reel seat), 2 x Grips- or 3 for split-but, Butt Cap, Guides and Tip, Marking Pen/pencil, 25mm wide Masking Tape, Clear thin Sellotape about 10mm wide, Guide Binding thread, Rod Filler (thread sealer), 2 part rod epoxy, one sided razor blade, scissors, 5c coin, Araldite (24hr 2 part) small mixing containers for epoxy, piece of harder plastic/cardboard for mixing glue, 2 x small brushes for epoxy, a couple of small mixing sticks. The backbone is very easy to locate on a blank, simply put the butt against a solid surface at about 90 degrees (similar to 'fishing-position') and gently bend the tip over with one hand while holding the rod by placing your other hand almost flat on the underside, the pressure of the bend will 'roll' the blank to have the backbone on the underside. Mark it with either a non-permanent marker or a couple of thin strips of masking tape so you know where it is for later. After choosing a blank and finding and marking the backbone, you need to decide where you want the reel to sit, this will determine what grip configuration options are available to you and provide an idea of guide positioning. Things to consider with reel location and grips are: a) reel type you are intending to use most frequently/or always use b) is the rod to be used as a 'single-handed' or 'double-handed' rod casting wise? If single handed the distance between reel seat and butt of rod will be quite short- usually under 35cm. If double handed generally between 35-55cm. By placing your hands where they are comfortable in the position you like to cast from determines where/how long this needs to be. c) do you want a single-piece rear grip or split configuration? For rods being continually placed in rod holders (eg for 'set' bait fishing) using a single piece rear grip provides complete cushioning of the blank and more protection from possible rod holder damage/marking, whereas for rods used primarily for casting (eg lure fishing) a split grip might be a better option due to slightly reduced weight (with less actual grip material) and no real use for an entire length grip. d) blank's taper and power eg if medium-fast taper, your guide position in relation to the point that is the most powerful/where the blank ceases bending e) you may just prefer the look/feel/weight/ of one style over the other. Once you've decided on what configuration you want and the components you've decided on, lay everything out beside the blank to get a 'visual' of what it will look like once finished. This is the time to make any decisions about possible changes or alterations. If you're happy with where your reel will sit and the position/s of the grips either side of it you are almost right to begin assembly. If building a split rear grip, a piece of masking tape around the blank where each grip begins and ends is a good visual aid and makes for easy reference when preparing to glue your parts on this end. As you're always building from butt end towards tip, the first thing placed is the end cap/butt cap. Most end caps go over the outside of the blank (there are some that fit on the inside but for descriptive purposes we're using an 'outside' type) so in order for a great fit try to buy a cap that is only marginally larger internal diameter than the external diameter of the blank. Personally, I like to have at least a few revolutions of masking tape on the blank under the cap to act as a buffer between the cap and blank because this is the area that is constantly in use- either at rest or when out fishing, this is the ground contact point. Use the masking tape to build the blank up to have the cap fit snugly- in some instances you may need to trim the width of the masking tape to match the fit. Using equal parts of the Araldite mixed to a 'creamy' consistency, coat the tape all over and push the cap on. Next thing is to glue the bottom grip on. As the most common grip material these days is EVA it's necessary to buy grips that have only marginally smaller internal diameters than the blank, there is a small amount of stretch in EVA allowing for a tight fit (which is ideal) but it isn't as pliable as the old Hypalon we used to use. For a snug fit with Hypalon we used to immerse the grips in solvent for a minute or two prior to sliding them onto the glue covered section of blank and this made them really stretchy for a few minutes before they regained their solidity, this process didn't affect the Araldite either and you got a tight bond. If your grip is hard to slide on the last few inches then a small amount of lubrication such as soapy water or detergent can be used to help slide. Some builders maintain that the Araldite itself will be sufficient as a 'sliding aid' and there are a few other tricks like soaking the grips in really hot water (even microwaving them!) that work, but measuring properly when buying components is the best practice. Make sure to lightly coat the entire section of blank that the grip will sit on so no part of it will be able to move once the glue has set. By pre-marking with masking tape you know where all the grips and winch-fitting are going to sit. This is important because if you have had to pressure/compress your grip to slide it into position, when it slowly 'decompresses' it may have moved slightly from where you want it to be. The masking tape 'markers' indicate this accurately. Next is the winch: the most common (and economical) type of winch is the graphite type and they are available in a large range of internal diameter sizes. When looking at winch internal diameters, best practice is to choose a size which is slightly smaller external diameter than your grips, but with enough room internally to leave space for some packing for it to sit on. For packing, the easiest and most economical way is to use the masking tape. Starting at the grip end, wrap a ring of masking tape neatly over itself and continue until you can only just slide the end of the winch over the ring (which should be at least 2mm or more in thickness) then slide the winch back off and repeat the process so you have a bed of about 4 rings of tape that you can slide the winch over. There's no need to do a solid bed of tape, if you measure out the distance that four rings of tape will need, there will be space in between, as most winches are about 125-140mm long and four rings of your 25mm tape equal 100mm. Just space the tape fairly evenly WITHOUT going even a tiny bit past the length of your winch -or you'll have to muck around cutting any protruding tape off so you can fit the next grip snug against the winch. Coat the tape rings and their edges with Araldite and prepare to slide the winch on, it should go on really firmly but will slide over the glue. BEFORE pushing the winch on CHECK THE MARKINGS YOU MADE FOR THE BACKBONE! If the build is for an overhead type reel- the winch needs to sit on the top of the backbone with hoods up on top, if for other types of reel then the backbone is aligned for the bottom and the hoods (that the reel foot sits in) face directly down. Once the winch has been aligned with the backbone and pushed into place on the glued tape, excess glue will be pushed into the cavities between tape rings. No more need to be concerned about the backbone now as the winch hoods will indicate where it is. One thing to keep in mind when choosing winch location is which side of the tightening nut do you want the reel to sit on? If you have the nut-thread at the top then obviously your reel sits just above the bottom grip, if the other way around, the reel sits just below the foregrip. In years past there was a trend to have the thread on the underside because the natural pressure of 'gravity' from top downwards helped maintain the lock of the nut and often winches were supplied with 'double locking nuts', however, with todays winches, this is less of a consideration due to well grooved and attached hoods and better tightness tolerances. After the winch is on, apply the same procedure as earlier to put the foregrip on- Araldite the entire surface the grip will sit on and immediately remove any excess that accumulates after pushing the grip down. A good idea is to place a couple of rings of tape on the winch end to prevent any soiling from the Araldite then remove it and dispose of the tape and excess glue. Leave the rod for about 24 hours while the glue hardens properly. PART 3 G Examples of different grip configurations from top down: Full length double-handed, long single-handed, split grip overhead mount with winding check trim, double-handed spinning reel mount with screw thread above reel- has bottom spacer tube and top of split is a bind-on trim, same style with thread below reel and bound trim, double-handed with lower spacer tube reinforcement, single handed split butt with spacer tube, bottom one I haven't decided yet but probably short butt. These are just some examples of different looking butt styles, they are really up to the individual's choice- the beauty of building yourself gives a huge variety of options, from basic like the top two or with 'rod-bling' bits to complement the build. PART 3 -GUIDES, PLACEMENT, WRAPPING and FINISHING to follow shortly

Hi Noel I have either sourced mine via FBook or bought from the USA where there are still heaps of 'glass blanks. Also have an address in the UK for glass fly/Luderick blanks in 1,2 or 3 pieces

Hi Bluefin I have 1 each of those blanks and all the components still to build. Love both those and there must be heaps of both of them sitting in peoples collections/garages as they were both very popular due to their versatility

Thanks Pete I should have asked you in the first place! Makes sense now

Hi Blackfish yes there was and also another type but I don't have any as used alternatives. All the ones pictured I still have at least one set of.

Hi Frank be nice to catch up- I can't do much at the moment because I have to keep the leg elevated, but hopefully not for much longer. Would love to do a Hairtail trip, they have been around for a few weeks already, so could be a huge year for them- they are even getting them west of the Harbour Bridge at the moment. Still getting them in Newcastle Harbour albeit not big ones. Yes to keeping PE out of fishing dialogue! Too 'general' and gives no genuine line strength, just approximates- maybe for super-heavy stuff but don't see the point of using 120-150lb line to catch fish as you'd need to be 'superman' to get genuine utilisation out of it!

Hi Neil glad you enjoyed the post, as for the 'PE rating' I don't know why manufacturers try and go that way, particularly because different PE ratings have varying breaking strains- which in my opinion tells us nothing! Some years back they tried a similar idea- you might remember they bandied around the idea of using Newtons for strength ratings?- Didn't catch on either! I think it's a flow-on from overseas marketing and try to ignore it! KG's or LB's fit my thinking, regardless I'm behind the times and to me these PE ratings are a bit too general. Maybe there's a place for them in regard to super heavy line classes associated with braid, but when I was actively club fishing nobody dreamt of using any heavier line than 50lb and that was for live bait fishing off the rocks- 30lb mono was deemed heavy tackle! As for not knowing things, it's just stuff that seems (or is!) meaningless. I always enjoy your posts as not only are they informative and entertaining, they are visually stimulating to me. Part of the reason I love our sport so much is because it's an 'ever-expanding science' with infinite variables. I wrote much of the post while in hospital and am glad to be home again amongst my fishing stuff! Regards mate Waza PS- There's a bit more to come in this post but I ran out of space and can't sit at the computer for too long each time yet

Fishing rods have changed greatly over the years, from Steel or Bamboo to Rangoon Cane to split Cane, then solid fibreglass to hollow glass, on to Graphite, Carbon fibre or combinations of several of these materials. The newer technology also includes the strengthening of these materials with things like 'nano particles'. Never has there been so much choice. The quality of "off the rack" rods has improved dramatically, with the major manufacturers like Shimano, Daiwa etc producing better and better qualities of ready made products, covering many popular species, with varying price ranges from budget gear to top of the range stuff. Like most things you buy, the higher-end of the product range you go the bigger the price tag and most of the time, a better quality end product. Go back some years and although there were some good ranges of 'shelf' rods, it was generally accepted that if you wanted a 'special' or high end rod you had to think carefully whether to buy 'off the shelf' or consider a custom build. Custom build? Either built by one of many smaller rod builders- that were often affiliated with tackle shops- or built by home builders/the fisher themselves. By getting a 'custom' rod you would have the specifications that you wanted- albeit at a higher price normally than most shelf rods, however by building yourself, it was generally accepted that you'd be saving money and ending up with what you wanted at a lower cost, so plenty of fishers had a go at building their own rod. Due to shelf rods being higher quality these days, most fishers it would seem, can fill their fishing rod needs by simply grabbing a ready made rod from the tackle stores and with many of the bigger manufacturers selling different ranges price-wise, they can find what they need with relative ease. The stickers on most rods now provide line strength ratings along with cast weight ranges, assisting the buyer with this information takes a lot of the guess work out of selecting what you want, but regardless there are heaps of great shelf rods, many fishing styles still aren't totally catered for. Since the production of better quality spinning reels, with far superior gearing, body strengths and drag systems, spinning reels have taken over a great percentage of the market and are most fishers 'go-to' type reels. Add to this, the most popular fishing styles these days are mostly lure-related and usually involve the use of 'super-lines' like braid, gel-spun etc- which are perfectly suited to this type of reel- and the modern spin reels are the market that 'shelf rods' are centred around. There are of course rods built for overhead reels, with both bait-cast and larger sizes for jigging and light game fishing, but in general, rod production in the main is focused towards spinning reels. Few rods nowadays are built for side-cast reels, which sadly seem have lost favour with younger fishers, largely in part because they are not suited to the new super lines. Specialist Luderick rods also don't seem to be produced in many varieties, nor land based game rods or distance casting rods built for overhead reels and high speed spinning- these outfits to a great extent have also been transitioned to spin reels. So we have a few categories that have 'gaps in the product range indeed. Luderick rods, rods for side-cast reels and some 'specialist' rods for spinning reels are still needed, so a home/custom build is still required in many cases. As stated previously, by building yourself a rod you would expect to save money, but sadly these days with cheap labour sources overseas and so many building components available via the internet, there just aren't the savings there once were and often home building might end up costing considerably more than a shelf model. A tackle rep was telling me a few years ago, that they were having rods made on imported American blanks, that had their grips and winch fittings assembled in Australia then had guides added and bound overseas before being returned to Australia as finished rods and regardless of the transport/freight charges it was still cheaper than doing the complete build here because the guides, binding and finishing coatings could be sourced so cheaply 'outside'. With the advent of hollow fibreglass enabling lighter, stronger rods at very competitive pricing, the bigger Aussie companies like Butterworth (who were eventually taken over by Snyder) produced a large range of quality rod blanks which covered pretty much all the popular fishing styles. They adopted an easy to understand labelling system for their blanks (and rods) which comprised of a two or three letter prefix denoting the blank's action or 'taper' (the actual shape the blank would become under load)., then it's 'strength'-known generally as 'wraps' (of fibreglass used in construction) followed by the length in inches and sometimes followed by another letter. For example 'MT7144L' would translate to 'Multi-taper' 7 wraps of glass, 144 inches (12ft) the 'L' following might suggest 'light tip' or another 'FMT72L' would mean Fast-multi-taper, 72 inches (6ft) L- light tip. Some other examples of letter prefixes were 'BF'-Blackfish (Luderick), 'JS'- Jig-stick, 'SS'-Surf spin, 'RT'-Roller tip'(game fishing blanks usually). This labelling system was pretty easy to learn and most tackle shops became adept at being able to make recommendations by simply looking at the numbers printed on the last few inches of the blank's butt-end. Selecting the type of taper was largely dependant on the fishing style the rod was intended for, with different tapers suited to different target species/styles. Some examples of different tapers would be: 'slow taper'- which were rods/blanks that would gradually bend throughout their entire length in a quite uniform curve, (usually designed for Luderick or fly rods for Trout). These slow actioned rods were primarily designed as a 'shock absorber' through and through, with just slightly more power in the last third/quarter of the blank and adept for species that were more 'lunge-fighters' than long runners. The action of the blank's bend is the factor which tires the fish out and the majority of slow taper rods were constructed for use with relatively light line. Dedicated Squid or 'Egi' rods are another example. At the other end of the scale you have 'fast taper' or 'extra fast taper' which only really bend for about the first quarter of the rod, before stiffening up along the rest of their length. These rods have very quick 'response' times (which is the recovery time from being bent) eg- during casting or striking a fish- back to their normal straight position, these provide both accurate casting and heavy lifting capabilities as well as very direct response- a good feature for fishing deep water offshore. The middle of the taper range have actions like 'medium taper' or 'multi-taper', with medium relating to the bend generally extending to about half to two thirds of the length and multi often having a slightly less uniform curve with a softer first third transitioning a bit more power in the second third of the length. Common uses for medium taper are 'regulation' game rods and distance casting long rods. Multi taper as the name implies have a combination of soft tip section, medium mid section and more powerful butt section. These have probably been the most versatile and well used longer blanks on the Australian market and used to be the largest range, with blanks designed from Luderick and Bream rods, right up to heavyweight Groper and Mulloway rods. After selecting your taper/action, the next consideration is how powerful the blank needed to be, with fibreglass being constructed of a number of fibre sheets known as 'wraps', with the more wraps the thicker the walls and the more robust each blank would be. An example would be a Luderick rod that might have as few as 3 or 4 wraps against say a rod suited to casting a larger sinker and a bait like a whole Pilchard- which would have 6, 7 or even 8 wraps of 'glass. A real heavyweight rod for Kingfish or Mulloway might have 9 wraps, as would a blank suited for deep water jigging. Generally, the more wraps, the heavier in weight the rod would be. When blank selection had been made, choosing the other components for your build was relatively easy, as there were limited choices in grip materials, winch fittings and guides- also known as 'runners'. Grip choice for the main was either Cork or Hypalon (the precursor to todays EVA), if you chose Hypalon it was pretty cheap, long lasting, comfortable to hold and came in a large range of lengths and diameters. Choosing Cork there were normally 3 options: pre-formed and drilled slide-on tube types (which included various shaped styles), Cork tape with adhesive backing and also individual cork rings that came pre-drilled in different thicknesses and wall diameters. The Cork rings were normally about 1 to 2 inches wide and were glued together after being slid onto the blank and provided both a comfortable feel as well as lightness- many fishers still like the feel of Cork as a rod grip and the beauty of using the rings was that you could have really exacting sized grips as opposed to the pre made type which generally came in only a limited amount of tube lengths. Winch fittings were available in chromed Brass, pressed Aluminium and eventually Graphite and were pretty much 'tube' shaped barring a small range brought out by Fuji that were lightweight bind-on's which became very popular with those making Luderick rods as they were only about 1/4 of the weight of other types. Guides have changed constantly over the years, from hard chrome to stainless steel and often incorporated guide inserts to assist with minimising friction from hard running fish. During the 70's-80's the most popular and often used guides were Fuji brand built on stainless steel frames around Aluminium-oxide inserts. At the time they were the best option for minimising friction, with only roller guides on game fishing rods deemed better performance-wise. Guide 'evolution' left row from top down: Hardloy insert heavy duty guide, Gold plated AFTCO roller, Black/gold AFTCO roller, lighter weight budget roller, high-end Alutecnos roller, one legged super lightweight AFTCO light-game roller Top row left to right- polished stainless steel 'Varmac' with reinforced leg, porcelain insert brass (pretty old one this model), Fuji 'colour guide' with porcelain insert seated in plastic shock ring, the next 3 are all polished Agate stone inserts in different coloured Agate- all highly polished and hard surfaced for 'ultimate' smoothness (so the advertising said!) Second row left to right- Abulon guide marketed by ABU with colour insert, Fuji 'hard' guide with black insert, next 2 are budget aluminium oxide inserts in chromed brass frames, Fuji black oxide, then a Tungsten ringed guide for using with either wire line or lead-core lines. Third row- Fuji Aluminium oxide guide in luminous shock-ring (there are literally thousands of rods built using these guides), Fuji high bridged Aluminium oxide ring, then a silicone carbide high end guide in both double and single leg configurations, single leg hardloy and the latest in American single leg colour guides without insert. Bottom 2 are both American Tackle Co types, first one with stainless insert, second with oxide insert. New space-age materials have found their way into the rod guide market, with materials like "Torzite", Titanium Carbide, Silicone Carbide and Alconite gracing quality builds with the intention of making the use of super lines friction free, while remaining 'cut-proof' and non marking, but for most fishers using sub 10kg line, the extra expense of many of these probably just isn't warranted performance-wise unless you're building specifically for giant tropical species, Marlin or large Tuna. Of course if you want to treat yourself to the high-end range of components or you'd like a rod or two that have the top of the range gear, by all means spend more because as stated earlier, you get what you pay for. In years past, if you wanted to decorate your build there weren't that many options, the most common way was to do a decorative bind using the same general colour scheme as used to bind the guides on. Diamond or Chevron patterns were carefully bound on and although they don't help with the fish catching, they certainly add a dimension of professionalism and attractiveness to the finished product. Today there are heaps of options to 'bling-up' a build. Coloured grips, guides, and even winch fittings are available along with coloured spacer rings, winding checks and spacer tubes (which make good resting points for 'fragile' areas). Decorative binding has evolved to elaborate designs including weaving ornamental shapes and patterns, often doing these sort of decorations takes far longer than to build the rest of the rod, but gives a unique and often 'one-of' individuality to the finished rod. Rod 'Bling' above including spacer tubes, coloured butt caps in different configurations, ring spacers and various winding checks on the right. Although there are some minor advantages of this type of decoration, their primary use is for looks rather than functionality. Two more examples of 'bling'- top one is a Diamond wrap in cotton followed by a genuine Abalone shell decoration. Note the difference in looks with the Abalone shell ending by being covered by a 'winding check' (the small tapered gold ring) affixed at the end of the black grip as opposed to the Diamond going into the grip without winding check (which looks better!) The Diamond pattern I bound on this rod an FMT84 (my Hairtail rod) about 1998 and the Abalone about 2001 on a Super Barra blank (roughly a FMT84 but slightly more powerful) built as a double-handed spinning rod. They're both old, however functional-wise, still in great working order and both have original guides. Examples of winch styles: top left is alloy with spaces cut out for weight reduction, then a 'Titanium finish' trigger grip for a baitcaster, Left to Right below- 2 different sized Fuji bind-on types which are super lightweight, Graphite type, Full metal game winch, original chromed brass with double locking nuts, modern American Graphite, pressed Aluminium-super light, quality-made Alloy with cushioned seat and double lock nuts, Graphite trigger. This is just an example of what you can use. I hope this inspires someone to have a build

Done

Nice feed there teddybear well done!