Rod Wrapping (Not What You Think)

I find it so annoying that JDM rods do not come with hook hangers, and I am not overly fond of the Fuji hook keepers that we all resort to adding to our sticks. I have made do with these over the years, but I always felt there had to be a better option. What's worse, is that the rod itself becomes subject to all kinds of hook rash. I mostly accepted this as the reality of real world usage of my tackle, but deep down I was always bothered by this.

So, a few years back, I decided to try wrapping electrical tape on my rods to see how well it would protect the blank from structural damage, as well as to test how good it was at keeping scratches from marring the graphics:

The concept was effective. However, there are two main drawbacks: the electrical tape's adhesive tends to work its way around and makes things feel a bit tacky, and it also covers up the rod's graphics.

So I got to thinking, what if there was such a thing as clear electrical tape?

Well, I searched online and there is no such product. Not quite. But, to my delight, I came across a comparable product made by 3M. They market it as paint protection tape, and sure enough, it has the same flexibility as electrical tape, but comes in clear vinyl just as I had hoped for.

I decided to give my Steez rod a cleaning to prepare it for the upgrades. Here is a look at the process...

Masking tape helped measure out the portion of the rod to be covered, and also kept the locknut out of the way...

With the blank protection achieved, the only problem left to solve was the need for a better hook keeper. Thankfully, I learned of the Pro-X zip tie hook keepers, and these did it for me. They cinch down really tight on the rod blank, and do not have to be flipped into the open/closed position constantly. I was finally able to achieve the functionality I needed on my JDM sticks.

It is critical that these be cinched super tight. I also have a pair of cutters made specifically to cut zip ties without leaving a sharp edge:

Here is the end result...

I went ahead and did this upgrade to my White Python II as well...

Here are links to the 3M paint protection tape, I used 1/2":

3M Paint Protection Tape (Clear)

3M Paint Protection Tape (Carbon)

Note: wrap from the bottom up.

Any questions, please hit me up. I will post more photos as I do this to more rods...