UC/GUSA Sidewinder 710L build general and guide spacing help

Discussion in 'Rod Building' started by 1fish2fish, Aug 5, 2017.

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  1. Aug 7, 2017 #21
    1fish2fish

    1fish2fish Junior member

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    I reset the guides to:
    30 20 12 10 10 10 10.

    I have to admit it looks a bit odd to me.

    I should be able to do some casting tomorrow evening. Don't know if I will be able to get any videos.

    Thanks again for all the help.

    ~Hammer
     
  3. Aug 8, 2017 #22
    John Cassius

    John Cassius Member

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    stick with your previous layout #30 #25 #20 #12 #12 #10 or better yet #30 #25 #20 #16 #12 #12 with a #12 ring top.
    Been search a stiff blank, you might benefit with bigger guides for more clearance. IMO
     

  5. Aug 8, 2017 #23
    1fish2fish

    1fish2fish Junior member

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    Video is a bit rough. Was doing myself. Held phone in mouth and cast. Seems like it's trying to overshoot first guide. Other than that, it tamed nicely. Was hard to tell if distance improved.

     
  6. Aug 9, 2017 #24
    DenisB

    DenisB Senior Member

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    Line flow is pretty good
    its not really overshooting the stripper , that is pretty normal line behaviour for that combination of reelspool dia, line, & stripper.
    Its tamed at the stripper & the 20 behind it is being fed an acceptable waveform to tame the rest efficiently with smooth line flow into the rest of the guidetrain

    All that is left for you to do is pick 2 casting weights, one at the light end of your rod spec & your favorite mid range weight & cast 5 times each weight & record distance on a day with light-mod weather conditions...........then quickly change out the guidetrain to your original setup & repeat the casts to compare.

    IF you are going to achieve significant differences in casting distance the feel of the rod reflex in the cast should be apparent from the first cast with the different guidetrain...............the lighter guidetrain should have a noticeably sharper reflex at release.
    We can take guide sizes to extremely small sizes as in microguide concepts found in flipping/pitching & some other freshwater styles...............for saltwater duty the running guide sizes towards the tip is governed by efficient passage of leader knots ( which can be largish & clatter down the guidetrain impeding cast distance) if too small running guides are used.

    The purpose of testing at a light weight & a med-high range weight is to get a feel for the versatility of the guidetrain in fishing situations you might apply it to


    You can then convince yourself what the different benefits are ( good or bad - best cast & variability ) & whether your perception of aesthetic appearances warrants any benefits achieved, or any disadvantage is minimal.

    Its your rod build & you are the one going to use it...............its your decision how it looks & what performance you want from it.

    having been thru this you then have a process of load testing & field test casting that you can apply to future rod builds......................rodbuilding is highly addictive, with no known cure once you get the bug.

    good luck & tight lines.
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2017
  7. Aug 10, 2017 #25
    1fish2fish

    1fish2fish Junior member

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    Thanks again for all the great information. Based on the latest casting trials, I went with the revised (faster choking) guide train. I might have been able to optimize a little bit more, but think it's pretty close.

    And I need it done for this weekend. I put the second coat on the wraps this morning.

    The build was fun, and a great learning experience.

    I appreciate the input from DenisB and others on this thread and many others.

    Hope the on-water testing is successful!

    Cheers

    Hammer
     
  8. Aug 10, 2017 #26
    cchris

    cchris Senior Member

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    Was there a significant distance in casting between the 2 different guide trains or more like 10-15 feet?
     
  9. Aug 11, 2017 #27
    1fish2fish

    1fish2fish Junior member

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    Yeah, probably about that. I didn't measure the first time because I figured my follow up casting would be at the same place. But a guy was in the way training his retriever, so I had to change plan.
     
  10. Aug 13, 2017 #28
    1fish2fish

    1fish2fish Junior member

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    Field report from Venice: I was very happy with how well the rod cast. Could throw 2 oz popper as far as 3.5 oz on my other rod. Prior to putting on a leader with an FG knot, I did take about 20 yards off the spool. (For about 330 total 65 lb).
    Fished with Mexican Gulf Fishing Company. Captain Wade is great. Lots of yellowfin in area, feeding, but no takes on the new popping rod. :(. Next time.
    We did boat a bunch of tuna (40-50 lbs) on live menhaden. My friend's wife and son each caught their first tunas. Good times.
    The lightness made for comfortable fishing. That will pay dividends in future, because I'll be able to fish longer without getting tired. Design objectives: accomplished. Mission Tuna: to be continued.

    Thanks again for all the help.

    Hammer
     
  11. Aug 13, 2017 #29
    John Cassius

    John Cassius Member

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    If I w as you , I'd go down to 50 lb hollow braid for better casting results.
     
  12. Aug 14, 2017 #30
    Rwhite

    Rwhite Junior member

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    Ha! we fished Venice Friday. we were at Elf and 109 but left about noon. We struggled to get enough bait and could not "live chum" to any extent so no good for us on tuna. I didn't notice any Mex Gulf boats around us. Congrats on your trip and finishing the build.
     
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