1 piece rods - 8'10"

[bmac]

Thanks Mike.

[numbskull]

5 hours ago, puppet said:

 

Guide alignment matters, as does equipment longevity. 

 

 

Just for interest sake I'll put this out there.

 

Some (Arden for one) advocate twisting the top three sections of a 4 piece fly rod out to 30-45 degrees when fishing it.   Doing so makes the rod shoot line better on the backcast and haul better on the forward cast by reducing blank-line contact during those periods of the cast.  With heavy saltwater lines I don't notice much difference but when trying to extend line during a backcast with a 4wt I find the improvement is quite noticeable.  Granted extending line with a 4wt is hardly a big priority, but it indicates the principle is still active with the heavier lines.  I do fool with this when fishing saltwater stuff, although I struggle with how it looks and with worries about potential problems from torsion.

 

[formula1]

I’ve had a lot of experience with the Hardy 8’10” rods, from the prototype Sintrx rods to the current iterations.  To be honest, I personally don’t feel much of a difference that for me makes the inconvenience worth the extra perceived feel of a 1 piece.  I’ve discussed this with Andy Mill (one of the main testers for Hardy saltwater rods)  and he feels the multi piece rods are stiffer than their 1 piece counterparts and that’s fine with me, I like stiffer rods.  I agree if you’re careless putting them together a multi piece rod can have issues but I’ve tackled fish up to 850 lb on multipiece rods and the rods were never the weak point in fighting them.

 

I’ve cast the single and multi piece Hardy rods back to back and to me the multi piece rods felt livelier probably because they were stiffer.  In that regard I preferred the multi piece.  And yes I do have an 8’10” Hardy in 12 wt.  It almost never gets fished…

[Fergal]

24 mins ago, formula1 said:

I’ve had a lot of experience with the Hardy 8’10” rods, from the prototype Sintrx rods to the current iterations.  To be honest, I personally don’t feel much of a difference that for me makes the inconvenience worth the extra perceived feel of a 1 piece.  I’ve discussed this with Andy Mill (one of the main testers for Hardy saltwater rods)  and he feels the multi piece rods are stiffer than their 1 piece counterparts and that’s fine with me, I like stiffer rods.  I agree if you’re careless putting them together a multi piece rod can have issues but I’ve tackled fish up to 850 lb on multipiece rods and the rods were never the weak point in fighting them.

 

I’ve cast the single and multi piece Hardy rods back to back and to me the multi piece rods felt livelier probably because they were stiffer.  In that regard I preferred the multi piece.  And yes I do have an 8’10” Hardy in 12 wt.  It almost never gets fished…

Thanks for your response!

[surfrat59]

4 hours ago, Mike Oliver said:

Heh Surf rat what a fabulous reply. I have not been able to cast my 1321M lami for about 8 years after I stopped going  to M. I have an American friend who stores two of them for.me. I built them on the decks of the rental houses. There is the 10 foot blank. I should find a way to get that to you so you can build it and fish it. I will try and arrange that for you. My friend lives near Fire Island  Inlet. Great guy you will.instantly like him when you meet him..The GSB is such an iconic blank. I love it to bits. Mike

Be happy to build it for you Mike, only stipulation you have to try and get back here some day and we'll take it to Montauk for a proper maiden voyage !

[Fergal]

2 hours ago, numbskull said:

 

Just for interest sake I'll put this out there.

 

Some (Arden for one) advocate twisting the top three sections of a 4 piece fly rod out to 30-45 degrees when fishing it.   Doing so makes the rod shoot line better on the backcast and haul better on the forward cast by reducing blank-line contact during those periods of the cast.  With heavy saltwater lines I don't notice much difference but when trying to extend line during a backcast with a 4wt I find the improvement is quite noticeable.  Granted extending line with a 4wt is hardly a big priority, but it indicates the principle is still active with the heavier lines.  I do fool with this when fishing saltwater stuff, although I struggle with how it looks and with worries about potential problems from torsion.

 

Spiral wrapped fly rod lol. 

[Mike Oliver]

1 hour ago, surfrat59 said:

Be happy to build it for you Mike, only stipulation you have to try and get back here some day and we'll take it to Montauk for a proper maiden voyage !

No.no. The blank is for you. I have had it for about ten years  It needs a proper home. I just need to.put.you together with my friend . Mike C who lives on LI . I already have two made up 1321M.  .Mike

[DAQ]

Another benefit of not having ferrules to loosen up is when fishing in the dark. When I am fishing in daylight I can see when sections get out of alignment and loose, not so much during the night. Not a problem for a lot of people since a lot of fly fishermen are afraid of the dark.

 

I also have two NRX+ T2S rods, an 8 and a 10, these are strange configurations with two sections, one stubby section near the grip and a long tip section. I also like these at night over 4  piece because it is easy to check the single ferrule for tightness in the dark.

[Mike Oliver]

F1  hear you on the stiffness.issue. This is not so difficult to address on a one piece rod though as the designer dials in however

much stiffness they want. Mike 

[puppet]

13 hours ago, Fergal said:

Spiral wrapped fly rod lol. 

@numbskullwhen I read your response, I also thought it sounded like this. I guess it would definitely require one to create a special set of alignment dots.  I never was sure if spiral wrapped guides was an innovation or a gimmick on conventional rods.  I probably would not be a candidate to try it unless the manufacturer designed a rod this way.  That said, I have found my own segments helixed on a occasion so maybe I am Mr Magooing the same result of the universe is trying to tell me something and I am too stubborn to listen.

 

@FergalMost of my rod joins are in decent shape but on a couple occasions I have had them separate on sand beaches and when reconnecting I felt the dreaded sand grinding on the ferrule, even though I thought they were cleaned out.  One of my rods is in rough shape because of this and also shows some chipping on the finish on the ferrules. It is now my beater rod earmarked for rock hopping and wetsuiting.

 

Some of this is definitely user error, some of it may also be that most of my rods are in the cheaper spectrum and don't fit as nicely as the higher end ones I have.  Either way the damage caused will probably shorten the life of the rod.  If it were a one piece, I would not have these issues or need to be concerned with maintaining joins.

 

There us something liberating about the grab and go aspect of the one piece spinning rods I own.  Don't need to check seating or alignment over a session... or ever.

[Mike Oliver]

15 hours ago, numbskull said:

 

Just for interest sake I'll put this out there.

 

Some (Arden for one) advocate twisting the top three sections of a 4 piece fly rod out to 30-45 degrees when fishing it.   Doing so makes the rod shoot line better on the backcast and haul better on the forward cast by reducing blank-line contact during those periods of the cast.  With heavy saltwater lines I don't notice much difference but when trying to extend line during a backcast with a 4wt I find the improvement is quite noticeable.  Granted extending line with a 4wt is hardly a big priority, but it indicates the principle is still active with the heavier lines.  I do fool with this when fishing saltwater stuff, although I struggle with how it looks and with worries about potential problems from torsion.

 

Another solution to the fly line grabbing the rod shaft could be single leg guides of Fuji design. Distance casters when using rods built with snake guides will turn the rod through 90 degrees when double hauling so the fly line in theory rubs on the snake wire. So much for spining a fly rod then LOL. 
When really going for distance with my fast 6 wt I get line grab if I don’t cast what we call Chinese style. One day snakes guides will be things of the past but I suspect not before it’s not worth fishing anymore. Who would buy a guide that was part metal part carbon no one but that’s what you get with a prehistoric snake guide. 
 

mike

 

[iklu]

@Mike Oliver what do you mean by single-leg guides of Fuji design? Just standard wire, or ceramic-lined?

 

And interesting to hear about snake guides and line grab on the rod blank... Sage seems to design rods with very small-diameter snake guides, but that only increases contact with the carbon/epoxy of the blank on the forward stroke.

 

Akos of Stickman only uses single-foot running guides on his rods, even the heavier ones. He uses very fine wire, however, which is an interesting choice on 9 and 10wts. 

Edited August 24 by iklu

[Mike Oliver]

Iklu

 

I use Fuji Single leg Titanium frames with Torzite centres. This is the best gram and ceramic  currently available. The smallest size runing guide I use on a  9 or 10 wt would be a 8.

 

ok fine wire is good for weight reduction but will wear more quickly. I would not fit std or fine wire guides to any of my rods. Snakes never. I will never wear out a ceramic guide.

 

It is possible to fit too small a guide for the fly lines likely to pass up through them. Worse when a fly line has been figured of eighted a lot.

 

[slip n slide]

On 8/22/2023 at 5:08 PM, Fergal said:

Does anyone have any experience with them? AFAIK, there's only one production rod (Hardy Marksman Z) & one blank (Northfork Composites PSI). Both are 106". Rumor is that Sage is working on one as well but who knows when/if that will be available.

 

I've had several discussions with my Florida guide and he swears by them. Also, I know some other guys down there that can fish anything that they want but fish the 1pc Hardy's. I have a PSI blank on order, I have no idea when I'll actually get it tho. Hopefully in the next few weeks. If so I can get it built for albie season, if not it will be a winter project and it may tag along to Key West in February. I may pick up a Hardy thru my guide but that won't be until February as well.

 

They don't keep a backlog of product,you order it,they roll it.Usually takes around 3 wks.

Great job on packing the blank for shipping;tank proof case...unlike the thin(and easily crushed) cardboard triangle Sage uses.

I like their graphite rods a lot,built several,very sensitive and responsive.The blank is unfinished/unpolished/unpainted and you can sand it to your liking.Or not.

Their glass rods are "meh" but so is most glass...best in heavier line weights.

I'm not sure about the actual specs on length,on the list it shows 106" but when you click on the specs it says it's a 9' rod....?

[pnwsurf]

On 8/24/2023 at 11:53 AM, Mike Oliver said:

Iklu

 

I use Fuji Single leg Titanium frames with Torzite centres. This is the best gram and ceramic  currently available. The smallest size runing guide I use on a  9 or 10 wt would be a 8.

 

ok fine wire is good for weight reduction but will wear more quickly. I would not fit std or fine wire guides to any of my rods. Snakes never. I will never wear out a ceramic guide.

 

It is possible to fit too small a guide for the fly lines likely to pass up through them. Worse when a fly line has been figured of eighted a lot.

 

Hey @Mike Oliver, I'm assuming you're talking about the fuji KT single foot running guides in titanium/torzite?  Are you putting Kw or LKW stripping guides in front of the size 10-8 runners?

 

Sorry for the sidetrack of the thread, but been wondering about this for a while now....