RipHair

Anyone have any pictures of what non-color treated nylon thread wraps look like after using epoxy? I'm just curious to know how subtle the color ends up to help me be able to pick a color for my wrapping.

Fair enough and thanks! One point I forgot to ask about: are winding checks or epoxy ramps 100% required? I didn't include them but I notice most builds have them. Do they have any sort of functional purpose or are they mostly just for aesthetics?

@MickD I think I'll have to order both sizes to be sure, I have no idea what sizes are on my existing rods to be able to compare and I don't have a micrometer to find gauge. I sure hope dry-fitting is secure enough to get a basic feel for ones reel seat/grip setup. For this first build I think I'll prob forgo the titanium since I'm going 4mm anyway and once I have a few builds under my belt I'll reserve the expensive builds for later when I know precisely what I want. Will certainly keep the Forham locking loop in mind, thanks for let me know about it. I think working with cork is out for me. I don't have a drill press or anything similar. Heck I don't even have a cuisinart.

Thanks for reporting on this. Do you think it would do well with weighless worms? Reason I ask is because while this thread is detailing my "light" spinning setup I will also want to be building a similar "light" casting setup so will be looking for something comparable to the SB841-3.

Not sure if I should be replying to such an old there, but this particular blank came on my radar and also curious about this. @mreservices did you end up buying it and can comment? Or anyone else for that matter?

I've updated the list to include a few options. Thanks to feedback I included 2 KBs and 4 KTs. Items in bold are prob what I will use for this build but I'll be ordering the the others since I'll be doing more builds (hopefully this first build won't be a disaster!) Model Component Price Count Ext Blank: SB841-3 Rainshadow SB841-3 $79.69 1 $79.69 Reel Seat #1: KSKSS16/ASH Hidden Thread Hood $6.45 1 $6.45 SKSPSN16/B Threaded Barrel $1.95 1 $1.95 SKSS16/B SK2 Spinning Body $2.79 1 $2.79 Fore grip: BGKS16C Cork Hidden Thread Sleeve for KSKSS16/ASH $5.29 1 $5.29 Rear grip: RGK6016RCW Flared Taper Cork for SKSS16/B $5.82 1 $5.82 Reel Seat #2: VSSM16/B Fuji VSS Spinning Seat Graphite Body $6.65 1 $6.65 Fore grip: FGVSS-16C Cork Contoured Split Grip $6.99 1 $6.99 Rear grip: Not needed Butt: BGK485RC Cork Standard Butt Grip $5.82 1 $5.82 Reduction Guides: Fuji KL Alconite BC Grey 20H - 10H - 5.5M $11.59 1 $11.59 Fuji KL Alconite CC Silver 20H - 10H - 5.5M $11.02 1 $11.02 Running Guides: Fuji KB Alconite BC Grey 4mm $2.39 2 $4.78 Fuji KB Alconite CC Silver 4mm $2.30 2 $4.60 Fuji KT Single Foot Alconite BC Grey 4mm $2.30 4 $9.20 Fuji KT Single Foot SIC Titanium 4mm $7.47 4 $29.88 Fuji KT Single Foot Torzite Titanium 4mm $6.77 4 $27.08 Tip-Top Guide: Fuji KG Titanium Torzite, Ring 4mm, Tube 4.5mm $23.65 1 $23.65 Fuji LG CC Gunmetal SIC Ring 4mm Tube 4.5mm $5.49 1 $5.49 Indeed going to SIC or Torzite really jacks up the price. I think I settled on BC Grey or CC Silver for the KL, KB and KTs. Switching KT from Alconite to Torzite is another $20 which is about the same as going from LG to KG at the tip-top. I couldn't find specific weights on any of these so it's hard to quantify cost benefit of upgrading either KT or KG to titanium. Going all titanium + torzite puts me at a ~$40 premium but since this will be my lightest rod, it might make the most sense to do it here? I also figured out the grip situation thanks to the PDF at anglersresource.net that lays all this stuff out in a much more clear fashion compared to the MudHole and GetBitOutdoors sites. Not sure how anglersresource makes money as I don't see where you can buy anything but they have one of the most professional websites and thank them for their excellent resource. @Lyman X I think I'll follow @MickD's suggestion and use 2 KBs on this light-weight spin outfit but will prob use 2-3 for my casting setup. Is your reasoning to use 3 KBs for casting or heavier spin builds? @MickD that's a sweet rod and I wish I could work with raw cork and not have to buy these off the shelf ones but I think you need a special machine to spin the cork? Wonder what they did before electricity if that's the case... Thanks for the catch on the tip-top size up, I'll put that in. Also, I calculated that I should be able to get away with VSS size 16 which has an ID of 13mm.

Thanks to some of your suggestions on blanks, I ended up settling on a Rainshadow SB841-3 for weightless and up to 1/4oz weight worm use in clear and light cover waters mostly in the NE. I plan on spooling this with 6-8# FC (no leaders of course). Will be paired with a Shimano Stradic FK 2500HGFK spinning reel. @MickD and I did some CCS analysis in the rod-blank specific thread and I think it's agreed this rod should do well. This will be my first ever rod build and my goal is to make this hopefully as light as possible within a reasonable price point. I put together the following table of components I will need to order (blank is already ordered). I'm having trouble deciding on the guides after the reduction train though - do I need Fuji KB and KT? I suppose I need to find a good article or calculator for guides to determine spacing and count and type. I wanted to retain as much lightness as is economically reasonable so went with titanium torzite tip-top. Is it worth using titanium for any of the other guides? Or is there another more reasonable build I should consider? Since I'm using straight FC, I opted for the 4mm guides - never tried micro guides but I figure why not plus they're lighter and a bit smaller for this travel application. I will also order both the SKSS in split grip and VSSM in split grip but I'm having trouble determining which grips and lengths to order. I want to stick with Fuji cork. Any suggestion on SKSS and VSSM configurations? Also is there any difference between VSS and VSSM? Mudhole has only VSSM but GetBitOutdoors has both for the same price. Blank: Rainshadow SB841-3 Reel Seat: SKSS - Graphite/Nylon Nut Spinning Kit Fore grip: ? Rear grip: ? Butt: Fuji® Fighting Butt for SK2 Seats Tip-Top Guide: Fuji KG Titanium Torzite, Ring Size: 4, Tube Size: 4.5 Reduction Guides: Fuji KL-H Alconite 20H - 10H - 5.5M BC Gray Belly Guides: Fuji KB 4mm Alconite BC Gray? Guides: Fuji KT 4mm Alconite Titanium? Flex Coat Epoxy (Bottle Size: 4oz. Low Build kit) Batson Forecast Standard Hook Keepers Small Dark Titanium Smoke Fuji NOCP Poly Thread Size A 001-Black u40 Rod Bond Epoxy 4oz Some other questions before I do the build: 1. Do I need to go one size higher on tip-top tube? 2. Is a BIC lighter fine to get bubbles out of the FC epoxy? 3. If for whatever reason I switch to 12# braid + 10# FC and tie an fg leader, should this be able to get through the 4mm guides? Thanks a lot for all your help and suggestions!

I believe I read somewhere that mentioned the TR844 being a bit too strong to throw 1/4oz and a some people went to the TR843 to throw up to 3/4oz. Do you have any experience with this? Also how do you find the quality of the blank compared to some of your other blanks?

I just measured my St Croix Travel TRC66MHF4, 10 – 20 lb line, 3/8 – 1 oz lure, 5.4 oz physical weight to have an ERN of about 20.3 (IP of 587.5). I didn't have an effective way of measuring angles so left AA for another time. I guess with your measured IP of 525g compared to what I consider to be my "heavy" rod at 587.5g I think you're right in that I shouldn't need to worry about the SB841-3 not being able to handle a weightless worm!

Very informative, thanks. Did you have the specific CCS numbers for the SB841-3 or was it only the SB941-3 (having trouble referencing the context)? I will be picking up a few rolls of pennies today so I can measure my St Croix Triumph 66MH/F-4 to get some CCS figures on my best frame of reference. I take it by "pinned" you mean being able to keep a consistent line tension? I crimp all of my barbs so keeping tension is something I strive for lest I lose fish (which is OK to me, it's all part of the fun). From your tube fishing example, I'm curious to know how you think an AA of 70 and 80 (or 82 in my case) would differ in performance compared to your preferred AA=75 for the same application. It's been many years since I tube fished and I forget how/why rod ratings would need to differ from weighted and unweighted TR, plastics, etc... Also curious why the RX10 table isn't really consistent in their action ratings vs AA figures (both XF rods have lower AA ratings then their F counterparts). Perhaps they gave the ratings before measuring CCS/AA? https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/p2hjw9iy0dco851atbd9a/Eternity-RX10-Full-Specs-for-Release.xls?dl=0&rlkey=9tcno300i96ldj530n6ibpi9q

Hi Lynn, thanks for your recommendation. The 843-3 you suggested made my short list for my MH build. Excited to try it out.

I may have jumped the gun on the SB841-3 as the lure rating is 1/8-3/8oz and I read that a 5" senko is around 3/8oz to start... In your experience, do you think the SB841-3 would do well to cast a 5" weightless senko using 6-8lb FC? If so, how about adding a 1/16-1/8oz bullet weight? Is this something the CCS system can help determine or would you need to go by your own feel for it after you had it in hand or even after building it?

Sure. I remember reading a PDF somewhere on how CCS is calculated and how to interpret it but seemed to have lost the link. Also, I just ordered up both SB843-3 and SB841-3 so should hopefully get them in sometime next week. I figure if I don't like the action I can gift it to someone that doesn't mind it. Also, I calculated that the heaviest lure I throw is 3/4oz (mepps 5 musky killer) so went with the SB843-3. That oar of a rod TIC70MHF3 I don't like has a lure rating of 1/2oz - 1 1/4oz. Only ones left to narrow down are 1 more rod for weightless ~3/8oz rigs and 2-3 more rods for weighted plastics and up to 3/4oz presentations.

Thanks again Mick. I think what you wrote makes a lot of sense and I certainly appreciate your candidness and patience with me while I try to wrap my head around all of this. My only points of reference are really just these Triumphs that are all MF and MHF. I actually do have a St. Croix TIC70MHF3 Tidemaster Inshore Casting 7' 3 PieceTravel Rod that I bought for Muskie fishing but I really don't like that rod at all. It seems heavy, clunky and since I don't throw massive musky lures anyway (just mepps #5 mostly), my Triump 66MHF is much more fun to use. I will see if I can get the CCS numbers from them to hopefully be able to quantify just how much more moderate the Redeye's are. Regarding F vs XF for my application, I think F for my MH would be most prudent for weighed plastics, crankbaits, topwater, general clear water lake use in the North East. For M, sounds to me that both F and XF might fit the bill for mostly lighter presentations - XF having the backbone as you say and also providing a bit more sensitivity.

After speaking to a rep at Phenix, they mentioned the Redeye line is more mod-fast than fast, unsure how this will work for my proposed use of plastics compared to the others that might be rated more fast. I guess that's why CCS numbers are important so one can compare and describe more quantitatively.

It seems there is also Phenix Redeye https://phenixrods.com/product/redeye-trout-fly-blanks/ but their site lists them as trout-fly rods but the specs certainly seem to suggest they should work with casting/spinning setups. These appear to be even lighter than the other 3 I mentioned. Any experience with these guys?

There doesn't seem to be many options when it comes to 3pc travel rods. I've narrowed it down to these and hoping to hear some feedback good and bad especially if any people have used each. Specifically looking at MHF SB843-3 vs AT843-3 and TR844-3. ATX seems to the heaviest by far with the Rainshadow SB843 being the lightest. Someone at mudhole recommended that they liked the sensitivity and look of the ATX over the MHX. @MickD here recommended the Rainshadow. FWIW, I plan on building 2 MF rods for weightless plastics using 8lb FC only. 1 MHF rod with 15lb FC only for weighted plastics and some crankbaits, topwater ,etc..

That's a fine looking rod! Bamboo? Thanks for detailing your build. I'm currently researching guides and your build helps to provide a reference. I haven't seen the "SS" portion being used on mudhole.com but I imagine you are using this https://mudhole.com/products/fuji-k-series-single-foot-spinning-reduction-guide-model-kl-h-alconite ? If it's OK, when ready, I'd like to post my proposed build in this thread for some feedback. I think I've settled on Fuji SK2 for seat and split grip in cork for my casting although not sure how well this will translate to spinning... For guides, still researching the merits of microguides as they look interesting but I've never used them personally.

Thanks for calling this out, I should try to get out of the habit of jotting down notes based on my internal frames of reference to make it more clear for others. On this subject and since I do occasionally have specific need: what would you recommend for working weightless wacky/TR around thicker cover - say if I were to be fishing around Okeechobee where there is thick grass, underwater branches? I've generally used my St Croix Triumph 4pc 6'6 MHF rod which has lure rating at 3/8-3/4oz on the basis alone that it has a bit more backbone than my Triumph 6'6 MF. Also interesting is it seems my 3 Triumph rods are on the order of ~5.5oz; would be quite happy if I'm able to get my final custom build a bit lower!

Rainshadow does look really nice and I found a comparable MHX blank as well. It says it's built with "RX6 standard modulus (33 million) high strain rate graphite" and the MXH TR842-3 "Toray 12K Intermediate modulus Fiber of 45 million modulus with 853 ksi and a Hardened Resin System". Specs-wise, it seems the MHX comes in a bit lighter: TR842-3 @ 1.83oz vs SB841-3 @ 2.2oz. But cost is $115 vs $80. I'm thinking about using either or a mix of the above to build the following rods: 1) 7'0 MHF casting for heavier cover 2) 7'0 MF casting because I want to try to see if I can get away from spinning completely 3) 7'0 MF spinning for weightless, clear-water application

Hi Mick, thanks for the recommendation. I plan on building 2-3 rods to replace my existing St Croix Triumph 6'6 4pc MF MHF travel rods. Them being 4 piece fit in my carry-on luggage but the 28" would have to be carried separately or in my larger checked luggage isn't a blocker. Initially I was in the market for the MegaBass Orochi XX 4pc travel rod but they weren't available all summer. Some recommendations on the more expensive Shimano travel rods (4pc and 5pc) go up to $980 USD each. For the wait, no warranty and at those prices, it got me thinking of trying my hand at building my own during these winter months. Mainly looking for 2-3 rods in M and MH for plastics (weighted and unweighted). I'll keep the SB841-3 in mind while I do more research on the rest of the hw I need and other blanks. Know of any other blank manufacturers that do 3pc in the high end? Any thoughts on St Croix SCV's?

Looking for some good quality 4pc travel rod blanks in the 6'8-7'6' range. I see plenty of 3pc but not many 4pc at all. I take it it's not trivial converting a 1pc blank into 4pcs, adding ferules ,etc?

Thanks for all the responses so far. Curious about this St Croix Avid Trek, it must be new because when I loaded up on St Croix Triumphs I think those were the only travel rods by them. Still really like going with the underdog Megabass and love the look of the Orochi XXX but there are some really nice suggestions here. I guess I need to narrow things down to 2 different rods each at $200-500 instead of 1 rod for $600+. Would be curious to know what to expect from these more expensive rods compared to the Triumph rods i've been using the last 8+ years, was using ugly sticks before that and suffice it to say the Triumphs were a sweet upgrade!

Thanks for pointing this reel out. Here I was thinking the Scorpion DC was the best but this one looks amazing. Does it have to be made in Japan or is the one from the US (basspro) good as well?

Thanks a lot, I managed to find it by model#. I think I should be able to find this in stock if not in Japan then I have a buddy in Singapore that can pick it up. I'll have to read some reviews and see how this differs from Megabass - I actually kind of liked the snake finish on the Orochi XXX, also is 6'10 instead of 6'6 but I'll check out the other models.