Joined
·
2,702 Posts
Well, this past year I decided to take the plunge and build a rod or two. I found a guy in Williams Lake who could supply me with a rod kit for under $150. Pacific Bay components and a factory second blank. The blanks have some very minor blemishes in the finish, but nothing that would affect the performance. I researched the blanks a bet and asked my guy if by chance they were one of a couple I knew were manufactured in the town he mentioned. His response was that because they were seconds, no manufacturer wanted their name attached to them, but he had it on good authority that these blanks had been made for "a company with the initials GL". I purchased a 7 wt kit from him and went to work.
I had to build a winding lathe first. I spent about $50 on some oak boards, felt stripping, varnish, etc. and built a rod lathe. I will post a picture soon and can supply plans if anyone wants. I also bought a drying motor on ebay for $20 and was ready to go.
The rod went together fairly well (I did put the hook keeper on the wrong side tho’). When I had corrected my mistake, I presented the rod to a very good friend for his birthday. I bought a second rod kit and quickly made my wife an anniversary gift of a lovely 7’ 6” 3wt rod. (Fortunately my wife loves to fish, so I can get away with this one.) This was followed by another 7wt which I built for another angler. My main fishing buddy decided to spend a year in Beijing teaching. He has two 7 wt Martins that he fishes with, so before he left I built him a 5 wt 4 piece for travel. I built a Sage xp 7 wt for his dad to use on salmon. Finally I built 2 rods for myself. Another 4 pce, ( this one a 4 wt) and a 9’ 2 piece 7wt. I have used the 7 wt 3 or 4 times this year targeting coho, landing chums. This is absolutely the best way to get the rods you want at a price you can afford. Even a full price kit (like the Sage I built) is a thrill to have as you can add your own touches, feather inlays, custom hardware, reel seats, etc. One custom touch I add to all my rods is a ¼” wrap of thread I put on the rod 16” from the butt end (on a seven weight I add another at 20”). This serves as a very easy and reliable measure for fish length.
So that's seven rods in about 7 months. This is almost as much fun as fishing.
I had to build a winding lathe first. I spent about $50 on some oak boards, felt stripping, varnish, etc. and built a rod lathe. I will post a picture soon and can supply plans if anyone wants. I also bought a drying motor on ebay for $20 and was ready to go.
The rod went together fairly well (I did put the hook keeper on the wrong side tho’). When I had corrected my mistake, I presented the rod to a very good friend for his birthday. I bought a second rod kit and quickly made my wife an anniversary gift of a lovely 7’ 6” 3wt rod. (Fortunately my wife loves to fish, so I can get away with this one.) This was followed by another 7wt which I built for another angler. My main fishing buddy decided to spend a year in Beijing teaching. He has two 7 wt Martins that he fishes with, so before he left I built him a 5 wt 4 piece for travel. I built a Sage xp 7 wt for his dad to use on salmon. Finally I built 2 rods for myself. Another 4 pce, ( this one a 4 wt) and a 9’ 2 piece 7wt. I have used the 7 wt 3 or 4 times this year targeting coho, landing chums. This is absolutely the best way to get the rods you want at a price you can afford. Even a full price kit (like the Sage I built) is a thrill to have as you can add your own touches, feather inlays, custom hardware, reel seats, etc. One custom touch I add to all my rods is a ¼” wrap of thread I put on the rod 16” from the butt end (on a seven weight I add another at 20”). This serves as a very easy and reliable measure for fish length.
So that's seven rods in about 7 months. This is almost as much fun as fishing.
