By George J. Roth
Rod builders are always attempting to improve on the standard rod designs in an effort to make them a more effective fishing tool. The goal has been to make rods lighter, more sensitive or more comfortable to fish for a prolonged period of time. I first began building spinning handles with the traditional, solid rear grip and foregrip. I then began to construct the handles with the least amount of cork possible in an effort to decrease the cost and overall rod weight. The first step in my handle evolution was to eliminate the center section of cork on the rear grip as this had become popular with casting rods. After that, I eliminated the foregrip completely. During this process, I also tried the split reel seat in an attempt to increase sensitivity. What follows are the details of my evolution to the best spinning rod handle I have ever used.
For as long as I can recall, commercially manufactured spinning rods have traditionally incorporated a solid rear grip with a foregrip. Other designs have included a screw down foregrip which would lock the reel into position. Another variation is a standard length fixed foregrip with a portion of the material removed to allow direct contact with the blank. The primary idea with that design was to increase sensitivity.
Recently, split rear grips have been appearing on commercially available rods. (Above: Dawai Steez) Custom rod builders have been building rods in this manner for a number of years. One of the reasons is that they tend to congregate on message boards and share their new experiences and designs with others. Builders that focus on bass rods often hang out on a site called the Bass Fishing Home Page where the pros and cons of various designs are discussed in an open forum. (http://www.wmi.org/bassfish/bassboard/rods_reels/index.html) Other informative fishing sites have emerged which discuss this timely topic. Manufacturers have since recognized this popular trend and are currently utilizing this unique design in their new offerings.
As I mentioned in the beginning of this article, I previously made the standard spinning handle on my custom rods. As the popularity of the split rear grip casting rods increased, a number of bass rod builders began to question why we couldn’t make that same modification to spinning rods. Thus, an idea was born to improve a tool that most of us used on every fishing excursion.
When grasping a spinning reel, most anglers will hold the stem of the reel between the third / fourth or fourth / fifth fingers. The latter will position your hand further forward, which can be beneficial when balancing a rod / reel combination. When the foregrips are utilized in the rod’s construction, the fingers will continue to rest on the foregrip material…thus effectively dampening the vibrations transmitted through the blank.
A number of my custom spinning rods have been built with a split reel seat (center & right), which exposed the blank beneath the reel foot. These were constructed as up-locking (left & center) and down-locking (right). This did provide increased sensitivity for the angler and was popular for awhile. I thought it was great until I used one in a two-day tournament. Most spinning rod blanks are small in diameter. The reel seat needed to be a 17mm in order to accommodate most spinning reel feet. A smaller 16mm was adequate for Ultra-Light reels, but often didn’t hold a standard reel securely. The step off encountered from the edge of the larger diameter reel seat down to the blank was often significant. It would increase pressure on the finger when grasping the rod, resulting in discomfort after fishing for a prolonged period of time. This design also had the foregrip eliminated in an effort to expose as much blank as possible. The same condition arose when placing the index finger onto the blank. The outside edge of the reel seat would rub on the bottom of the finger, also resulting in a sore pointer finger with continued use.
A popular style of handle that has proven to be comfortable and allows the reel to be positioned forward is the Tennessee handle. This consists of a length of cork, perhaps 12 inches, which may be constructed with or without locking rings. Most of the Tennessee handles I have built do not incorporate the locking rings. A flat spot would be made on the handle where the reel foot would sit, making sure that it aligned with the guides. This would make the reel more secure with less tendency to wobble when reeling under a load, such as a fish on the other end of the line. The reel would first be attached to the handle using single wrap of nylon strapping tape over each foot. The feet would then be wrapped with a non-adhesive tape such as silicone tape. Tommy Tape, Rod Wrap or a similar non-adhesive electrical tape would all be good examples.
By securing the reel to the front of the handle, the angler was then able to contact the blank, thus increasing sensitivity while providing comfort. The typically larger diameter of this handle also provided less hand fatigue when fishing throughout the day. The primary disadvantage of this handle was seen when removing the reel for cleaning or other maintenance chores.
The final stage in the evolution of my favorite handle came when combining the desirable attributes of each handle design and avoiding those which were less desirable. The split rear grip was condensed to 1.5” on the butt section to decrease added weight and material expense. This was sufficient to provide an area to grasp the rear of the handle to facilitate two-hand casting when needed. Through experience, it was also noted that when an angler grasps the reel and assumes a fish fighting position, the only area of the rear handle that contacts the forearm is the butt. It made sense to me that the cork on the butt was all that was necessary. Logically, this reduced the amount of material being added to the blank. At that time, I began using only 1.5-2” behind the reel seat.
My friend, Mike Bucca (TMike on the Bass Fishing Home Page / Inside Line / http://www.tritonmike.com) took the handle design one step further. He reduced the cork behind the reel seat to one cork ring, or ½ inch. It made for a unique, if not intriguing, minimalist appearing rod. When I saw what Mike had done, I knew that I had to incorporate that into my spinning rod handle design.
The next issue was how to make the handle comfortable to use all day long by eliminating hand fatigue. If you grasp a 1 ½” diameter PVC tubing and attempt to hold a weight, then support the same weight with a piece of ½” – ¾” diameter tubing, you will find it is less fatiguing to hold it with the larger diameter pipe. Obviously, we aren’t going to have a 1 ½” diameter rod handle, but the principle can still be utilized. The smaller 16mm reel seats tend to cause the hand to cramp after prolonged use unless you have small hands. I’ve found that the 17mm and 18mm reel seats are more comfortable to use all day long. My personal choice is to lean towards the 18mm seats. Could you use a 20mm or 22mm reel seat if you had big hands? Sure, it is strictly an individual choice. The other advantage of using a reel seat instead of the Tennessee handle is found in the ease of removal. Reels can be changed or removed for maintenance in a much more efficient manner. The larger outside diameter reel seat still retains the comfort associated with Tennessee handle.
The final attribute needed to create the ultimate spinning handle was increased sensitivity. That would dictate that at least one finger would be in contact with the blank at some point. When the spinning reel seat is positioned in an up-locking manner, the reel is then positioned forward, allowing the index finger to contact the blank. By using a solid reel seat, I had eliminated the discomfort experienced when grasping the split reel seat. However, I still had the front edge of the reel seat to address. This was solved by adding a single ½” cork ring to the front of the reel seat. The cork was rounded to form a “Comfort Button” which allowed the index finger to contact the blank. The smooth contour of the cork eliminated the painful pressure encountered along the edge of the reel seat.
My favorite spinning rod handle enhances the fishing experience for most anglers by reducing the overall weight of the rod. It is comfortable to fish with all day long, or through a multi-day tournament. The handle allows the index finger to rest comfortably on the blank, thus increasing sensitivity which is necessary when attempting to detect subtle bits. It is the only style of handle that you will see on my personal rods. I’d encourage you to try this simple yet efficient handle design on your next custom spinning rod. I’m sure that it will meet or exceed the most discriminating angler’s expectations.
Matt & Ashlin Roth