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Advice needed for custom power float rod

Ian Woods said:
From what harrison blank float rods i've seen/ handled I personally wouldn't be looking at one for a float rod. Going off the high breaking strain lines your looking to be using I think your going to struggle to get a genuine float rod to cope with them. I have a 15ft daiwa tournament BU float rod that I bought earlier this year and it is rated to 10lb line, but after using it with 6lb daiwa sensor which is reputed to be nearer to 8lb breaking strain there's no way I would put 10lb line through it. I reckon possibly 8lb sensor at a push knowing that 8lb sensor is reputed to breaking at nearer to 10lb. So if I put 10lb through it, it would be about 12lb or more actual breaking strain which I think os over the top for the rod.
I have a 14ft speci acolyte and have had lots of barbel whilst using it, but I've never used a 15ft acolyte speci float rod, others on here have and may well pipe up with an opinion of it.
I would suggest it might be worth you checking the speci acolyte rods out before going down the custom rod route as I don't believe the custom rod made on a harrison blank will be as good for float fishing....jmo of course.
Another rod which is definately worth taking a good look at is the preston supera x 14ft power model....a very nice capable float rod for sure.
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Hi Ian, how do you find the Daiwa Tournament to the Accolyte Specimen. I have the 15ft specimen and recently used the same length Tournament. Both great rods, but the Daiwa felt nicer to fish with.
 
Dominic Kenzie said:
Hi Ian, how do you find the Daiwa Tournament to the Accolyte Specimen. I have the 15ft specimen and recently used the same length Tournament. Both great rods, but the Daiwa felt nicer to fish with.
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Hi Dominic, i've never used the 15ft speci acolyte (I only have the 13 and 14ft speci rods) so can't compare it to the 15ft daiwa tourny rod.
Despite never being a fan/user of rods longer than 14ft I did enjoy using the tournament pro bu 15 footer. It felt a bit wierd at first but after 20 min's of use the rod kinda grew on me. I've only had the one propper session using the rod which was back in March but I had a great session and the rod did perform very well.
 
For those who favour 12/13ft rods shimano are releasing their new specialist TX floats rods- 12 ft is 2 piece and 13ft 3 piece. I had a waggle with the 13ft the other day the rep had brought to my local shop, feels very balanced with a fast tip and loads of stopping power lower down. Only had a play in the shop with someone holding the tip but it feels really nice….they are rated at 2Ib tc but to me it felt more like a stepped up Avon of 1 1/2 Ib but with a faster tip.
 
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Sorry but does have be £1000's spent on a rod even if it's your Birthday? Plenty off the shelf carbon sticks that would do a fine job, why you probably already have it.
You would think the effort applied by rod manufacturers would count more than these expensive custom rods.
OK I could afford a few hundred quid on a custom rod at my time of life, but would it give me more fish, pleasure? Doubt so, in fact I would be frightened to use the thing.
You might guess all this tarty tackle talk gets to me a bit. rant over😎
 
Call it as you see fit Neil. All I've asked for is some advice on a custom build rod. Yes I can buy rods off the shelf that will do the same job but those rods are built in a factory and I have no say it how it's made or what components are used. Going the custom route gives me what I want. Where you get the idea it's going to cost £1000's from I don't know. As I said it's my birthday soon and it's a significant mile stone for me so I thought I'd treat myself. What I do with my money is up to me. Do you have anything to add thats constructive?
 
Can we get this thread back on topic. I've asked for advice for a custom build power float rod. I've got my mind set on the blank. Now i would like to hear advice on which guides and possible sliding reel seats. I'm sure there's plenty of different options.
 
Etienne Harvey said:
Can we get this thread back on topic. I've asked for advice for a custom build power float rod. I've got my mind set on the blank. Now i would like to hear advice on which guides and possible sliding reel seats. I'm sure there's plenty of different options.
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What blank Etienne? Did I see earlier in the thread harrison?
 
Yes it's a Harrison 15' SU thats in prototype stage at the moment that is having some tweaks applied. Should be in production in November.
 
Etienne Harvey said:
Call it as you see fit Neil. All I've asked for is some advice on a custom build rod. Yes I can buy rods off the shelf that will do the same job but those rods are built in a factory and I have no say it how it's made or what components are used. Going the custom route gives me what I want. Where you get the idea it's going to cost £1000's from I don't know. As I said it's my birthday soon and it's a significant mile stone for me so I thought I'd treat myself. What I do with my money is up to me. Do you have anything to add thats constructive?
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I only have to get a cold or something for an excuse to order a custom rod 😂
 
Evening Etienne, my rod builder should receive the blank this week, and like yourself am deciding on guides and seat etc.
For me it's definitely minima high stand off guides, they are 30 percent lighter than ceramic guides and extremely strong , even unbreakable in normal use.
This is a must on any float rod over 13ft to keep weight down.
Tip ring would be 7mm sic anti frap.or even 8mm if you're using it for slider work.
Regarding the reel seat , this is where I'm undecided, as I would like to know the weight and feel of the blank.
If weight is an issue then Fuji ips or DPS OEM seat would be my choice.
If the blank is light enough then I would also consider an Alps cwg ai at 41gms. It puts weight in the right area for me and adds to the overall balance and feel.
I'm pretty sure that Harrisons will have the blanks action absolutely spot on.
So , it comes down to our choices.
I hope you get it right, and would like to hear your views when you've had it built and used it . Good luck👍
 
Jim thank you very much 👍. This is the kind of information I've been hoping to get. Now i have an idea on some components to have a look at. I was told by Steve Harrison that they were still making tweaks to the blank and that they hoped to get a production run in November. I'll have to send an email and see where there at as if the blanks available i can get things moving.
 
You go for it Etienne. By the way Neil he's a really nice bloke even with a name like that🇫🇷. Send him some of that wonderful honey, you will soon have him on your side.
 
Jim Gregory said:
Evening Etienne, my rod builder should receive the blank this week, and like yourself am deciding on guides and seat etc.
For me it's definitely minima high stand off guides, they are 30 percent lighter than ceramic guides and extremely strong , even unbreakable in normal use.
This is a must on any float rod over 13ft to keep weight down.
Tip ring would be 7mm sic anti frap.or even 8mm if you're using it for slider work.
Regarding the reel seat , this is where I'm undecided, as I would like to know the weight and feel of the blank.
If weight is an issue then Fuji ips or DPS OEM seat would be my choice.
If the blank is light enough then I would also consider an Alps cwg ai at 41gms. It puts weight in the right area for me and adds to the overall balance and feel.
I'm pretty sure that Harrisons will have the blanks action absolutely spot on.
So , it comes down to our choices.
I hope you get it right, and would like to hear your views when you've had it built and used it . Good luck👍
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I have just rebuilt my old Harrison GTI 12 ft and these were my design considerations. I used the more expensive version of minima stand off rings, because others were not available. Not used the rod at all yet so there is no reliability on the rings. What I can say is they are made of very hard materials.
I would not be too concerned over guide weight. Small guides don’t weigh a lot, and most of the already small amount of weight is in the butt rings where the weight has relatively little effect on the rod balance.
Guide size, I’m not too sure of this so perhaps check this out. The stated size of minima guides is an outside diameter. Since the guide does not have a recognisable insert, the Inside diameter is bigger than a sic lined ring of the same OD. It’s possible you could get slightly smaller rings for your chosen ID. If your chosen ID is on the large size this may save the odd half gram or two! If you are really concerned about weight remember to consider the thread sealant too. Varnish may give you a thiner coat than the more robust epoxy, but this is really getting obsessed with weight at the detriment to reliability.
Balance, again my opinion, the only thing that matters for static balance is the weight infront of your hand and the weight behind your hand when gripping the rod in the manner you do while fishing. Since this is most often on or about the reel seat the weight of the reel seat does not affect the balance since it is neither infront or behind the hand. It only affects the overall weight so look for a light one. Having said that comfort is also a major concern so pick one that feels good. I have previously used a Fuji VSS which is similar to the IPS models, That Alps does look interesting though.
Be very careful about position of the reel seat, there is no point buying a long blank only to have a long length behind your hand, but reel seat position will really influence balance and so position is a compromise. If there is a sliding reel seat you like, give it some consideration.
 
Quality information Ralph 👍. With regards to the reel seat, balance is the reason I'd like a sliding reel seat like the one on my daiwa spectron xp. This way whatever reel I choose to use, be it fixed spool or centerpin it can be positioned to counter balance the rod. I could go old school with bands but would rather something that locks in position. I've searched online but cant find many options. Can anyone recommend me a decent component supplier I could talk to.
 
Etienne Harvey said:
Quality information Ralph 👍. With regards to the reel seat, balance is the reason I'd like a sliding reel seat like the one on my daiwa spectron xp. This way whatever reel I choose to use, be it fixed spool or centerpin it can be positioned to counter balance the rod. I could go old school with bands but would rather something that locks in position. I've searched online but cant find many options. Can anyone recommend me a decent component supplier I could talk to.
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If you are having a rod built to use both centrepin and fixed spool, consider selecting ring sizes and positions to suit a fixed spool reel. Centrepins are less affected by guide size and position so won’t really be affected by a fixed spool layout. But the first ring would be larger than you might choose for a centrepin. I built the GTI 12ft for both centrepin and fixed spool too. I think you can see the large butt ring and fixed spool spacing in these photos.

IMG_1078.jpeg
IMG_1073.jpeg
 
I use fixed spool reels at the moment but have just acquired a centerpin which I've got to still get used to hence wanting some adjustment in positioning. Plus I've always found having a fixed position seat means having to try different combinations of reels to effectively get the balancing to feel right. Again good information from you Ralph 👍. The more I can get the better as my rod builder has told me he hasn't made any float rods before. He does a fantastic job of all other rods that I've seen so I have confidence in him. And we all got to start somewhere.
 
If this new Harrison float blank is based on the blanks they made for the EU market last year, unless they made a huge improvement, I would stay away from it. Yes it has the power, but similar to their old su blanks, it feels more like a long Avon rod, the action is a bit through rather than tippy, not what I would like to use for trotting. But, again, it definitely has the power.
 
Ralph Harris said:
I have just rebuilt my old Harrison GTI 12 ft and these were my design considerations. I used the more expensive version of minima stand off rings, because others were not available. Not used the rod at all yet so there is no reliability on the rings. What I can say is they are made of very hard materials.
I would not be too concerned over guide weight. Small guides don’t weigh a lot, and most of the already small amount of weight is in the butt rings where the weight has relatively little effect on the rod balance.
Guide size, I’m not too sure of this so perhaps check this out. The stated size of minima guides is an outside diameter. Since the guide does not have a recognisable insert, the Inside diameter is bigger than a sic lined ring of the same OD. It’s possible you could get slightly smaller rings for your chosen ID. If your chosen ID is on the large size this may save the odd half gram or two! If you are really concerned about weight remember to consider the thread sealant too. Varnish may give you a thiner coat than the more robust epoxy, but this is really getting obsessed with weight at the detriment to reliability.
Balance, again my opinion, the only thing that matters for static balance is the weight infront of your hand and the weight behind your hand when gripping the rod in the manner you do while fishing. Since this is most often on or about the reel seat the weight of the reel seat does not affect the balance since it is neither infront or behind the hand. It only affects the overall weight so look for a light one. Having said that comfort is also a major concern so pick one that feels good. I have previously used a Fuji VSS which is similar to the IPS models, That Alps does look interesting though.
Be very careful about position of the reel seat, there is no point buying a long blank only to have a long length behind your hand, but reel seat position will really influence balance and so position is a compromise. If there is a sliding reel seat you like, give it some consideration.
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I've gone for the 16mm high stand off minina but ring , at 20 mm it's huge , and stands off the rod a massive 55mm
I think it looks a bit flimsy personally and prone to getting caught, especially by my clumsy self 😆. It would only take a few straightens after getting caught before it snapped!.
 
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