What rod and reel are you using?
- This topic has 57 replies, 39 voices, and was last updated Apr 18, 2008 at 8:41 pm by
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Obviously I am the beginner here, with one rod and reel. My wife is not too understanding either, so that makes things a little more difficult. I am planning on a new 6 or 7 wt rod, but right now I have to make due with one.
Jeff,
Although I have many rods now, I have to say my most memorable time were when I just have one rod and one reel like your situation now. Part of reason is I fish hard back then and learned a lot of new tech in these trips. Enjoy your one rod and reel era… not long after I believe you will scratch you head and have a hard time to decide which rod you should use… ::)
A customized rod designed precisely for your hand can’t be beat.
This one I’ll have to disagree on. I’ve seen way too many shoddy and gaudy custom rods to say they’re all that good as a whole.
A lot has to be said for perfecting your work through experience. Most home builders would be hard-pressed to duplicate the number of wraps in a year that a factory does in a week.
I know from experience there are craftsman and there are artists. It is very rare to find a single rod builder who excells at both.
Jes sayin’Well we can agree that not every guy who claims to be a custom rod builder can actually build a rod.
It goes way beyond the guide wrap.
Matt, I viewed your website after making the above post.
I must say, you sure seem to have the artist/craftsman connection figured out!
VERY nice work!I’ve got 3 rigs at present:
- Sage SLT 7′ 6″ 3wt w/Orvis BBS II and SA GPX line (the GPX will probably go before too long)
- Sage FLI 9′ 5wt w/Orvis BBS III and SA XXD line (first rig, line worn out, will be replaced)
- Custom Sage Xi2 9′ 8wt w/Teton Tioga 8 and Sage Performance Taper line (just got it, still have yet to catch a fish on it)
I’m going to be adding another 5wt, this one a 4 piece, but that will be another thread.
I build rod too, here’s what Im using currently, I just bought a 8wt XP, So I may part ways with one of my 9wts.
Trout-
Left – Batson RX7 7’9” 3 wt
Right- Dan Craft Ft 9′ 5wt
Bass, streamers, stripers-
Dan craft FT 9′ 7wt, galvin torque 6, lamson P3
Striper, saltwater-
Reels- Lamson litespeed hard alox 3.5, lamson velocity 3.5, orvis mach IV
Rod- Dan craft FT 9′ 9wt
– TFO ticrx custom 9’9wt
-TFo Ticr 9’9wt
Thats it, for now.My rods and reels are in near-constant flux.
I will say that in my opinion Will wins any kind of pissing contest with his 11/12 Bruce and Walker – that’s a rod I’ve only even *seen* one time (and that was in London).
As far as custom rods go, I say if a man wants an Elvis scrimshaw and a purple tassel on his rod, by god more power to him.
I know you are half joking about custom rods but I can’t help but agree. I fish a rod because of its flex, as long as the components are of good quality I do not see a reason to buy a custom rod. Again, this may be just me, I appreciate the ability to use a rods warranty if needed to get a completed rod back into the rotation as quick as possible. Special cork, reel seats, inlaid feathers etc just don’t do it for me. A tassle might be nice though, a bright purple rod with orange wraps, with a yellow tassle on the butt end. Also a cork handle that is 3 inches in diameter a lead reel seat and insert made out of an endangered species of wood. ;D
Spencer, I hope its not my rods that look hideous 😛
I started building my own rods to save money, and it has turned into a hobby. I find myself at times not liking some crazy grips, I have tried not to get to crazy with mine.
A customized rod designed precisely for your hand can’t be beat.
This one I’ll have to disagree on. I’ve seen way too many shoddy and gaudy custom rods to say they’re all that good as a whole.
A lot has to be said for perfecting your work through experience. Most home builders would be hard-pressed to duplicate the number of wraps in a year that a factory does in a week.
I know from experience there are craftsman and there are artists. It is very rare to find a single rod builder who excells at both.
Jes sayin’ 😉Having built my own rods for some 35 years, to include a fair number for friends, I will agree that there is both ART and CRAFTSMAN at work with a custom rod. Apart from any of the ART reasons to build a rod, if you can learn the basic CRAFTSMAN skills, building your own rods SIGNIFICANTLY reduces the cost of owning high quality rods and allows you to upgrade to components of a quality/performance unavailable in similar commercial rods. The cost is significantly even more reduced if you can find a way to obtain your components at Wholesale prices.
The average rod takes approximately 8-10 hours of labor over a minimum of 3 – 5 days to complete. This time is reduced a bit with purpose built rod-building tools assisting your work. Apart from the value of your time, the only cost of a custom rod is the component cost. Glue and Thread are nominal costs.
Here’s an example
- The Loomis Streamdance GLX Rod 9’, 4pc, 5wgt has an MSRP of $620
You could build a similar rod with substantially upgraded guides and reel seat as follows:
Loomis 9’, 4 pc, GLX, 5wgt Blank: $312MSRP
Fuji Titanium/Gold Cermet Concept Guides ($10-13ea) $100 MSRP
Struble Reel Seat Nickle Silver with Wood Insert ($35-50) MSRP
Cork Grip – $18-23 MSRP
Total Component Cost at MSRP: $485
Total Component Cost at Wholesale -40% ($291)
Of course the availability of components at wholesale varies, but even at MSRP prices, one can build a high quality rod, replicating or even improving on high-end commercial rods at substantially less cost. One must develop the CRAFTSMAN skills to do so, but that applies to most do-it-yourself projects. I am still fishing rods I built 30, 20 and 10 years ago. When I built them, I couldn’t afford the equivalent commercial rod, but by using high quality components and learning the necessary CRAFTSMAN skills, I was able to product long-lasting, high performance rods at reasonable costs.
Mike
As far as custom rods are concerned, I build them for myself for my own pleasure. I can also set them up just the way I want them, which you can’t get in a production rod. Can I wrap a rod as well as some kid in Korea that wraps 20 rods a day. Probably not, but if I take my time I can get them just about perfect. I’ve also ended up with some exceptional casting rods at much less $$$ than a production rod.
I guess it boils down to a matter of taste. There are a lot of great production rods, a whole lot. I just enjoy having something a little different.
I’ve had the urge to roll “old school” this fall so far. The last couple of trips up to North Carolina I’ve been using a Heddon Pal Pro Weight #8381 which is a seven foot rod for five weight line matched an old three inch J. W. Young Pridex clicker.
You’d be surprised how effective a tool a seven foot five weight fly rod is on small and medium sized rivers.
I’ve had the urge to roll “old school” this fall so far. The last couple of trips up to North Carolina I’ve been using a Heddon Pal Pro Weight #8381 which is a seven foot rod for five weight line matched an old three inch J. W. Young Pridex clicker.
You’d be surprised how effective a tool a seven foot five weight fly rod is on small and medium sized rivers.
Agree! Mr. …There are tons of different ways to deliver a fly to a fish…
I own a # of rods – mostly trout rods. My 2 current favorites:
5 wt Sage SLT (8.5 ft) with a Ross Rhythm (copper anodized) reel
5 wt St. Croix Avid (custom built)with a Teton Tioga reelI have to disagree with the negative comments about custom rods. I like them. It just depends on what you want. And my St. Croix Avid was bought from an auction off of ebay. The workmanship on it is superior to any factory built rod I have seen. And all 3 of the custom rods I have are very well done and none of them were done by a famous or well-known builder.
Greg
These are the rods i most likely use for trout and salmonfishing here in norway :
3wt : Winston Lt5 8.9 ft & Loop Multi 9 ft
4wt : Scott S3 8.6 ft , Winston WT 9 ft , Sage SLT 9 ft and a Sage SP 9 ft
5wt : Scott G2 8.8 ft , Sage XP 9.6 ft , St.Croix Legend Elite 9 ft and a LTS X1 10 ft
6wt : Loop Multi 9.6 ft
7wt : Loop Greyline 9.6 ft
8wt : Scott S3 9.6 ft
9-10 wt : HiLevel 13,6 ft (two handed)
Most of my reels are Loop/Danielsson’s & Galvan Torque
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