Thanks to dtrs5kprs, another angler is biten by the Ned

[dtrs5kprs]

I was having some discomfort with a really small grip on a St. Croix last time I was out with Ham. I've since put some bike handlebar wrap on it to make it a larger diameter. Would something like that maybe help your issues?

It definitely does. Wider is better. That is why I build big ugly TN handles using rings that are just turned enough to sand off the glue lines without reducing the diameter by much. I also use a tennis racket grip tape on other rods to thicken up the grip. Super fancy stuff.

Squeezing those cut down minimalist handles is a highway to wrist pain. With a fat TN handle and some wrap I can just let the weight of the reel sort of loosely keep things in my hand. Makes the odd catfish an interesting adventure.