For those of you who are familiar with Steffen Bros fiberglass fly rods you know how sweet his 5/6 wts are. Hard to find long 5/6 wt fiberglass blanks as nice as the ones Mark Steffen makes. Truly delightful casting/fishing blanks that Mark Steffen rolls by hand at his home in AZ. I've built out his 8'6" 5/6, 8' 5/6, and now a 8'3 5/6. A couple days ago I ordered a 7'9" 5/6 blank that I'll be building out for a Gentleman in Michigan. After building that one out I believe I've made all the 5/6 wts he offers.

The goods: Struble nickel silver D8 reel seat hardware, Imbuya filler, Mildrum srmc stripping guide, Perfection brand snake guides and tip top wrapped with beige silk thread tipped black.



Mildrum srmc stripping guide, nickel silver frame/carbide ring


Carbide ring appears "bright" in full sunlight it's true color is metal gray.


Hook keeper wrapped with white silk thread.



Struble nickel silver D8 rel seat hardware with Imbuya insert.


Another shot of the grip. You'll notice I tapered the grip down to the blank and skipped the winding check.


This year I've been gluing the individual cork rings on the blank and shaping the grip on the lathe. Seems a little easier to do it that way and there is no chance of over reaming the grip. First pic the cork is spinning at 1800 rpm, you can see the dust falling off the cork