I have just completed a bamboo PMQ spinning rod blank for my stepdad that does not fly fish. I am ready to attach the reel seat, and ONLY THEN realized I have an issue where to mount the guides. On a PMQ the fly guides go on the enamel, however, with a spinning rod he casts it kinda sidearmed. That means it will flex (during casting) along a different side than the guides are mounted (bottom of the blank). This could also be trouble fighting a fish. Do I need to do this differently? Any help? I may be in trouble making this gift work.

PS I posted this under the spinning rod forum, but then noticed it was under the graphite and fiberglass heading. I apologize for the double posting. If someone would delete the wrong one, that would be appreciated.

Well, you don't actually put the guides on the enamel, hopefully you scrapped all that off, but you do put them on one of the enamel sides.

First of all, you don't really have a choice, you really don't want to put the guides on the seam.

Last year, after a discussion about deflections and casting planes, I got to thinking, and realized that I do a fair bit of side arm casting, and while fighting a fish, it's not unusual for the fish to run to one side, or the other, forcing the rod to bend sideways, so, I did some testing on one of my PMQ fly rods.

I found, if I bent the rod far enough, as if fighting a large fish, the rod would twist around so the tip always faced the fish. This twist was more pronounced at the tip, but it extended well down the rod, and helps explain why my ferrule alignment keeps getting messed up. When casting, it really didn't make much difference. With light loads, the rod simply flexed sideways, and with heavy loads (really driving hard on the forward stroke) the rod simply twisted a bit. It was just a non-issue.

So, go ahead and put the guides on normally, and start planning your fishing trip. He'll love it!

You have obviously already put alot of thought into this. Now that you have pointed it out, I also do a fair amount of side arm with my PMQ fly rods to get under trees, etc. and it does behave a little different but is handlable. I have noticed my tip section also rotates when under pressure, but I have always assumed it was inferior rod making skills. Good to know it may be due to the nature of two stronger sides and two weaker sides. I will finish the spinning blank like normal. As for the enamel, I don't scrape it first since it is removed when I hollow it out a little to save on weight, like some of the more advanced rodmakers on this site suggest.

Thanks for the help.
Eric

PS. Kidding, I scrap and sand smooth