spiral wrap

[Bakerlounge]

anyone fish right handed spiral wrap rods with and lefty reel? disadvantages? 

[jthod]

I build most of my casting rods spiral wrapped.  

The only real effect may be with loaded rod, such as hook set or fighting fish, that the line MAY contact the blank, but it would be in the transition area of the guides, first 5 on my rods.  Think of the direction in which you set the hook to the side, and where the line is going to be with the rod bent.  You can test this out if you've got the rod and reel.

I doubt it will contact, but will depend on the rod and guides, and how tight the layout is.

[dwels]

if you swing to the right same as a right handed reel its the same if you swing left its prob not a big deal for bass fishing your going to swing left and right at times 

Edited December 24, 2021 by dwels

[chefchris]

7 hours ago, Bakerlounge said:

anyone fish right handed spiral wrap rods with and lefty reel? disadvantages? 

That’s the correct way for a Spiral wrap set up. 

the guides should turn the opposite way as the side of the reel handle 

90-95% of the guys are fishing the wrong way. 

it’s a gimmick and more of a visual thing on swimbait rods, it was originally designed for short stout rods think stand up fighting boat rods  (6’ and under boat/tuna rods) paired with super heavy reels (penn 100-500 size reels) basically makes no difference on rods over 6-6.5’ feet. 

there’s some great YouTube videos showing how it works side by side on some heavy gear. 

fishing a spiral wrapped right rod with a right handled reel completely removes any advantages of a spiral wrap 

it’s popular in the swimbait world cause of certain builders and guys are use to it and it’s the norm now 

[Bakerlounge]

12 hours ago, chefchris said:

That’s the correct way for a Spiral wrap set up. 

the guides should turn the opposite way as the side of the reel handle 

90-95% of the guys are fishing the wrong way. 

it’s a gimmick and more of a visual thing on swimbait rods, it was originally designed for short stout rods think stand up fighting boat rods  (6’ and under boat/tuna rods) paired with super heavy reels (penn 100-500 size reels) basically makes no difference on rods over 6-6.5’ feet. 

there’s some great YouTube videos showing how it works side by side on some heavy gear. 

fishing a spiral wrapped right rod with a right handled reel completely removes any advantages of a spiral wrap 

it’s popular in the swimbait world cause of certain builders and guys are use to it and it’s the norm now 

Looking at said popular rod builders rods I was thinking the same thing. I first started looking at spiral wrap rods as salt water tuna rods and then started seeing them pop up in custom builds but guys were fishing the reverse of what made sense. Anyways, have a rod coming and will be fishing it setup with a lefty reel and a right spiral wrap, curious to see how it feels. I see the possible advantages with bottom fishing a soft bait, at least that is the gap I am trying to fill in my rod quiver.

[Whammy]

I just bought my first spiral wrapped rod after a lifetime of fishing with the guides all in a row, without incident. I only bought it because I wanted a rod from the person making it and that’s all they offered, hopefully I won’t be disappointed. I don’t even know which way they’ll spiral, so that’s awesome haha

[rwp]

Like @chefchrissaid, left wrap is correct for a right reel...... In theory.......

Either way, if the rod is built correctly the line will never touch the blank.

It also makes ZERO difference while fishing. I have built identical rods with the exception of one being spiral wrapped and the other being conventional. They don't fish any different, they don't cast any different, there's no magical "the rod doesn't try to roll over in your hands". I've done this with 4 pairs of rods of different powers.

Big fish, little fish, 60+ lb stingrays pulling straight down under the kayak. ZERO difference.

Live bait, cut bait, soft baits, hard baits, still no difference.

It might be different on tuna rods, but for a swimbait application, all it does is look different.

Short version: if you want something different, go for it. Don't pay extra for it.

[Sarge]

I agree with what has been said. I will say this, I’ve been building rods since 1998 using the acid wrap. At the time I was building a lot of G-Loomis GLX rods with conventional wrap. These blanks are very sensitive but also somewhat fragile and had several rods come back with the last 6 to 12 inches broken. After many conversations and theories I decided to try the acid wrap thinking that under load the blank was being torqued back and forth from the line going from one side of the guide ring to the other and was weakening the smallest and most fragile part of the blank. After going to acid wrap the breakage stopped, may have been coincidence but the theory that basically turning the end of the rod into a spinning style rod took away the leverage the guide feet had for twisting and torquing the blank in that area while blank is under heavy load made sense. At least it did to me and I’ve built and used nothing but acid wrap ever since. 
Also the case had been made to have the guides wrapping to the same side as reel handle which allows the rod to lay flat on the deck and not on the guides. 
FWIW. 

[chevro1et]

I've read discussions about this on SU previously, and here's what I've taken away from them.

The torsional advantage for fighting the fish, while valid, is likely moot for bass fishing.

The geometry of left or right wrap makes no mechanical difference, but having the wrap direction and handle match up does make for a practical advantage of laying the rod down. 

The geometry of the spiral wrap allows for the use of fewer total guides in the guide train. This potentially allows for lighter weight and less friction (and thereby, longer casts) while casting. 

[rwp]

14 hours ago, Sarge said:

After going to acid wrap the breakage stopped, may have been coincidence but the theory that basically turning the end of the rod into a spinning style rod took away the leverage the guide feet had for twisting and torquing the blank in that area while blank is under heavy load made sense. At least it did to me and I’ve built and used nothing but acid wrap ever since.

That's interesting, I don't have any experiences with really light blanks, but on paper the guide layout shouldn't matter at the tip. Under load the majority of the top of the blank should be completely straight unless the angler is high sticking the rod. Clearly it solved the issue for you though, so that trumps "on paper science".

6 hours ago, chevro1et said:

The geometry of the spiral wrap allows for the use of fewer total guides in the guide train. This potentially allows for lighter weight and less friction (and thereby, longer casts) while casting. 

It's funny that you mention this, it's always listed as a benefit for spiral wrapping. In my experience, I've never gotten it to work. To build a rod, especially a moderate one, and keep the line from contracting the blank, I've always needed the same number of guides or one more.

A lot of builders don't care if the line touches the blank with the rod heavily loaded, but to me, that's when it matters most. I don't want to worry about the line hitting the blank/foregrip/my hand while I'm trying to stop a monster fish.

[chevro1et]

@rwp I'm far from an expert regarding the finer points of rod building, and will be the first to say so.  I've never wrapped a rod, and probably never will.  In my limited experience, I've had custom builds from two different well-regarded rod builders with spiral wrapped guides.  Both rods were built with fewer guides than a rod with a standard, straight guide train at the builder's discretion, not by my input or request.

[jthod]

I build a wide variety of rods, from ice rods to heavy catfish rods.

in my opinion, the rods that benefit most from acid wrap is the lighter casting rods.  I build a fair amount of BFS rods, and other light casting rods.  I've had several blanks that I've wrapped both ways.  I've saved as many as 4 guides off a rod going acid wrap.  Some of these are also using #2 Nano Micro guides, so the line is already close to the blank.  Put it under load on a light blank, and it touches the blank easily.  Heavier rods, taller guides, slower action, the savings is usually 2 guides for what I've done

To me, I see no reason NOT to acid wrap my rods.  I also give my customers the option, some just don't want it because of the looks, some are all for it.