Rod Building

[cdpaul]

Hello,

I am wondering what the best rod building kit for under 200 dollars. I want a five wt rod . I was looking at the GL3 rods by G. Loomis. Is it worth ti to build your own rod.

[harleybob87]

Hook and Hackle has the best prices for a kit 5 weight. Check out their site and if you have any questions call. they are wonderful to talk to. Is it worth it to build your own rod. I think so yes but that is just me. It depends on what you want out of a rod. Cost wise your time is worth something. That being said think about this. You are fly fishing your favorite spiecies with a rod you built yourself, leader you did yourself, and a fly you tied. You catch a fish. How much money would you spend for that. Me that is priceless. We all have our own opinions on building and I hope others express theirs here. My advise GO FOR IT!!!

[TampaJim]

WAY too much is dependent upon LOTS of data you didn't provide ... type of waterbody, species of fish, type of fly, experience level, etc.

Your question CAN be answered properly with more information.

TJ -

[cdpaul]

Hello,

Mostly smaller rivers maybe some lake fishing. I will be fishing trout and bluegill. As for flies i fish everything.

[Ronnie Z]

you did pick a good blank to start with,now putting it together is something else,go for it

[TampaJim]

IMO, spend just a tad bit more money and buy a St Croix SCIII 4-piece. It IS a better blank than the GL3, especially in lower line classes AND you will VERY much appreciate the four-piece design over the two-piece option.

BTW, if you really have to stay under $200 and you don't mind an offshore blank ... look at TFO's Professional Series.

[No-tye-much]

Take your time on the wrapping. Make sure it is as close to perfect as you think you can get before you apply the epoxy. Easy to back up before the epoxy. Practicing on a dowel could help. Also, taper the guide feet well. Before long you could be building rods with better workmanship than you can buy.

[Greybeard]

Good lighting is a must if you're going to do good (or even decent) work.

Greybeard

[herefishy]

A couple of rods I did, I was having trouble getting the thread to "jump" up onto the guide foot, then finally figured out that you need to taper the foot horizontally as well as vertically, that is you want the foot to come to a point, but you also want the area over the point to be quite thin.

[skondolf]

A year or so ago I purchased a Tradition 3wt fly rod kit from Hook and Hackle. The kit came with everything to build the rod including a reamer for the cork handle. I really love that rod! Is it "top end?" No but I'm happy with it.

They have these kits in 5wt (according to their site) for around $73 for a 4-piece or around $100 for a 7pc pack rod.

My suggestion would be to buy this kit and build the rod. Whether you end up liking the rod or not, you won't be out a ton of money and then you can decide if you like building rods or not. You'll end up with a rod < $100 and then you can decide if you want to pursue rodbuilding further.