Just what the heck is a spiral wrap rod? This unusual form of fishing rod has eyes that don’t line up—which looks mighty strange upon first glance, but often becomes a love affair after first use.


All rods have a spine running in a line from tip to butt, which is stronger than the rest of the rod. High-quality rods are assembled with the guides directly overtop (for casting) or underneath (for spinning) the spine, but in many cases, they’re a tiny bit off. And in low-cost rods, the spine is often ignored completely. As a result, whenever the rod is under load, it wants to rotate slightly to the left or the right. Because of the weight of the reel and changing directions of the fish, you might never have noticed this, but you’ll feel it in your wrist after a long day of fishing because your hand is always working a bit to keep that rod straight. In some rods you can even see this rotation. The tip of the rod may “fold” over and rotate noticeably; as a result the line can rub against the rod itself instead of only the guides, causing friction and eventually, a break-off.

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