Hybrid Striped Bass and Glue
So I took the Dickerson 8014 Guide that I made for Smallmouth Bass fishing To do some testing on Hybrid Striped Bass. I did modify the taper a bit. It throws an Airflo Cold Salt 8WFF very well. I could cast a size Four Clouser Minnow far enough to get the job done without putting much more stress than necessary on the rod. These fish are extremely hard fighters. They take a fly with authority and pull very hard. I did not get any really large fish (They can get upwards of Fifteen pounds) but, enough good solid fish to put the splices on this node less rod to the test. I used two different glues for the splices to see if there would be any failure. There was none. So I guess they would both be fine. Although I will go with the glue that is more heat resistant for various reasons. The constant stress of casting long distances over and over for more than four hours had no impact on the splices. Also the steady pulling of large fish and bending this rod way more than it probably should have been in all directions caused no damage to any of the splices. This is not the rod for these fish by any means. It is not stout enough for catching these large fish over and over. I think I know what direction to go in for a salt water rod now and I will not be afraid to make it node less. That will be the next test for sure.
Thanks for looking.
Best,
Anthony
