What's Your Take On Spiral Or Acid Wrap Rods?

[ghost]

I'm thinking of getting one in a swimbait rod.

 

Are they that much more sensitive than traditional guide setups?

[A-Jay]

  All of my experience with spiral wrapped blanks came from the saltwater arena and were used when fighting large hard pulling, long running game fish; in particular with stand up gear.  The designed is promoted as better for the blank, especially when under a heavy load with the fish vertical or under the boat.  By transferring the line path to the bottom of the rod you eliminate performance damaging “torque-twist” caused by traditional “straight-set” guides inherently causing the tip section of the blank to twist and torque over while under the strain of battling big fish.  I could go either way on the whole thing as I was just as successfully landing fish with conventionally wrapped sticks without ever breaking one.  Can't say if it was any more 'sensitive' for sure, but I kind of doubt it. 

As for it's suitability in bass fishing - I don't see it being any actual advantage at all. 

A-Jay

 

  

 

[georgeyew]

I agree with Ajay. Bass don't pull hard enough to make a difference.

[Hammer 4]

All I can add is, in all the time I've been swimbait fishing, I have never known anyone to use a spiral wrap on a swimbait rod. I never saw a need for it, and my friends didn't either.

[Heartland]

1 hour ago, ghost said:

I'm thinking of getting one in a swimbait rod.

 

Are they that much more sensitive than traditional guide setups?

Is sensitivity a factor when swimbait fishing?

[basser27]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

  All of my experience with spiral wrapped blanks came from the saltwater arena and were used when fighting large hard pulling, long running game fish; in particular with stand up gear.  The designed is promoted as better for the blank, especially when under a heavy load with the fish vertical or under the boat.  By transferring the line path to the bottom of the rod you eliminate performance damaging “torque-twist” caused by traditional “straight-set” guides inherently causing the tip section of the blank to twist and torque over while under the strain of battling big fish.  I could go either way on the whole thing as I was just as successfully landing fish with conventionally wrapped sticks without ever breaking one.  Can't say if it was any more 'sensitive' for sure, but I kind of doubt it. 

As for it's suitability in bass fishing - I don't see it being any actual advantage at all. 

A-Jay

 

  

 

What he said. Spiral wraps don’t add sensitivity to the blank 

[webertime]

Dragging big carolina rigs on an 8ft spiral wrapped rod is a much more comfortable experience than traditionally wrapped.  Just my take, but any rod used with high drag or heavy baits, a spiral wrap certainly doesn't hurt.

[Scott F]

I’ve got a spiral wrapped rod. I’ve got a friend who used to build rods for me. He wanted to do one and I let him do one for me. There is nothing special or better as far as I’m concerned. 

[Tywithay]

5 hours ago, basser27 said:

What he said. Spiral wraps don’t add sensitivity to the blank 

Not entirely true. You can't add sensitivity, because the blank is just a blank. It's limited by the materials used in manufacturing. However, a spiral wrap typically requires at minimum 1 or 2 less guides. Less weight, especially in the tip, can add to the perceived sensitivity. It also helps the rod balance better. I prefer spiral wraps because they feel more in control with a fish on the line. 

[22RangerZ520R]

It's a west coast swimbait thing.  I just had five custom F5 swimbait rods built, all traditional wrapped, not acid/spiral.  As said above by @georgeyew bass don't pull hard enough or for long enough imo to warrant the use of spiral wrapping.  Saltwater fish on the other hand are another story....

 

Good luck 

[Shimano_1]

I used to build rods and did a lot of research when these first gained popularity.  I get the concept but believe they're kinda like the daiwa t wing. They work but probably don't really function any better or worse than traditional.  I personally think they are too weird/ugly but obviously some people like them. 

[Fishes in trees]

In the early 90's I bought a Bud Erhardt crank bait rod that had the spiral wrapping on the guides.   I used it for throwing lipless cranks, mostly.    I feel like the spiral wraps gave me an extra few yards of distance, compared to guides in a straight line on top of the rod.   I'd still be using that rod except the maker didn't use guides that were braid tolerant.   I didn't know (or forget about) this one day and used the rod throwing lipless cranks with 65 lb braid all day and I wore a groove in the guides pretty quickly.   That rod is currently in retirement, resting & collecting dust in the fishing shed.   One of these years, I'll find someone who can put new guides on that blank, but in the KC metro area, those people seem to be hard to find.

[diehardbassfishing]

There's a fair amount of talk on the rhyme and reason behind spiral wrap. Here's what I found on the main reason for its invention.

Spiral wrapping allows a baitcasting reel set-up emulate the way the line comes off the tip-top of a spinning rod. If you think about it, it's more of an ideal way for the line to come off the rod.

 

There is mention of torque coming off the tip-top on a casting rod (when fighting fish) potentially causing rod twist. Oh, hmmm, maybe.

But those questionable issues disappear when the line comes off the rod with the tip-top guide pointing down.

 

Do I have a spiral wrapped rod? Yup. What do I think of it? A fashion statement...

 

Karl

 

 

 

[new2BC4bass]

11 hours ago, Fishes in trees said:

In the early 90's I bought a Bud Erhardt crank bait rod that had the spiral wrapping on the guides.   I used it for throwing lipless cranks, mostly.    I feel like the spiral wraps gave me an extra few yards of distance, compared to guides in a straight line on top of the rod.   I'd still be using that rod except the maker didn't use guides that were braid tolerant.   I didn't know (or forget about) this one day and used the rod throwing lipless cranks with 65 lb braid all day and I wore a groove in the guides pretty quickly.   That rod is currently in retirement, resting & collecting dust in the fishing shed.   One of these years, I'll find someone who can put new guides on that blank, but in the KC metro area, those people seem to be hard to find.

Well I'd suggest sending it to DVT for new guides, but the cost of shipping both ways would pay for a NEW rod. 

[MickD]

I agree with most of the posters who don't see a significant advantage to spiral.  I don't feel the torquing that spiral eliminates.   (fresh water, bass, walleye, etc)   The heavier the load the more difference it will make.  But I use micro guides on my casters, and they are quite low so really don't develop much torque.  There is no reason why a spiral will cast farther than conventional, and it has been my experience that there is no penalty of casting distance either.  

 

I like it for trolling rods which are used in rod holders.  They seem more stable in the holder, which makes sense.  

 

With the small guides in use most of the time today, I don't have that uncomfortable impression looking down the rod that something is goofy/wrong with the setup.  With bigger guides I just couldn't get beyond that.  

 

If interested in making one, do  a search for simple spiral, the simplest, easiest to lay out , and just as effective way to do one.  In fact it gets the line to the bottom faster than other designs, so should reduce the torquing more.

 

Comments that state that fewer guides are necessary are correct, but I've not found that to make a significant difference in anything.

[Big Swimbait]

One of my swimbait rods is spiral wrapped. I do think it adds a little casting distance but no difference at all in fighting a fish.

[Steveo-1969]

I have one custom rod, a casting rod by @Delaware Valley Tackle and I asked for spiral/acid wrapped guides. First reason is because I just think they look cool. Second reason (which may not be valid) is I always find a spinning rod more sensitive for bottom-contact than a baitcasting rod, so I wanted my custom bottom-contact casting rod to have guides similar to a spinning rod.

 

Does it help with sensitivity? In my mind it does and that's all that matters.....

 

Oh, and did I mention spiral/acid wrapped guides look really cool???

[Spy]

I placed the winning bid on one an hour ago, a glass/graphite inshore 'Redfish' rod. I'm only ten minutes from the Chesapeake Bay so it'll see Red Drum and Striper action there but I think it'll be a great crank bait rod on the lakes as well.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

It takes surprisingly little weight for the lever effect of a conventional guide setup to be visible in tests. A spiral build is the most efficient. That said, the improvement is slight as is nearly every choice: grip length, guide size, number of guides, ring and frame materials, spacing... no one is likely a game changer or deal breaker but it all adds up. if you’re doing custom and have the ability to maximize every aspect why not? 

[WRB]

Roberts wrap or spiral eliminates the spine effect or torque of the rod blank. 8' heavy swimbaits rod it's noticeable improvement. 

My problem is the rod guides are always hitting the deck and easy to step on.

Tom

[r83srock]

I heard of Rich Forhan (sp) (Rain shadow?) years ago, I believe it was Gary Klein that used him as a builder for awhile. His quantum flipping sticks might have been spiral wrapped come to think of it. I used a rod called “Gorilla Stick”, no clue where they are made, a friend bought some that were spiral wrapped. The torque reduction could be noticed, like stated above, no real spine.