Custom 5wt fly rod finally finished

[PatrickH]

Sold all my Cabelas fly rods so I could build myself a much better fly rod. Had no fly rod for a few months, but now I have one again.
Finished it today and just wanted to show it off.
This is my second fly rod build.
This rod matches my other custom lake and river rod for a 3 rod matching set.


Custom Rainshadow RX7 Revelation 9' 5wt
Alps Shiny Gun Smoke Reel Seat.
High Density Graphite Arbor.
Custom Full Wells Cork Grip and Butt End.
Fuji Single Foot Fly Guides and Double Foot Stripper.
Recoil Tip and Hook Keeper.
Black Thread with Silver and Pewter Metallic.
3 Coats DII Epoxy.

 

[Golden Trout]

Sold all my Cabelas fly rods so I could build myself a much better fly rod. Had no fly rod for a few months, but now I have one again.
Finished it today and just wanted to show it off.
This is my second fly rod build.
This rod matches my other custom lake and river rod for a 3 rod matching set.


Custom Rainshadow RX7 Revelation 9' 5wt
Alps Shiny Gun Smoke Reel Seat.
High Density Graphite Arbor.
Custom Full Wells Cork Grip and Butt End.
Fuji Single Foot Fly Guides and Double Foot Stripper.
Recoil Tip and Hook Keeper.
Black Thread with Silver and Pewter Metallic.
3 Coats DII Epoxy.

Nice! Fuji single foot speed guides are super shooters. Job well done.

 

[PatrickH]

Thank you.
I have 4wt Sharkwave spooled, so hopefully it will be ok on this 5wt.
Gonna try to get out in the next couple weeks and test it out.

 

[Adam Saarinen]

Beautiful! Well done!

 

[PatrickH]

Thanks

 

[John Parker]

I'm not a rod builder, but this looks like some real nice work.
I'm curious about the cork, intriguing look.
Glad you weren't discouraged about building rods, looks like you're pretty good at it.
But will it catch fish?

 

[PatrickH]

Thanks.
My first fly rod build looked better then this one as it was more fancy, but this one was built to be a matching set with a darker theme.
I think this cork is pretty new. Has a excellent feel to it and it's very firm, not soft and squishy like standard cork.
We will see soon if it will catch fish.
Will need to tie some more flies first. Fly tying got set on the back burner once I started rod building.
3 more builds left to finish, then I will start tying again. Probably some Cutthroat patterns.

 

[PatrickH]

Here's my first one I built. Was done for someone else, so I never got a chance to use it, but I really like how the grip turned out.

 

[Bugsy]

Patrick, every build you've shared has been a treat to view. What you've accomplished with each one is impressive. Your choice for wraps and trim on this new build shows your usual eye for detail and great taste. Well done!

I think you've built on more than one RX7 blank now. What's your impression of the blank? Ferrule fit? Straightness? Finish? Have you considered other "custom builder" blanks? The MHX blanks from Mudhole look interesting; I'm curious if you've considered those as well.

Thanks for sharing this top quality build.

 

[typhoon]

Very nice, especially the epoxy work. It should be way better than the Cabela's.

 

[PatrickH]

Patrick, every build you've shared has been a treat to view. What you've accomplished with each one is impressive. Your choice for wraps and trim on this new build shows your usual eye for detail and great taste. Well done!

I think you've built on more than one RX7 blank now. What's your impression of the blank? Ferrule fit? Straightness? Finish? Have you considered other "custom builder" blanks? The MHX blanks from Mudhole look interesting; I'm curious if you've considered those as well.

Thanks for sharing this top quality build.

Thank you for the kind words.

I've built 8 RX7 rod blanks so far. Local brand, quality, durability, price. Not cheap, but not out of reach in price. You know you are getting a very high quality rod blank without having to only guess if you did.
With the price in parts and along with the time it takes to build a rod, I know I'm building on high quality that will perform as it should with impressive results. I'm also able to pick them up locally, so it's a win win for me.
Build on a RX7 and you won't be wishing you built on anything else.
Very straight, fit nice and tight, finish is durable, but it is a flat finish, so it will scratch easier then a high gloss finish.
I thought about MHX, but I read just as many bad reviews as I do good, and the price from wholesale to retail is a pretty big gap in price.
Rainshadow, you get much more bang for your buck in this sense. Not a large price gap difference from retail to wholesale.
MHX likes to sell a lot of junk products at a high price, so I feel they will have the same mindset of products they sell with thier rod blanks.
Even a $20 rod will catch fish, but with Rainshadow, you just know your are getting all your money's worth.

 

[PatrickH]

Very nice, especially the epoxy work. It should be way better than the Cabela's.

Thanks
Looks a bit funky in the pictures because of the reflection glare, but it's applied pretty evenly. This is always one of the most stressful parts in rod building.

 

[Bugsy]

Thanks for giving your opinion on the blanks. The matte finish (clear coat over natural graphite) on my old IMX & GLX doesn't mark up at all. Perhaps the RX7 is painted charcoal and given a matte clear coat that isn't as resistant. I'll take your word that the overall quality is there, though.

I too have read some concerns of breakage with MHX, but there have been some very positive reviews on performance. Just nothing much on the fly blanks either way.

 

[MotoBoat]

What is your knowledge of likeability for a Rainshadow Eternity2 (RX9)?

 

[PatrickH]

It's Rainshadow, so it's gonna be good. Other then that, I personally have no experience or knowledge of that blank as it's out of my price range so never looked into them.