Stripper guide location for a HUGE spinning reel

[tally07]

Fellas -

 

I am making my first rod and have run into a snag. Grips and reel seat are on and look good. When I test cast my rod with the guides taped on, there is no guide placement pattern that keeps the line from slapping with the big reel that I'm using. I need a healthy dose of input. Thanks in advance for your help -- here's the specifics:

 

The blank is 9' 2" OAL. I am gunning to make a big spinning reel setup for blue water sight casting and live baiting/flatline (mahi, tuna, sailfish, marlin) and this rod will probablly catch some big tarpon as well, although it will be pretty unfair. I am trying a Fin norr "Offshore" 95 as the reel - it's a huge beast, heavy, but the line capacity and drag capability are exactly what I need. When I test cast the rod with a Penn 704 (spool diam 2.7" as opposed to 3.4" for the Fin Nor) it's beautiful - smooth, no slap, casts a mile. That's with the stripper at ~28" from the spool. When I use the big reel, the line slaps either toward the top of the gap between the stripper and second guide or right at the second guide - regardless of where I place the first guide (while adjusting the remaining guides also). I am using and will always use braid.

 

The lip of the reel spool is 23" from the butt and I have placed the stripper guide from 26-33" up from that (distances more or less than than that don't look or feel right especially when you bow up the rod). The rest of the guides are placed by generally following the guidelines I got from an article by Al Goldberg on this forum. I am using stainless Perfection guides, the first one is 2.6" diam (#70??) and the second is 1.75" diam. - this is the local style and I like the durability. I have no other reason for choosing them other than I have friends with rods similar to what I am making -- all use them in these sizes and the rods are great but those are with Penn 706's, ~2.75" diam.

 

Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong - or if it is possible to correctly match a reel of this size at all with a rod this size? My feeling at this point is that maybe if the stripper guide was farther from the rod(taller) that would be moving in the right direction, but maybe not. If I have to, I could scale the reel down to something smaller - but that's not really the point of this venture. Thanks again to anyone who has input. I'll keep browsing here and scratching my head.....

[asbury guy]

Tell me all the guides you are using and maybe a pic of the set up. Sometimes on a short rod if you use those big guides the line doesn't get a chance to recover from the cast and keeps bouncing. What type of line you are chuckin can also cause it.

[Ralph78]

First of all those perfection wire guides won't last long fishing braid. The problem is that HUGE stripper guide. You could try a fuji Bsvlg 40h and I'm sure you could find a spot where you won't get slap.

[tally07]

Thanks Ralph and Asbury -

 

Asbury, I'll work on a photo. I am using 65# powerpro. The stripper is 28" from the reel face and is 2.7" diam. The other guides are (interval/diam, both in inches) +13.8/1.75, +12.25/1.33, +11,1.02, +9/.73, +7.5/0.5, tip +6.5,0.25 (its a fuji 10-9 SiC).

 

Ralph, reading this forum, I see that really huge guides are "out". I can say that here in the florida panhandle, they are still "in". But we have plenty of crackers in this part of the world and maybe things are slow to change - I gather that you all have thought about this stuff quite a bit, so I'll defer to your expertise -- I just want something that will work. Do you have an approximate diameter for the fuji Bsvlg 40h (mudhole calls it a BHVLG 40HH, same thing?) - I am wondering if I can use the guides I have (i.e remove the current stripper and respace remaining guides) to do a test run and see if one of the smaller ones as a stripper helps - I understand that they will be a different height than the fuji H guides.

 

Comments? Thanks guys.

[Ralph78]

Tally your right about the Bhvlg thing I wrote my last post before I had my coffee this morning The inside diameter is around 30-mm and the height from foot to outside of the ring is 80-mm and foot to inside the ring closest to the blank is around 45-mm. I would go 40H,BSVLG 20,16, 12 to the tip. And as it goes for what's in and out, IT"S NOT FOR FASION IT'S FOR FUNCTION!!!! I would ALWAYS set up a rod to function at it's best and to hell with anyone who looks at you funny for having the right guides on your rod.

[tally07]

Yeah, I hear you Raplh. I'm not for fashion either, but I have seen the big wire guides work nicely - maybe they are just not the thing for the present situation. Are you saying go with a total of 5 guides (including top), or do you mean, do that progression and have several #12 guides at the end? How many guides total to span the ~88" distance from reel face to tip? I think I'll buy the series you suggest and give it a go - I am in too deep now and I really think this reel is going to be great once a big boy is on.

 

All comments are greatly appreciated.

[Ralph78]

I have never built on that blank so I can't say for sure how many guides it's gonna take. But use that progression and add 12's to the tip as needed.

[Saltheart]

A 40 HH is the BHVLG not the BSVLG.

 

For a shorter rod with a big reel , I would try the BHVLG 40 HH.

[Shiv]

Tally:

 

How bad of a "slap" can you get from braided line? As compared to mono?

 

I am guessing you are losing some distance in your estimation.

 

That 95 is one BIG reel. Congrats on wanting to cast that bad boy.

[tally07]

Shiv- The slap is of course nothing compared to what it would be with mono and since I'm not surf fishing, it's not such a big deal as long as the lure or bait is bigger than a few ounces. The case that I am concerned about is where you might want to sail a smaller bait, a threadfin herring for example, into a wad of tuna that are blowing up on bait. In that case, you have fish that you don't want to get very close to and a fairly light bait - the slap will be limiting. I know that is a contrived case, but when you are building your own rod, it would be nice to get it perfect.

 

I'm still in limbo on this one.

 

Yep, that reel is big - not the thing to be throwing all day, but a serious ally when you need it!

[primaz]

I really enjoy my VS250 it is a mere 22 oz, factory rates line at 350 yards of 20lb but I have 500 yards of Cuda mono on it. They also have a new VS275 that is rated for 425 lbs of 25 and is 24 oz. Both of those are close to half the weight of the Finor which is 42oz.

[tally07]

Yep. Half the weight, six fold more expensive. Maybe when I win the lottery.

[Shiv]

I really enjoy my VS250 it is a mere 22 oz, factory rates line at 350 yards of 20lb but I have 500 yards of Cuda mono on it. They also have a new VS275 that is rated for 425 lbs of 25 and is 24 oz. Both of those are close to half the weight of the Finor which is 42oz.

 

 

Yeah, but can it hold 600 yds of 100lb braid. That still blows me away about the Fin-Nor 95 Offshore. 600yds I tell ya

[Shiv]

I really enjoy my VS250 it is a mere 22 oz, factory rates line at 350 yards of 20lb but I have 500 yards of Cuda mono on it. They also have a new VS275 that is rated for 425 lbs of 25 and is 24 oz. Both of those are close to half the weight of the Finor which is 42oz.

 

 

Yeah, but can it hold 600 yds of 100lb braid. That still blows me away about the Fin-Nor 95 Offshore. 600yds I tell ya

[EBHarvey]

line slaps either toward the top of the gap between the stripper and second guide or right at the second guide

 

Use more guides! Seriously, if its slapping after the stripper you need to use a smaller stripper to choke it more, move the 2nd guide closer, or both, probably both