Pipe Thread Seal Tape for Grip Screw Caps

by John Evans
(San Antonio, TX)

Pipe Thread Seal Tape for Grip Screw Cap

I claim no originality for this idea, but my wife and I have found that pipe thread seal tape helps to prevent grip screw caps on our tenkara rods from working loose. Some rods are worse about this than others, but it’s not uncommon to have the grip screw cap on a tenkara or keiryu rod work loose and drop off in the water while you’re fishing. Can there be anything more frustrating than finishing a morning’s fishing only to discover that part of your rod is now floating down the creek?

Please understand that this is not a cure-all, and you’ll have to use your own judgment on this, but we’ve found that a turn or two of the seal tape (available at any hardware store) helps to keep the grip screw cap from working loose. Of course, you still want to finger-tighten the cap from time to time just to be safe. See the accompanying photo for an example.

Hope this helps others! Again, I’m sure other people have already used this idea.

“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten” - Benjamin Franklin

"Be sure in casting, that your fly fall first into the water, for if the line fall first, it scares or frightens the fish..." -
Col. Robert Venables 1662

As age slows my pace, I will become more like the heron.

We've all had situations where seriously chewed up flies kept catching fish after fish after fish. It is no sin to tie flies that come off the vise looking seriously chewed up.