I was thinking of building a fly rod or two as a winter project. I have been building rods for over 20 yrs…mostly saltwater spinners and surf rods, but have never built a fly rod. I know I have to scale down my thread size from the C’s and D’s I’m used to, but are there any other major differences? I’m thinking of a 3wt and maybe a 6wt. I don’t want to break the bank on these either. I imagine multi-piece rods are easier to wrap as far as not having the rod flex too much while being wrapped, but they would require more wrapping due to the number of ferrules…correct? How does one “line-up” the sections correctly? I know most builders of the larger rods that I’m used to, spline the blanks to determine guide placement. Is that critical in fly rods also? Final question (for now)…am I better off buying kits to start with or should I go with separate components and can anyone recommend where to purchase these items…I deal with local tackle shops now for my other stuff. …sorry…that was 2 questions, wasn’t it? Thanks in advance.
A sized thread for sure. That is all I use for anything I’ve built.
As far as lining up sections, I don’t personally believe that spining a rod does anything to enhance performance. I think you are better served by aligning the guides in relation to any curve in the blanks.
Where to buy? “Not breaking the bank” can mean a lot of things. If you are looking for economy, Forecast blanks are great and can be had a Hook and Hackle amoung others. The Batson RX7 line is a nice step up from there as well. If you are willing to move up to $100-125 for a blank, give Dan Craft a look.
I’ve always been one that like to put my own components together. I have definite ideas about what looks good and performs good, and haven’t seen a kit yet that matches my tastes.
I just completed teaching a rod building class where everyone in the class purchased a Tradition II Pac Bay kit from Hook & Hackle ( http://www.mailordercentral.com/hookhac … asp?dept=8 ) and everyone was very pleased with the performance of these rods, as well as their light weight. They are much lighter than the Forecast blanks in the same weights (I have built several Forecast blanks). The hardware was very good (even had mortised reel seats) and the kits were all complete. The only thing they purchased outside of the kit was different colored thread (comes with black & silver metallic) and Devcon 30 minute epoxy. All rods were 4-piece, and there was just two additional ferrules to wrap. No big deal.
I built the 3wt a couple of days before the Michigan Fish-In and asked JC to evaluate it from Rusty’s dock. He and several others were pleased with the rod’s performance, and this has become my favorite panfish rod. It has a fast action and I overlined it to 4wt WFF line for maximum performance. It cast as well at 20 feet as it does at 40’+, and I have roll casted out to 40’ with little effort. It’s just a great little rod that has served me well this season.
No, I don’t sell for H&H, but I do promote those things that I am pleased with. A limited lifetime warranty also comes with the blank.
As far as spining blanks, I don’t spine them. I align the sections until I have all section going in the same direction (curve up), then mount the guides on the inside of the curve. I test cast the rod before finishing the wraps just to make sure it casts true. I know some will disagree with me, but that’s OK. I know this works, and that’s all that I care about.
You can spend a lot more money, but I don’t really know that you will get anything more. I built a Dan Craft 7’-0" 1wt, and that was the most expensive blank I have purchased at $76 + shipping. It’s a great rod and I enjpoy fishing it.
If you feel the need to tell people that you have built a Sage or Winston or St. Croix, then you will need to buy individual components. Personally, I build rods because I enjoy doing so, and they are nothing more than functional tools in my hands. The name of the company means little to me, because at the end of the day it’s all about what your fishing experience is all about. If the rod performs to my expectations and is comfortable to carry all day, the rest is all fluff. Once again, I’m sure there are folks who will disagree with me and even look down their nose at these affordable, well performing rods. That’s their problem. You don’t have to spend a lot to get good performance, and you can dress them up with fancy thread wraps, feather inlays, etc. Or, you can just leave them plain vanilla.
Thanks in advance.