DRIFTERS.... float rod question...

[kemper]

After building my float rod up, although it is beautiful I just feel like the first guide is WAY too close to the grip. I followed a guide spacing chart, and thought nothing of it at the time but now that I look at it and hold it completely finished it juts feels like that first guide is too close to where my reel is going to sit.

 

I guess my question is this... A) Is this a really bad thing? I dont know why but I have this vision of the rod snapping between the first guide and the reel..

 

and I know it would throw off the spacing but is there a thinner I could use to remove the guides from the first section of the rod and re-space them? (this option only applies if its bad that the first guide is too close)

 

For reference the first guide is 30" from the butt of the rod, which now that I think of it does seem way too close.

 

Damn spacing guide.

[MJL]

For my guide spacing on float rods, I usually start at 3-4 inches from the tip and add an inch for each guide along the way down. For example I usually start with

 

Tip, 3”, 7”, 12”, 18”, etc as a rough guide spacing

 

I’ll temporarily tape the guides in place, run a line through the guides and flex the rod to see if I get any flat spots. Sometimes I have to move guides around a bit. When I first started building rods, I was told to have the butt guide around 30 inches from the reel for float rods (perhaps less for shorter rods). Doubt yours will break with the current guide spacing although casting efficiency might be decreased.

 

Stripping off epoxy is one of my least favourite things to do. I give the finish a quick shot of heat from a heat-gun or hair dryer and take an exacto knife to the thread. Make sure to cut on top of the guide foot to prevent damage to the blank. Try and grab a loose end of the thread and unravel it. Clean up the residue with a combination of light heat, denatured alcohol and a finger nail. Some people use razor blades to scrape off the residue from the blank but you have to be very careful doing so. Angling Specialties sells an epoxy solvent that is more potent than denatured alcohol but less harsh than acetone…I do not recommend using acetone.

 

Hope this helps

[kemper]

Thanks MJL, another thing that I was thinking was that it seems close because most of the off the shelf float rods skimp on guides and actually have one less than they should.

 

Ill let a chromer take me for a rip, see how it feels and go from there.

[jdmls]

Don't butcher it up, I would of put one their purposely.....I hate it when on those windy days, when the wind blows your line off the face of the reel and you constantly have to keep puting it back in hte centre of the reel...I actually had another guide added to my St.Croix in between the top of the cork and the first guide. It makes it so much better, and didn't affect the casting at all...I got the idea from a guy who was making some custom float rods and selling them about 8-9 years ago at the fishing show...I remember asking him why he put the guide so close to the cork, and then he explained about the wind, and it all made sense...

[kemper]

never even thought about that, but sounds like it makes sense.

 

Im not too worried about casting anyways, most of the trib fishing I do is less than a 10 yard cast, and when I fish bigger tribs I bring the 13' 6" float rod anyways

 

thanks guys

[cplummer]

guide spacing depends on the grip and fore grip your using.. and of course reel seat

There are quite a few different spacing you can use and use the one that suits your handle length so that the first guide is not too close or you'll be dealing with *line slap* where the line keeps hitting the blank......

[jace]

too close or too far would also depend mostly on the size of the reel on the rod (and its spool angle) in relation to the size of the guide that you're thinking is too close.