building a rod

[Greg Gilliland]

Wanting to start building a fly rod, later this spring. Should I buy a exspensive blank or a cheap blank, I have never built a rod before. I am wanting to build a rod for trout say a 5-6 weight, and maybe a rod for steelhead later this summer. Any ideas, help, and or advice would be appreciated.

[Rob Blomquist]

Buy the blank that you want to fish, whether its cheap or expensive. Building a fishable rod is easy, building one pleasing to the eye can be tougher, and builing a piece of art that fishes well, requires an artist that knows fishing rods.

If you are wanting a rod for summer steelhead, a 6 will work well, so you may not have to build 2 rods.

If you live in the North Seattle area, you might want to contact Greg's Custom Rods in the Lake Stevens area. He's a good guy that I visit at least monthly, and I recommend all new people to rod building to. He offers classes, and all kinds of help. www.gregscustomrods.com

There is also an excellent website on this at http://www.flyfisherman.com/rodbuilding/. Read that before you go any farther.

Rob

[mike doughty]

This is my personal opinion. i would start with a good,but fairly cheap blank that way if it gets screwed up you didn't invest a whole lot of money and if it turns out good then you have a good rod. i started with a GL2 and the cabelas FT models. both are decent blanks and around $100.

[Roper]

Greg, Tight Loops recommendation for Greg's is a good one. Visit him and get a medium priced blank. There's nothing like some guidance with someone to build a rod. It cuts way down on the frustration factor.
You can build one in his shop while taking his class...

Roper,

Good things come to those who wade...

[windtickler]

Build a cheap rod to get the feeling, knowing that no matter how much time and effort you put into it, as soon as you are done, you will be disatified with it. Then on the second go around, you will know enough to build a much nicer rod.

[maluce]

I've built a couple of rods using Rainshadow blanks and I really like both. Greg's carries them and the prices are on the lower end.
Mike

[baseballandfishing]

Does anyone know what the seconds Greg was selling at the sportsman show are? It didnt have a name but I got a 9' 5wt 4 pc blank and its the matte grey finish. ANyone know what it might be?
Thanks

Joe

[luv2fly2]

greg, if you want a discount on blanks i think i can get one. let me know which tuesday you can be there. i dont know if you can email me without me giving you me address. i have had several people email me without me giving it to them. mike

[Rob Blomquist]

If its a medium fast action, probably a Rainshadow IM7, fast action, XCEL.

I have an IM7 4wt that I love. And I doubt I could figure out what the defect is, as its a beautiful rod.

If you are still not sure, send him an email.

Rob

[baseballandfishing]

It was listed a fast action rod. It was only $ 25, do you think an XCEL would go for that?

[Rob Blomquist]

My IM7 was only $20 a couple of years ago. I would ask Greg at www.gregscustomrods.com, cause he will tell you straight. He's a great guy.

Rob

[Nooksack Mac]

Greg, you should build an inexpensive rod as your first project - and it will be the first of several, or many. You will make some mistakes and learn how to do a better job on the next rods you build. Your first one will be a useable tool, and a useful backup/loaner rod for the future. If you shop carefully, you may be able to build the first one for less than $50. And any rod you build will cost less than half of its factory equivalent.

[Southsound]

The other part of your decisionmaking will be the component set used (and that expense can be a surprise!)
You are might be thinking freshwater use for the 5-6 weight but might want to consider an anodized aluminum reel seat and a guide-set that will stand up to saltwater use as well. That way you will have a rod the "swings both ways" ;-) and one that's available for saltwater SRCs when that's the venue. Nickel-silver seats are nice looking, but are not friendly with saltwater environs. I have never been to Greg's (will someday) but I am sure he can fill you in on the options regarding components. You might also check with Shoff Tackle to see if they have any of the 2003 model St. Croix SCIV blanks still available. They had them on "closeout" recently and I think they still have a few left.

Hope is that Thing with Feathers..

[Flip]

Hey baseball, the rod you got was a rainshadow blank. i have built a second and found them to be just as good as the expensive firsts, assuming that you didnt get one with a defect. and hey JustLearnin, the rainshadow rods are a great intro rod into rodbuilding, they fish well and can be exceptionally cheap. my lastest build was a 9'8wt second for winter steelhead... handles well, fishes well, casts well, and i spent 25 for the blank, 16 for hardware, 4 for a PENN International handle ( greg has a bunch of them) and like 2 bucks for a fighting butt. cheap, but with some nice quality. if you still have questions or are wondering about what blanks greg has, let me know. i live less than a mile away, it would be no trouble to go look:thumb

[Greg Gilliland]

Flip

I will get back to you about going to Greg's to check it out. I am going to have to wait for summer I believe to build one. Some things have come up. Do they have blanks that are seconds? Some guys I work with think thats what I should buy. Being that I live on the east side if you could check that out for me it would be great. Good luck fishing. Anytime you want to go to Rocky Ford let me know. I live about 30 minutes away from there.

Thanks
Greg

[Flip]

the questions about seconds at gregs is like a joke, he has more there than i care to admit. it takes some rooting to find a really good one but they are around. my last build was a 130$ rainshadow that i found in the seconds pile. only thing wrong was a cosmetic flaw unter what is now my reel seat. got the black for 20 bucks, entire rod was less than 50 for a nice rod that I personally like the feel of. id run in to see what he has there in seconds tomorrow, but he is closed on sunday. ill have to get back to you. RF eh? never fished it.. might have to take you up on that offer!

Tom

[Rob Blomquist]

I just saw Greg at the Monroe show, and bought a 5 wt 3 piece XCEL blank from him that is a Rainshadow Second. I asked him about it and this year they are "action" seconds. That just means that the detailed specs of the rod do not match the performance standard in a quick check. Greg told me that they tended to be both sides of the right action, either faster or slower. The one I brought back seemed just fine to me, not much faster or slower.

I bought one, and am likely to buy more of the 5 wts to sell as stillwater rods. XCEL rods, are rocket launchers, and good rods for managing the bigger fish.

[Flip]

did he have xcel 4's? i need a 4.. the 6 seems a lil heavy for trout though its ok for summer steel

tom

[Flip]

did he have xcel 4's? i need a 4.. the 6 seems a lil heavy for trout though its ok for summer steel

tom

[Rob Blomquist]

Yes, I think he did. I was just looking for 5s and 7s.

Rob

[newfly]

I would also highly reccomend Greg's. I have built 2 rods at his shop using seconds and I love them both. This is a great option if you are building your first rod. PLUS, I firmly believe in supporting the local independent shops when possible.

Also, does anyone know of a shop selling rod building equipment in the Bellevue/Issaquah area. I need some thread and glue and cant justify the extra trip up north.

[JRSly]

Creekside carries some thread, not much selection, but some. I don't know what kind of epoxy you are looking for but they also have 5 min epoxy (I don't really like this stuff, I prefer the 30). Well, I hope this helps.

Sly

[Box Car]

Hey Guys,
You can still get great rod building supplys from Schoffs.

http://www.shofftackle.com/

A local business as well, albeit online these days!

Happy Casting

[newfly]

Thanks for the info. You are right about the limited selection at Creekside (about a 1/2 dozen threads). I think it's unfortunate about Shoff's being only online. You lose that personal touch and loyalty of your customer base.

[JRSly]

If you don't mind the wait they would probably order you some, they are really good with things like that. Or you could just do some shopping on the old computer.

Sly

[darik]

I was going to post a new thread, but this one seems to be answering most of my questions.
I've never built a rod, and just got interested in the idea of doing it. I want to build a 4pc 5wt for backpacking around with, and later a 3wt rod.

I'd planned to browse the online rod building shops and educate myself real quick and get something in my price range (low). I started looking at the blanks that Cabela's has, but I think I can find better blanks for a lower price.

Do I really need to get the motorized drying racks and stuff like that or can I get away with just the hardware, glue, varnish and such?
I'm thinking I should also get either a book or an instruction video as well, since I've never even seen it done.

Just wanted to see if I'm on the right track so far...

[Rob Blomquist]

Go on up to Gregs, and he has a list of Rainshadow Factory Seconds that are very nicely priced.

As to epoxy and the drying motor, you don't need a motor for drying if you turn the blank 1/4 turn every 15 minutes for the first 2 or 3 hours.

Don't use varnish, while it is easier, it needs to be redone every year or so to stay in top shape. Epoxy never needs to be redone.

Rob