Ice rods

[harvey lee]

How hard is it to wrap the eyes on a smaller ice rod? I have not built any ice rods and think it may be diffucult with the shorter flimsy blank.

[Dark Cloud]

I find ice rods much harder to wrap. You do need to have a jig or rod holding device with supports that are much closer together. Real flimsy fiberglass panfish blanks are an extra pain. But the brightside is that your only talking 2-4 guides plus the tip...

[Wildabeast]

The tip (I often use a single leg guide as the tip) and the first and sometimes second guide can be a real pain to wrap. I use thin masking tape to hold the guide on and an extra v-support near the end as well as loosen the tension a bit.

[upnorth]

They are a little more of a pain. But like Dark Cloud said there are far fewer guides to deal with on an Ice Rod. I have made fair amount of Ice Rods for my self and others, and you get a system going after a few. Adjustable support is highly desirable, as is a high tolerance for some frustration

Speaking of Ice Rods, almost time to head out to the Big V

[A.W.Wolfram]

They can be difficult. On my “V” block bench I can put all three supports in a 24” span witch helps a lot. This is also the only time I glue the guides to the blank using low temp hot glue. The guide feet are so short its hard to use tape.

I also use a fly tying bodkin for the thread for more control.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Tom- I have never done a summer rod, but have made 6 for myself over the years... I never really had a problem with smaller blanks, I use a dab of hot glue to hold the guide in place, and have never had an issue.