Adding measure marks to rod

G

Greg Price

Steelhead
How big (or small) is that fish?

In past I used touch up paint for kitchen sinks. I found adding clear coat of fingernail polish over the top made dots more durable.


White kitchen sink paint is not available, so I substituted white fingernail paint with hot pink dots on the 5s.

Steps involved.

1. Clean rod with S p r a y a w a y brand glass cleaner with alcohol and paper towel. This is to get rid of any skin oil from handling rod.

2. Clamp newspaper to railing top to protect railing from any spils

3. Painter tape to rod and measuring tape to stabilize both

4. Add dot of white fingernail polish up to 20 inches.(In 20 years of 2wt small stream fishing biggest fish has been 17 inches

5. New on this rod. Add hot pink dot for every 5 inches

6. Add clear coat of nail polis20250704_133316.jpgh to each dot.
 

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I have a 40" mark on one of my 10wts, a 12" and 16" mark with thread on one of my Steffens. For the most part though, for muskies I use marks I made on my net handle similar to what you did at 40" and 48" marks...speaking of, I need to reapply on that one.
 
I tried chartreuse uv resin on my net handle. Did not work very well at all. Maybe I’ll give the fingernail polish a try.
 
SpeyrodGB said:
I tried chartreuse uv resin on my net handle. Did not work very well at all. Maybe I’ll give the fingernail polish a try.
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Clear fingernail polish over the appliance touch up paint worked well in past. Not sure how all 3 layers of fingernail polish will work.

It is a rod I purchased with idea of getting bigger fish friends into small fish, small streams small rods. Catching a 6 inxh native cutthroat on 2 wt way more fun than on typical 5 weight.

Since this is rod primarily for friends. It may not get extensive use like my other 2 wtdoes every summer.
 
clarkman said:
I have a 40" mark on one of my 10wts, a 12" and 16" mark with thread on one of my Steffens. For the most part though, for muskies I use marks I made on my net handle similar to what you did at 40" and 48" marks...speaking of, I need to reapply on that one.
Click to expand...
What kind of paint or sticker did you use for your marks?
 
I had started with a paint pen, then went with nail polish. Chartreuse. I didn't add a layer of hard coat to it, so it doesn't last much longer than 3-4 seasons. On the Steffen, they are thin thread wraps.
 
👏 I applaud the ingenuity! The thread wrap is very cool.
I have a 1st gen Echo 2 with factory measure marks but have Measure Net bags for my nets. I like to 'keep 'em wet' and let them regain their equilibrium until they can "swim" in the net. After a short lift to snap a photo I dip the net to let them swim out. Measure marks on the rod make a much more interesting photo though!
 
Talking warm water here, but it's interesting than many Midwestern folks swear by bump boards. To the point where "if it wasn't put on the bump, it doesn't count"...I always get a chuckle out of this because while bass may be tough as hell, muskies are actually rather fragile fish. For tiger muskies, that's why I do like the marks up the net handle. Just tail the fish in the net, slide it's nose to touch the end, see how far the tail reaches on the marks. Never need to take the fish out of the water (obviously I do on occasion for a quick pic here or there). It's probably within an inch or 2 as the "official" bump board measurement. Then, when I report, I err on the lower side of that, but ultimately it doesn't really matter all that much to me unless it's one of those fish that are in the upper echelon of what I've caught.

For trout, those wraps on the rod are really pretty slick...
 
Greg Price said:
How big (or small) is that fish?

In past I used touch up paint for kitchen sinks. I found adding clear coat of fingernail polish over the top made dots more durable.


White kitchen sink paint is not available, so I substituted white fingernail paint with hot pink dots on the 5s.

Steps involved.

1. Clean rod with S p r a y a w a y brand glass cleaner with alcohol and paper towel. This is to get rid of any skin oil from handling rod.

2. Clamp newspaper to railing top to protect railing from any spils

3. Painter tape to rod and measuring tape to stabilize both

4. Add dot of white fingernail polish up to 20 inches.(In 20 years of 2wt small stream fishing biggest fish has been 17 inches

5. New on this rod. Add hot pink dot for every 5 inches

6. Add clear coat of nail polisView attachment 159130h to each dot.
Click to expand...
I've been doing that for a few years.
Use paint pens, silver or gold. It actually holds up pretty well, no varnish or epoxy.
 
Blue painter’s tape. The 1”, cut in 1/2 lengthwise. Easy to see and remove. I mark my spey rods at 30” and trout rods at 20”. Any over or under those lengths can be easily measured by with of my hand, 4”.
 
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I add some trim wraps of contrasting thread at an optimistic but achievable length from the butt of the rod and throw on some epoxy. Then I promptly forget the measurement, but they look slick. The silver on black is a great color combo when wrapping a rod for someone who cheers on the raiders rival.
 
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