BlueWater big game offshore saltwater spinning fishing rods, BlueWater spin-troll rods, and BlueWater stand-up spin rods are all made to the highest technical standards. Below you will find: (1) a brief but essential guide to the nature of fishing rod blanks; (2) our methods and the reasoning behind them; (3) formulas, which will allow you to calculate the actual stress on each guide of any rod; and, (4) the reasons and typical conditions under which any rod can be broken -- and what you can do to minimize the risk of breakage.
The BlueWater™ Way: the art of making offshore saltwater spinning rods for popping, jigging, tuna and other line class applications.
- Our best practices begin with the guide feet. They are are ground and polished to eliminate burrs and irregularities.
- Eliminates the traditional reason for under wraps: protecting the blank from damage by rough guide feet.
- Relationship of tip top size to running guides:
- Tip tops are made on patterns for conventional rods. When used “upside down” for spinning a size 10 top does not have the same profile as a size 10 running guide. This allows line to skip from the top to the second guide from the top until the rod is under a heavier load – we feel this creates a weakness while working lures and under a sudden impact.
- BlueWater uses tip tops one size up ensuring all guides are loaded under all conditions; eg., a size 12 top with size 10 running guides.
- Thread wraps: only a single layer of thread and no under wraps
- In our view, under wraps have no function except to possibly increase the blank diameter to better fit certain guides to the blank
- Multiple layers of thread are more a cosmetic choice: strength comes from the first layer in contact with the guide feet
- Thread creates tunnels along the side of the guide feet: grinding the feet to a smooth taper minimizes the tunnel volume
- BlueWater fills all tunnels with finish
- We use Perma-Gloss, which is a water-thin finish; up to 14 coats are applied. Unlike traditional two-part finishes Perma-Gloss has adhesive properties, which further strengthen the bindings.
- Guides sizes and spacing must be matched to your reel to maximize performance
o If you measure the distance of the line roller on your spinning reel to the rod you will note that it varies considerably. From the closest position to the rod to the furthest, most big game spinning reels average 1.5 inches (closest) up to 6 inches (furthest position).
o Conventional guide sizes (“cone of flight” or “use one of every size – 40, 30, 25, 20, 16, 12 …”) can result in as many as four guides without line contact when the line roller is in its highest position. A large load, suddenly applied, can result in breakage when the reel’s line roller is in that position.
o This means that the strongest part of your rod – the butt section – may not be loaded depending on the roller position. To mitigate against this BlueWater chooses guide frame heights, which ensure that at least the second guide from the reel is always fully loaded.
o The use of the butt guide to control line flow results in a necessary compromise: the butt guide is only loaded when the line roller is between the (generally) 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock positions.
o When trolling it is best to keep the line roller at the 6 o’clock position to maximize stress distribution.
- Grips: a study conducted for the NASA space program concluded that a slightly tapered cylinder is the best shape for long term use and comfort.
- No gimmicks
- Grips are bored to size; never forced onto the blank.
- Everyone’s hand is different: you choose your grip material to suite yourself
- Grip material versus weight:
o EVA is the lightest grip material (after cork) and quite firm (we use 70% hard grade EVA)
o X-grips, which are rubber shrink wrap covered EVA, are very firm and weight about 50% more than EVA
o Hypalon is softer, has more “give,” and is about three time the weight of EVA
We recommend this more as a rear grip material (the weight is useful for balancing lighter rods
o Tuff-Butts®are hard nylon. They are designed for use in rod holders and allow a blank through construction – the strongest available. They are six times the weight of EVA but less than 1/3 the weight of a comparable aluminum butt and collet unit.
o all our reel seats are of the finest quality: choose the one that suits you!
o reel seats have full polyurethane arbors for maximum support and adhesion
- Rod “spine” and lock-up points.
- The “spine” is the result of build methods. Rods are made by tacking a pattern to a metal mandrel and then wrapping the prepeg pattern around the mandrel. Rods made with a single pattern have a somewhat pronounced “spine” due to layers of material being wrapped over and over around the leading edge of the pattern. Most rods today are made with multiple patterns resulting in multiple “spines.”
- Using multiple patterns of differing length creates rods with multiple lockup points.
- What does the “spine” mean to performance: nothing which can be substantiated. While it is a matter of feverish discussion among many rod makers no scientific, reproducible evidence has been submitted to make it anything other than a “myth” factor in rod building.
- Many builders cite the spine as a factor in the so-called “twist” for conventional (reel on top) rods. There is no relationship whatsoever.
- “Twist” is a function of gravity: a reel on top of a rod is pulled down. Spinning and fly rods do not experience this because the reel is, of course, already on the bottom. This “twist” cannot be eliminated on any rod which has the reel on top.
- An additional advantage of spinning (and fly) rods over conventional rods is the elimination of torque on the top section. On a conventional rod, force applied to the rod via the guides (the higher the guide the greater the torque) causes the lighter rod tip section to literally turn as compared to the stronger and stiffer butt section – this weakens the rod over time and is a leading cause of breakage. The entire torque problem can be avoided for conventional rods by wrapping them in the “spiral” or “acid” manner; i.e., getting the line under the blank as in a spinning rod.
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