4 PIECES

[smallie]

When you put your fly rod together, do you just eye the guides, so they are straight?

 

[SBecker]

Yes, but mine have little white dots that I line up to get them straight.

 

[Pontus]

My 4 piece rod has white dots to help align. You could add these with a fine tip white out thing. But when I twist my two piece rod together, I can feel it seat in perfectly when its straight because the ferrules are just slightly ovular. Try to do it by feel a couple time, putting it in at a 45 degree angle or so and twisting until you feel it nest in there nicely. It's a very distinct feeling on mine, and it always lines up perfectly.

 

[WildTigerTrout]

I don't have any with alignment dots on any of my flyrods. I just use my calculating eyeball.LOL.

 

[WildTigerTrout]

Pontus, FYI I recommend that you not twist the ferrules. Try to put the two pieces together without twisting. You could damage the rod by twisting.

 

[JackM]

Sight through the guides.

 

[gfen]

"They say" that graphite is seated with a slight twist, whereas you never twist bamboo, et al, with a spigot ferrule, but go straight in.

Also, wax the ferrules on your graphtie rod. It does help.

I don't htink alignment dots are a make-or-break option, but I'm certainly going to prefer the dotted rods over the non. Its not so much aligning eyes, but if the butt section has no guide, its a bit of a bear.

FWIW, in a multi piece rod, I usually do the bottom two sections, then the top two, then join them up. its easier than trying to align the last two pieces on a 10' rod from the butt.

 

[MKern]

My rods don't have any dots so I line-up by eye.

I just want to point out that if the guides don't line up perfectly it's not going to make a huge difference in casting ability. You could put the top section on backwards and it would still cast from bank to bank on most PA trout streams.

 

[teedee]

I always use ferrule wax and assemble with a slight twist (graphite) as most recommend. For me it's just as easy to sight down the rod to align the guides but on most small streams it's not that critical.

 

[wingshot]

A method I've used for a while after getting a tip from an old trout stream veteran is when using graphite rod sections, apply a little "nose wax" to the male ends of the rod sections. What he meant by "nose wax" is the oil that seems to collect around the sides of one's nose. Simply rub your finger along the side of your nose and apply said finger to rod section. I've never had a connection stick after that on stream lesson.

Jeff

 

[Pontus]

wingshot, i do the same thing. just rub it a little on my nose, and I never have any problems.

 

[joereese]

Just remember you guys, on the OUTSIDE of the nose!
Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[JackM]

As a Mediterranean I further warn against pulling up too much nose oil, which may cause the sections to easily slip out of place.

 

[pcray1231]

The nose oil thing works for too much head on beer. Always was told to never wax or oil a ferrule. Makes dirt stick to it, which then wear's out the ferrule more quickly.

Yeah, I always thought graphite was intended to seat with a bit of a twist. And bamboo, never twist, just straight in, hands together. When taking apart bamboo, straight out, hands apart.

 

[jdaddy]

St Croix expressly advises to use wax and a twisting motion when setting and removing the ferrule. In fact St Croix includes a tub of wax along with those instructions printed on the tub with each rod.

 

[JackM]

Here's the thing, I think with twisting the rod pieces-- there is twisting and then there is twisting.

If you jam the pieces together tightly, then twist into postition, I do think you risk weakening the graphite at the overlap section. On the other hand, if you seat the pieces with very light pressure, stopping at the least resistence, then twist into position with slight forward (insertion) pressure, you get a tight seat with little direct trauma to the overlap area. If you were to align the sections perfectly upon insertion, you could do a direct linear seating, but you would need to stop at the right point, otherwise your ferrule areas would overlap improperly and the junction would be constantly stressed during execution of casts and playing fish.

The use of a slight twist to align, with minimal insertion pressure, allows one to "feel" the tightness of the seating of the two sections.

It is a simple thing to wipe the ferules gently to clear any abrasives that may get on the junction areas.

JDaddy, do you have a link, or could you post the entire waxing procedure recommended by St. Croix?

 

[osprey]

A little "nose wax" and a gentle twist is how my teachers showed me how to do it , even with bamboo , go easy though.

 

[afishinado]

JackM wrote:
Here's the thing, I think with twisting the rod pieces-- there is twisting and then there is twisting.

If you jam the pieces together tightly, then twist into postition, I do think you risk weakening the graphite at the overlap section. On the other hand, if you seat the pieces with very light pressure, stopping at the least resistence, then twist into position with slight forward (insertion) pressure, you get a tight seat with little direct trauma to the overlap area. If you were to align the sections perfectly upon insertion, you could do a direct linear seating, but you would need to stop at the right point, otherwise your ferrule areas would overlap improperly and the junction would be constantly stressed during execution of casts and playing fish.

The use of a slight twist to align, with minimal insertion pressure, allows one to "feel" the tightness of the seating of the two sections.

It is a simple thing to wipe the ferules gently to clear any abrasives that may get on the junction areas.

JDaddy, do you have a link, or could you post the entire waxing procedure recommended by St. Croix?

Wow, to me waxing rod ferrules is a no-brainer for me and is recommended by many rod mfg:

Sage wax instructions:
http://www.sageflyfish.com/Resources/Getting+Started/Rod+Care+Tips/

St. Croix wax instructions:
http://www.stcroixrods.com/content/owner_manuals

Orvis wax info – wax given to each customer with every rod purchase:
http://www.orvis.com/store/product.aspx?pf_id=9G97

Been doing it for many years with great results. It helps cure both ends of the spectrum with ferrule problems: it stops them from sticking together or coming apart.

As long as you don’t disassemble your rod and drag it around in the mud or sand before assembling it, you should be fine….lol.

 

[pcray1231]

Well, I've seen it both ways, for instance, Winston's FAQ says:

Should I use wax on my ferrules?
There is no right or wrong answer to this question. Many experienced fly fishers insist on this practice. Also, many experienced fly fishers insist against this practice. If the wax is applied and then cleaned after every other use on a consistent basis then we believe this can extend the life of the ferrule. Otherwise, the wax simply attracts dust and grime and can actually shorten the life of the ferrule.

Thats essentially what I've been told for graphite ferrules in general, and I am in no way to be counted on to keep up the needed care on something like that. For boo, I was told by the maker NOT to use anything on those ferrules, in fact, I should clean them.

I do clean both my boo and graphite ferrules occasionally with a q-tip and some rubbing alcohol.

 

[afishinado]

For guys that take thier rod apart and throw it in the back of a pick-up without putting it into a tube or case, well maybe they should not wax their ferrules (but if you do that, chances are they will break or damage their rod before the ferrules wear out anyway). If you are one that takes your rod from the case or tube and assembles it, and when done fishing, takes it apart and puts it back in the case, waxing works fine.

I've been using wax on my ferrules since I bought my first Sage rod about 25years ago as per Sages recommendation. I still have that rod (well my nephew does) and I have a bunch other made my various rod makers that are from less than a year old to over 20 years old. I have never had a problem with worn ferrules on any of my rods and I never have a problem with ferrules either sticking together or coming loose.

IMO, more rods are broken or damaged by guys trying to get stuck ferrules apart or ferrules coming lose and breaking the rod when fighting a fish or pulling on a snag.

How many guys out there have had their ferrules wear out because of waxing and grit? How many guys out there have had problems with stuck ferrules or loose ferrules?

YMMV though as always.