Thread: Old surf rod repair

I'm been wanting a couple of surf rods to use occasionally so I've picked up two old two piece 10ft rods to repair - rebuild. One I believe is a brown Garcia and other I don't know. Under the paint is the honey comb look I've seen on some rods on here. Cork on both is gone, reel seats usable, and rear handles are aluminum. I am going to try to tape up or shrink wrap up where cork was and just install all new guides and tips. I plan on going to rod room next week and need to know what guides to buy. I plan on using a pair of green 704 with bails. I thought about using mono for wrapping like I seen on a couple of king rods. Any thoughts or ideas will be greatly appreciated.

Here's my 2 cents. The trip to the Rod Room is the best thing you could do. Take the rods along and show them to the Ladies. They will be able to assist you in guide selection.
I always use stainless steel guides on old surf rods, just to keep the look correct. I use braid in the surf and have not had a problem with the SS guides. Shrink wrap is real easy to work with and gives a nice look over old cork. I would use regular rod thread, not mono.
I use two old 10 foot surf rods when surf fishing and I love them.
Enjoy.

A+ on the shrink wrap !!

Likely the rod material you described is 'Conolon'


+1 on the SS guides and braid line for surf fishing.
Remember monofilament will weaken in time with exposure to UV light and heat.
You can use A thread for under wrap and C or D for overwrap with good results.


The reel should hold a whole 300 yard spool of 30# (with a little double-sided tape underneath).
With lighter line you should add a bit of mono backing to keep your casting distance consistent.

Good luck and let us know how they turn out.

You can certainly use mono to wrap your guides, but as David pointed out it isn't the best route to go for longevity. Keep that trick in mind for quick repairs or for building up a rod from scratch to test out guide spacing and have the ability to sort things out while you fish the rod.

You can achieve the same effect as mono if you use regular nylon wrapping thread (the kind without color preserver). If you don't add color preserver, once you add the epoxy finish it while become transparent. Much more durable than mono and you can get a shade depending upon the color of thread you choose. When you go by TRR, tell Kathy about the effect you're going for, she'll know what you need.

Love the old school Conolon blanks and when stripped they are the most beautiful chestnut brown blank around....since my rebuild one, I have been in search of them since and fortunate to find a couple.....good luck with your rebuild

Thanks ,Bill ! The rod has that chestnut brown . I'll be please if it turns out half as nice as the one you and John did . I loved the look of that rod !!!!