Creaking rod under load

[Daniel Rybak]

Hi All

Great forum, this is my first post.

I purchased a couple of Popper rods for an upcoming trip. I'm hearing a creaking in the rod blank coming from around the guide seats.

Is this normal? I'm assuming the creaking will settle once the rod has been worn in

Cheers

[Christoffer Hansen]

Hey Daniel,
Very normal mate, the epoxy will crack around the guides wen u start loading it up. Spray them with some form of lubricant once this happens, stops them rusting under the bindings.

[Daniel Rybak]

Figured so. Cheers

I have a two week trip coming up and wanted to make sure everything is in good nick.

[Brian J Richardson]

Cracking epoxy around guide feet is due to poor construction.   A good popping rod should have a least 3 layers of thread.  A base layer to protect the blank from the guide feet and two top layers to secure the guide.  Each layer should be coated with finish prior to the next layer being applied for maximum seal of the threads and to ensure the tunnels are filled with finish.  The tunnels are the gap between the sides of the guide feet and the over layer of thread.  Cracking of epoxy usually occurs at the ends of the guide feet as the guide moves differently than the blank.  The best way to avoid cracking is to grind down the ends to the feet before wrapping the guide.  The tapered guide end will not push the threads apart under stress as much as compared to feet that are not ground.  The ground portion of the guide should be "painted" with permanent marker prior to wrapping to keep from rusting.

[Ben Lovelace]

Hey Brian what king of paint do you use on your rod to keep it from cracking and how many layers do you use? Sorry dont mean to hijack this thread.

[Brian J Richardson]

Amr:  The tunnel exists only under the wraps.  So, if you are referring to outside the wrap then that is not the tunnel.  Tunnels should always be full with finish.  If not saltwater gets in and attacks the guides = rust.

Ben:  I don't paint blanks unless it's a repair of an old rod.  Then I use an epoxy paint from a spray can.  The finish on a new blank is too nice to paint and it just adds weight and is not as nice as the original finish unless professionally done.

[Daniel Rybak]

Ok

My rods are in the mid $400 range. I got a couple of Venoms, a PE5 and a PE8. I have good experience with this brand in their other ranges and jig rods. These are my first couple of rods for this style of fishing so didn't want to lash out too much. I'd prefer to learn from mistakes and lead up to a high end Jap rod knowing my requirements and know how to use it.

Some prices of the Jap rods are out of this world, but thats what we all work for huh?

Cheers

[joe sciberras]

HI DANIEL,
ON LAST YEARS TRIP ON NOMAD,FISHING ON BACK OF THE MOTHER SHIP, FISING FOR SHARKS,USING SHIMANO JIGWREX HOOKED UP ON BRONZE WHALER AND A HORRID SOUND CAME OUT OF WINCH SEAT ,AT TIME THOUGHT I BROKE IT IN TWO BUT IS STILL WORKING TO THIS VERY DAY

[Luke Wyrsta]

HI DANIEL,
ON LAST YEARS TRIP ON NOMAD,FISHING ON BACK OF THE MOTHER SHIP, FISING FOR SHARKS,USING SHIMANO JIGWREX HOOKED UP ON BRONZE WHALER AND A HORRID SOUND CAME OUT OF WINCH SEAT ,AT TIME THOUGHT I BROKE IT IN TWO BUT IS STILL WORKING TO THIS VERY DAY

No more caps please.