freon1112

very impressive to get a bait that normally would move forward to flip on its side, thanks for sharing.

Mark, sorry I didnt see your answer until now, thanks for the info though, that rocks.

then I glue the inside of the top part of the rod and glue up the exposed blank and slide the two parts together. at this point, you can fish this rod once the glue sets up, I would wait for at least 24 hours. I like to hide the split, so I wrap the same color thread as they have on the eyes. you start the thread and then wrap backwards on it to lock it in (http://www.mudhole.com/Beginners/Step-7) finish off the wrap (it should look like this) then you use flex coat epoxy to cover it and harden it up, you can get it at Mudhole. vv this is how it looks finished

When you have snapped a rod, they are not that hard to fix. You have to have a sacrificial rod though, I tend to keep all old/broken rods for this reason. You must first clean the eyes off of the old rod. Next you need to slide the sacrifical piece (blank) into the bigger (bottom) part of the rod and mark it. then you will slide the top part down onto the blank until it is snug with the bottom part and it should be a tight fit. Next, you will use a dremel tool with a cutting head on it to cut the blank to the size you want then you will set up to glue the rod together you must glue the bottom first, I use a tool to put glue inside of the rod and then slide the blank inside of the rod and use a coat hanger to push it through the glue and pull it snug.

After learning about how to build one on this site, I did improve the set up to hold the lure parts. I just bent some SS wire for one end and then used the small bungie cords for the other, still using the hooks on both ends. this way I can twist the lures to work on them. These are also the first lures that I built, thanks to the info on this site.

Matt, while I dont agree with your logic, I do think that each of us finds what works for us. I do have two spiral wrapped rods that I use for trolling and I have wrapped unconventional rods because they work for me. with that being said, I dont think either of us are going to make much of an impact on the other, but one day, I will probably try wrapping one just because you are so passionate about them. Good luck with yours and I hope you slay some fat fish on them. James,

when you talk about "back flushing" do you mean that you are putting water in your bowl and spraying it out until all of the paint is out of the bowl and gun Mark? thanks,

so then I must be missing something, it you turn a casting rod into a spinning rod and you want to use less eyelets, that doesnt make a lot of sense in my book. If you followed that theory, why not just wrap a spinning rod and use three eyelets? the reason you use more eyelets is so that you get less line slap on the blank and by twisting line around anything, you are adding more friction and increasing your ability to have your line slap your rod blank even more. I do believe that you are doing well with your rod, but I would have a very difficult time believing that if all things were equal, that you can outcast a rod with more eyelets and in line then with a spiral wrap and less eyelets. Using a flyrod with not enough eyelets will quickly prove this. Just my two cents worth. In any case NU, I hope you wrap the rod of your dreams.

you can use flex coat from mudhole.com, I use it on rods and baits and it works great, the biggest issue you will have is that you will need to turn it the whole time that it is drying so it wont all gather on one side or drip off, you can use envirotex or diamond two part finish, but you will have the same problem, what you will end up with though is a tough and thick finish (it would take two hundred coats of clear to equal this). good luck

Do not wrap a rod that you plan on casting with a spiral wrap, this is very good for trolling, but will add a lot of drag to a casting rod. look at rodbuilding.com and mudhole.com and you will be a rod building genius in no time, they have full pictorials and videos that show you how to properly wrap a rod and have rod size and spacing so that you get them close. I like to add more eyes so that it keeps the line off of the blank and makes the lure go farther, just my opinion. I am certainly not a guru on rods, but I have built a few "good ones" here is an example

I taught myself off of the free stuff they have on the net and by going to rodguild.com, I did buy two books, one by Billy vavona and the other by dale clemens. Most of the stuff is very easy to learn yourself. You can even use box's and books to help you wrap threads but having a rod wrapper is the bomb