When I first used a spiral-wrapped rod on a party boat, I got some strange looks,” Darin Dohi laughs. Dohi’s conventional rod had the first line guide on top of the blank, the second guide at an offset and the rest of the eyes on the underside of the blank. “One of the crew members asked if I was holding my fishing rod upside down,” he remembers.
Spiraling Through Time
Dohi, who is known in the custom rod world for his intricate weave patterns, experimented with spiral wrap decades ago. The rod looks unconventional, but he says there is a method to the madness. The angler gets the advantages of a spinning rod with the line capacity and cranking power of a conventional reel.
According to legend, the spiral wrap started as the Roberts wrap, developed by John Scanlan in 1909. Over time, rod-building gurus Tom Kirkman and Ralph O’Quinn standardized the layout.
The design caught on with West Coast anglers and gained the name acid wrap. “It looks like the rod builder was tripping on acid when he attached the eyes,” Dohi explains.
Dohi helped bring the design mainstream when he advocated for the concept to Randy Penny now owner of United Composites rods. “I got a reputation for supporting spiral-wrapped rods,” he says.
For more than 50 years, builders have experimented with spiral-wrapped rods for everything from largemouth bass to rockfish and blue marlin. Eventually, the design gained traction, specifically for deep jigging and baitcasting tackle, but the concept is picking up speed in more fisheries and more styles of fishing.
Ups and Downs
Capt. Johnny Steadman, owner of Johnny Jigs, carries several lines of spiral-wrapped rods to go along with his large inventory of jigging and trolling tackle and accessories. Mike Kim, director of sales at Jigging World, saw the trend and invested heavily in the spiral-wrapped concept. “At one time, all of our rods were spiral wrapped,” Kim says.
Steadman and Kim are die-hard deep-drop anglers, and the advantages of spiral-wrapped rods makes fishing easier. The key features are power and control.
When a fish pulls line on a conventional rod, the force wants to twist the rod in the angler’s hands. Kim explains: “Fighting a fish on a conventional rod, I have to use my forearm to keep the rod upright.”
With a spiral-wrapped rod, the angler doesn’t have to fight the tackle in order to fight the fish. With the guides moved to the underside of the rod blank, the pull of the fish no longer creates a rotational force on the rod and reel.
To prove his point, Kim challenges an angler to put a conventional rod and spiral-wrapped rod in a rod holder. “Pull on the line and the conventional rod spins around while the spiral-wrapped rod stays upright.”
The advantages go beyond comfort. Kim says a spiral wrap is easier on the fishing rod itself.
“Carbon fiber rods are lightweight and super sensitive, but they are also brittle,” he says. Adding spiral wrap reduces both short-term stress and long-term fatigue on the blank. Kim adds: “We have a very low return rate on our spiral-wrapped rods.”
Steadman points out a practical advantage: “When I’m jigging with a conventional rod spooled with light braided line, the wind can cause the line to loop around the rod tip.” He must stop jigging to clear the line from the tip-top.
If a fish were to hit at that moment when the line is looped around the last guide, it could result in a snapped line or the rod could be damaged. “With a spiral-wrapped rod, the loop simply slides off and I keep fishing,” he says. “It’s a game changer.”
Arguably, the only disadvantage is a spiral-wrapped rod isn’t as sensitive. “A conventional rod with the line running over the top of the blank transmits vibration through the guides to the angler,” Kim admits. With the line running below the blank, less vibration passes through the guides to the blank.
Proper placement of the offset eye is a subject of discussion, and different rod builders have their own preferences. The rule of thumb and a point of agreement is to place the offset eye on the same side of the blank as the reel handle to keep line from bunching up on the spool. Kim says guide placement makes a difference with larger reels, but it won’t affect smaller jigging reels.
Steadman recommends inspecting the rod with the line under pressure. “Make sure the line doesn’t contact the blank,” he says.
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Twisted Fishing
Even though spiral-wrapped rods offer several advantages, the design remains far from mainstream. “In the end, it looks weird,” Kim says. Recently, the concept is picking up followers as open-minded anglers see past the odd appearance of a spiral-wrapped rod in search of every advantage they can get. “For many types of fishing, there are plenty of advantages and no real disadvantages,” Steadman says.
The biggest spiral wrap fans are anglers who are into vertical jigging, and that’s the style of fishing where you’ll find most spiral-wrapped rods today.
Working a jig for hours and fighting big fish with a light rod are the perfect application for spiral-wrapped guides. Reducing fatigue and improving power are the biggest challenges to vertical jigging and the primary advantages of spiral-wrapped rods.
For the same reasons, the design can be beneficial for offshore trolling rods, but obviously only when used with ring guides, not roller guides. When a blue marlin runs for the horizon, every bit of extra power and control are important.
Spiral wrap is a great fit for stand-up rods to help balance the force on the rod and fighting harness. But West Coast anglers also appreciate the spiral wrap for winching up big tuna with a rail rod. Some anglers argue the design also allows for longer more accurate casts because it imparts less friction on the fishing line. Proponents consider this an advantage when launching lures for breezing California yellowtail.
Spiral-wrapped rods are growing popular with Northeastern anglers bottom bouncing for flounder,” Kim reveals. The spiral wrap produces less friction on the line and allows a bucktail and trailer to sink faster.
Spiral wrapped rods currently remain in the realm of specialty shops and custom rod builders, but the design is slowly spreading to mainstream manufacturers.
“Spiral wrap has a lot of advantages, even if it looks weird,” Dohi says.
