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
I love steffan bros fiberglass blanks and hope to one day build one up.
your work is impeccable as I’ve come to expect. just lovely. nice to see that you use silk wraps as well.
I like that rod. What thread are you using for the translucent wraps? Also, isn’t it hard to get the small thread wraps on that unsanded blank?
I’m wanting to get me a 2 wt. from steffan.
Ken, I use YLI brand silk thread or Pearsall’s gossamer silk thread for translucnet wraps. Both brands work well. It’s a little harder wrapping fine silk thread on an unsanded blank but nothing that anyone who has wrapped a rod or two before can’t do. Tedious and time consuming for sure but the look of silk wraps, done right, is quite beautiful imo.
I’ve been wanting to build out a Steffen s 2/3 wt blank for myself for awhile. I imagine it would be a great rod for the Maine Brook trout that I spend so much time fishing for. The 3/4 wt Steffen blanks that I’ve built out were absolutely fantastic casting rods, no doubt his 2/3 wt blanks would be just as nice.
Gypsy,
I really like the black and white tipping on the wraps. I have a question though. What color wraps do you use to make white, if white turns clear when finished? That combination is way cool.
Hi Joe, I used GudeBrod ncp white for the tipping. I’ve tried color preserving white silk thread and it doesn’t work very well; looks semi transparent/creamy white.
Nice work on that handle. I like a grip that’s been assembled on the blank itself. I’ve only done one myself but I like that turning you’re showing here. Fun.
This is exciting.
Heck Gypsy…I even like your name! Nice ring to it…
