And as I count them, there are 5 different ways/methods by which we can determine where to put our rod guides:

1. On the spine
2. Opposite the spine
3. 90 degrees ‘off’ the spine
4. On the ‘straightest’ sight plane
5. Totally ignore the spine

I ‘pulled’ some quotes on spining from regular ‘posters’ on rodbuilding.org:

• Spine would be the weakest orientation. Straightest axis is generally the strongest orientation. The two are rarely 180 degrees apart.
• I saw the Winston rod makers put them opposite the spine (outside curvature). So, I do it this way
• Seeker Factory Tour last month and this is what they do. They still locate the spine and build their rods on spine. They acknowledged that it is not necessary or needed but they do it just in case it matters to one or more of their customers. Something to think about. Since it doesn’t matter, I have always built on spine.
• If you get a blank in that 10% where the spine and bend don’t line up consider who your building for, if you’re building to sell I can’t tell you one fisherman who has ever even heard of a rod’s spine – but they all look down the rod and check if the guides are straight. Your priority may change with that 10%.
• One thing I picked up on from Roger Seider (I think that’s his name) is that a lot of blanks have more than one spine. He recommended going with the more predominate one. And, lastly, he stated that the spine isn’t that big of a thing on lighter rods.
• I still spine, just for peace of mind, and usually find it is also the straightest axis of the blank. I always place the spine on top because that’s how I was taught.

1. Sage – They’ve been placing guides on the ‘straightest axis’ for years.

2. CTS Fishing – According to a post on CTS Fishing website: We in fishing love to debate things like spine, swing-weight, carbon fiber modulus, guide tapering or not, nano-resins, guide types, single foot vs snake guides, size of stripping guides, etc, all which makes for good and fun discussion. At the end of the day, I seem to catch a lot of fish regardless of how I build my fly rods, and I am more concerned about the quality and action of the blank, the components I put on it, and the rod’s aesthetics than anything else.

3. Thomas & Thomas – T&T places guides on the opposite side of where the spine is located. The company claims it provides for more power on lifting the rod.

4. Fisher Smart – According to the fishersmart.com website and addressing the “Importance of Locating the Spine”, they write “Understanding the importance of locating the spine of your fishing rod is crucial for optimizing your fishing experience. By aligning the rod guides with the spine, you can significantly enhance your casting accuracy, control, and overall performance while fishing.”

5. Scott – I’ve been told that Scott wraps the guides directly ‘on the spine’. This orientation will provide for more power on the lifting of the rod.

After watching several of Lee’s videos, I was drawn to his simple approach and explanations of why he spines the rods, the benefits and how to do it. Lee, a professional rod builder and guide in Florida, builds about 100 rods per year and has numerous rod building videos on his YouTube channel. Here’s what Lee Harrelson has to say about spining.

Back to rodbuilding.org, Tom Kirkman has been the moderator for decades. I cannot imagine any in the industry who has more knowledge than Tom. Following are some of his posts concerning this subject.

Date: September 10, 2020 09:38AM

We have the evidence and the numbers to prove that building on the straightest axis (generally what you call the Power Axis) results in a rod with greater deadlift strength and a higher speed (response/recovery – frequency). There are no numbers, to my knowledge, that show a rod built on the spine does anything better. When we start talking about casting accuracy there’s really no way to judge that due to the fact that the main ingredient in play there is the person doing the casting.

Date: September 09, 2020 08:24PM

There is another reason to build on the straightest axis, which is typically along the axis that offers the greatest deadlift capacity. If the blank is oriented in this fashion, butt and tip up, belly low, the blank is able to sustain the weight of the components (mostly guides, wraps and finish) more “crisply” than in any other orientation. Gary Loomis used to talk about this a good deal – positioning the blank in a concave position so the slightly greater power along that axis in combination with the component weight would “bring the rod back to straight.

Date: January 22, 2023 09:09PM

The spine is irrelevant to anything having do with casting, deadlifting, etc.

Casting distance has to do with the amount of weight being cast plus the input from the person casting. It is a two-pronged thing and has nothing to do with the spine effect.

The spine only has an effect in a spine finder or in your rod shop. On the water it goes out the window. 50 years of this mythical nonsense and nobody can provide any actual research, data or results to prove building on the spine creates a superior fishing rod. The only thing any research or data does show is that building on the spine results in a weaker rod that will fail under less load that if the rod had been built on the straightest/stiffest axis.

Date: January 23, 2023 07:43AM

No axis of a rod blank is “stable” under load. Only guide placement can make a rod stable. This was the impetus for the spiral wrap all the way back in the early 1900’s. It, and such contraptions as the “Bass Handler” handle in the 70’s, were designed to combat the inherent instability of all casting rods, yes, even those built on the spine.

Over the years I have had many rod builders tell me that if you don’t build a spinning rod on the spine, it will twist and torque until the guides have spun to the top. I’m still waiting to see that.

We have sufficient data to prove that rods built on the straightest (strongest) axis offer a performance advantage in terms of offering greater deadlift capability than rods built on the spine. We have data to prove that only guide orientation can eliminate rod twist under load. There is no data whatsoever to prove or even suggest that building a rod on the spine eliminates twisting under load or increases casting accuracy.

Here’s what Gary Loomis has to say about spining:

Following are the supposed “conclusions” I can supposedly pass on from our experience at Hook & Hackle.

• Although many builders insist that placing guides on the ‘straightest’ sight plane usually means it’s also on the spine (or opposite the spine) or close to it, there is no consensus or proof that this is, indeed, the case.

• Spining is not difficult, nor does it take much time to do. That being the case, why not just do it.

• The only ‘firm’ conclusion is that the rod typically looks better when built on the straightest axis but may perform better when built based on the spine.

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