Rich G

The only disadvantages I see to fishing two piece rods are finding good quality manufactured two piece rods. I have been building my own custom rods a few years now and have went to building two piece rods only. I used to think they where junk, I could not keep the pieces together. After learning a great deal from web sites like Rodbuilding .org I found that I was assembling them wrong. You want to bayonet lock the pieces together. I still check the sections during the day if there is a great deal of temperature change from the time I started fishing to say mid day. I bayonet lock again at mid day and have never had anymore problems with the two piece rods coming apart. ( I use U-40 ferrule Lube twice a year ) I have two piece rods that are more sensitive than one piece rods, its just how they are built and what components are used in the builds. Advantages to a good two piece rod could be, portability, storage, less mishaps from transporting them, easier and cheaper to ship if you want to sell a rod to try a different model. Two piece rods are more expensive to manufacture ( I think ), but a good two piece rod can be made to be as lite and as sensitive as a one piece rod. I did not fish a one piece rod last year and was happy not to have too. Have a great day, Rich.

Hi ghost and islandbass, thank you for your compliments. ghost, I do not make them for sale at the moment. I have seen and been reading that ReelMech hear at this site builds custom fishing rods and I think you would have one heck of a rod if he built one for you. Or you could try rodbuilding.org. Custom rod builders from all over the united states and world for that matter, visit that web site regularly. islandbass, I think you will really enjoy making your own fishing rod and learning first hand what works great and does not work so well. The fun part is building, testing and trying to build better and better tools. Have a great day, Rich.

Hi harshman and islandbass, thank you for your compliments. islandbass, I think for the time being you would have to make those grips yourself like I did. I do not know of anyone at the moment that makes them for sale retail. You could check in at rodbuilding.org from time to time and see if anyone there has them for sale. I expect a lot of good things ahead for custom rod builders with the new materials being used and the rod building components that are just becoming available in the USA. Have a great day, Rich.

Hi Rayraff, Thank you for your compliment. I agree I like the second grip the best also. When I set the Carbon Fiber sleeve over the foam core it is a pretty much a one shot deal. I decided to paint and clear the grips that the carbon weave did not go on the way I wanted it to. Thank you again for your compliment, have a great day, Rich.

Hi islandbass, Thank you for your compliment. I made those handles with the help of a couple articles that where published in RodMaker Magazine. I give a little explanation what it took on another thread about a couple carbon fiber handles. Thank you again for your compliment, have a great day, Rich.

Hi ls1jay, flechero, and Bucketmouth Fishing. Thank you for your compliments. Bucketmouth Fishing, You had asked how they are made. They start out as expanding foam poured into core and turned to shape on a lath. Then the foam shapes are routed to fit the reel seat and trigger piece. They are then laminated over with a carbon fiber sleeve and cleared with spar urethane. This type grip is a cooperative endeavor that Tom Kirkman of RodMaker Magizine, rodbuilding.org , and Andy Dear at Lamar Fishing came up with. Tom and Andy had written a article in his rod building magazine about making Carbon Fiber Grips. I am a happy RodMaker Magazine subscriber and decided to give this type of grip a try. Rod building is as addictive as fishing and more fun in the winter. Have a great day, Rich.

Hi Bass n Bows, I did not want to hijack this thread, but thank you for your compliment. Have a great day, Rich.

Hi J-FOWL, thank you for your compliment. They should stand up to wear and tear pretty well, carbon fiber is some pretty tough stuff. The handles are cleared with outdoor spar urethane and should hold up well outdoors with a little care. Thanks again for your compliment, have a great day, Rich.

Hi, I thought I would post a photo of a couple carbon fiber handle rods I am building. The spinning rod is almost done, just need to apply the rod and line specs between the grips. I just have the handle glued on the casting rod. Spinning rod is a Rainshadow ISB822.5 , 6'10", 6'11" now, MXF drop shot rod. Casting rod is a St. Croix old Avid 3C68MXF , it is a inch longer also with the added balance chamber in the rear grip piece. I think these rods may be my best results yet. Light weight handles and the use of micro guides. They make my previous rods seem like dinosaurs. Have a great day, Rich.

Hi, The main advantage I can think of with split grips is it gives you a place to put the rod and line rating without adding a bunch of epoxy in the front of your grip. Any weight in front of a grip is not good. I go through big name tackle stores and marvel at all the pretty glitter and decals that goes sometimes almost a foot up the blank, which intern robs the blank from any performance stand point, it also makes a rod that would never balance properly. To me all that glitters is not gold. Fishing rods are tools, as such should be built to make the blank perform as best it can. A good blank can be a great fishing rod, A great blank can be a bad fishing rod if its main goal was to catch a buyer and not a fish. I think it comes down to what rods you have used to be able to tell the difference. Nothing wrong with split grips if they serve a purpose, which they do. I inserted a picture of a couple rods I am working on. A spinning rod and a casting rod. Both have carbon fiber over foam handles. I need to apply a decal with rod and line ratings on both rods, but not in front of the handle. If you think a fishing rod is a tool, split grips make sense. Have a great day, Rich.

Hi Gone_phishin, You could be right that a Symetre is just a good as a Stradic, I had never fished a Symetre long enough to make a comparison. Hi roadwarrior, I can give a example of when you would want adjust your drag while fishing. I use mostly light line and smaller baits. A lot of times there is not a lot of cover I need to keep a fish out of, then again if I hook into something large and there is cover that the fish is running for, I just tighten the drag a little at a time until I can control the fish or the line breaks. If the fish was to make it to cover the light line would break anyway, so why not try and slow the fish down before it gets the the structure. I have never had a line snap by adjusting the drag to stop a fish that is fifty or sixty yards out and running for a fallen tree. If I had the drag tight to begin with when the fish was a lot closer there would not have been enough line out to stretch and stop the fish, the line would just snap and the fish would be gone with my lure. I like the rear Shimano rear drag, it has saved my bacon many times with light line. Have a great day, Rich.

Hi iceintheveins, you are right, it works great for fishing around, in, over, through cover. Hi low_budget_hooker, Actually it does not change the action of a Fluke. There are a couple things I forgot to mention. You can use three holes with base connecting slits. If you burn the holes through at different angles you can easily make your baits do what ever you want them to do. Such as dart under boat docks, or jump up and down out of the water. After you use these caps you will find there is really nothing you can not make your bait do. Another thing I forgot to mention is when this cap is on the line you do not have to remove it to change baits, just un-clip the hook shake from the capture hole above the base and let the cap slide up the line. Then just rig another bait and slide the cap over the bait until you can push the hook shank back into the capture hole at the base. It is really a lot simpler than it it sounds. I think if fisherman try this rig and see exactly what it does for there bait, it may just become as common as the hook itself. This rig makes a great slow falling weedless dig head and many, many other applications. I do hope to hear back from some fisherman after they give this rig a try, it adds more to the function of soft plastics than I would like to try and type out. Give it a shot and let me hear the good or bad. I have fished this rig for over twenty years and never could imagine fishing plastics without it. I hope those who give it a try like it as much as I do. Have a great day, Rich.

Hi, Just wanted to post another photo of some baits rigged up. You can use clear pen caps if you find the caps that have a clear plastic that does not react to your plastic baits, they are out there. Have a great day, Rich.

Hi, I posted this rigging method for plastic baits under tackle making and though that maybe this would be a better location to post it. If you want to know how to make it just look it up under tackle making. I think if you try it you will be hooked. Very simple to make and I think the photos are pretty self explanatory. I call the rig Bait Armor. I hope it was OK to repost it. Have a great day, Rich.

Hi Everyone, What is so bad with the rear drag ? I think it works great when fishing light line and you hook into a monster, just flip it to the left a little ways and your good to go. No fumbling around trying to turn the little dial on the front of the reel. Of course, I also like the quick fire on the Spirex and Solstace. When night fishing with lures the quick fire makes locating the line to your finger a piece of cake. I recently purchased a Stradic FI to test it out. I needed a real that was smoother because I make my own fishing rods and recently went to carbon fiber handles. I have a bunch of spinning reels and I could feel the gears turning in every make and model through the handle. I have to say the Stradic seems much better, just hope it stays that way. Also since the spool half turn to center itself never bother me at all with the Quick fire reels, I wish they would make a Stradic Rear Drag with Quick fire but with Stradic quality. I think myself and a lot of other people who night fish would buy one in a minute. Have a great day, Rich.