I have been reading the “expensive hobby” thread and it has got me wondering about my next rod. You see I want my next rod to be an 8 or 9 weight, saltwater capable, fast action rod. I would like it to have a removable fighting butt, and I was hoping for a rod action similar to the TFO TICRX series. I have built baitcasting rods before, so the idea of building one is not completely out of the question for me. what is out of the question is spending 200-300 on this rod. (please understand that this is not an immediate project, I am a student and have school to pay for right now, so at this point this is mostly theoretical)
With that in mind, what would it cost to build a good rod of that description? What materials would you use? Also remember, I have very little use for bling, it just has to do everything I ask it to, which is throwing big flies into the wind and dragging big fish out of heavy cover.
OK I’m working on putting together a similar rod so I’ll let you know what I’m thinking. I’m building one for carp on the flats so it’s kind of like a bonefishing rod.
I’m thinking
a 9’ 8 wt mudhole MHX blank
Batson a8 seat and fighting butt
batson hefw full wells grip
single foot guides ,probably wire
If I wanted to go less $ I’d look at the Matrix blanks and use cheaper cork/seat
I built one for just a little over $50 bucks but it isnot fast action. I used a tiger eye saltwater blank and the reelseat and guides all sold by sevior manufactoring. Removable fighting butt and it handles steelhead just fine. It is a 8 weight.
You mentioned a removable fighting butt for your rod. Might I suggest you forget that and make your fighting butt a fixed part of your rod. Removable fighting butts are one of those things that look good in the advertising but are not so good in practice.
So my question is, are the Tiger Eye salt water blanks faster than their regular blanks of the same line wt.?
I’ve heard good things about the Tiger Eyes but never built on one
are the rec guides salt safe? honestly I assume that almost anything would be for the 1-2 days a year that this rod might see the salt as long as it was cleaned well and stored properly afterwards. Also, why choose the REC guides?
As far as fixed or removable. you can always add a few drops of a thread locker. It would keep it from working lose, but still a firm grip could take if off if you wanted.
As far as salt safe. I’ve had salt guys tell me that any reel is ok, just rinse well everyday after using it. Dunk in water several time and leave out to dry well. Rods should be even easier.
As for the REC guides. they are made of the twist-able titanium alloy or whatever the bendy eyeglass arms are made of. They have memory. With the REC snake guides you can smash them down and they pop right back. Try THAT with with a regular chrome guide. They do cost more than the cheapest snakes, but not as much as the the most expensive guides you can buy. Once you see one on a rod and see how the pop right back up, you’ll be sold. Even the single foot and stripping guides have the same properties. Ask at your local fly shop if they have rods with RECoil guides and see for yourself.
Building rods in trade for legal services??? Nope, not going to touch that one.
I’m not sure of the difference in action between the Salt Water 8wt and the non-SW 7/8wt, but here’s something interesting. The lenght is the same, they are both 4pc, the tip’s are both 5.0, HOWEVER, the butt section on the 8wt SW blank is 0.4mm smaller than the 7/8 regular blank.
kbproctor said it all they are medium fast and a excellent blank for the money. I like the saltwater taper as it is a little faster and loads up a little better. You really can’t go wrong with tiger eye blanks. I let my guide us it last time I was up fishing for the metal heads and he ended up ordering two. He also ordered a 4 weight for his own personnal use. If we lived closer I would let ya use it for awhile cause I haven’t fished for over a year now.
This is the description for the “TFO TiCr X Complete Kit 9’ 9wt” from H&H “All the goodies plus free glues, finish, brushes, cups, tip top adhesive, guide adhesive, thread & REC rod bag! O TiCr X Complete Kit 9’ 9wt.”
It would be nice to know, how many pieces, blank color, blank specs, handle style, reel seat, number and style of guides, fighting butt?
I am not sure what kind of math you were taught in the central part of The Island Nation, but up here in the Northwest, it looks to me that H&H would be a tad cheaper…
Y’know, either way, I’m not sure this is the kind of savings that hugefish was looking for. At Cabela’s the TiCrX is $249.95. Of course there would also be shipping/tax on that too. BUT, if you get a rod/reel/line combo from Cabela’s you will all but close that gap. Although, if hugefish already has a reel, that won’t help him.
I also like the idea of those RECoil guides. I’ve never built a rod before. I would probably lean towards snake guides rather than single foot guides, but I don’t really know why. How many and what sizes of those would you need for a 9ft 8-9wt rod?