DaveC Posted April 6, 2015 Report Share Posted April 6, 2015 Looks good Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superduperfly Posted April 6, 2015 Report Share Posted April 6, 2015 that look's pretty good. Good stuff! Don't think I can do something like that. Got the shaky hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bow Man Posted April 7, 2015 Report Share Posted April 7, 2015 Nice Tom, keep them updates coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yakfish Posted April 7, 2015 Report Share Posted April 7, 2015 Looking really nice! I love finding thread like this to read through. Always find good tip in them. I'm planning to build 2-3 rods this year. I've never built on before I'm excited to try it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom S Posted May 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 Working on another rod now. Stripped down another old fiberglass blank. Started researching what I wanted to do with this one. Discovered birch bark grips. Thought that's cool, I'd like to try that sometime. Classy look. Looked at wood grips. Thought 'that's a nice look, but it's going to be hard to do a good job on them at home without a lathe'. Looked around at work. We've started using a material called baltic birch more and more often. It's a higher-grade plywood that leaves a nice edge when cut and sanded. So, here I am trying to make a baltic birch grips. Got a bunch of rings cut out on the CNC, treating them like cork rings. Right now they're just sitting on the rod, I'm going to try gluing them up on a mandrel and smoothing them out on a drill press, then installing them on the rod and doing a thread wrap in front of the grip to clean up any gaps. I'm hoping that everything balances out ok, we'll have to see with a reel on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bow Man Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 Great stuff Tom! keep us updated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom S Posted May 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2015 Finally got out to try my rod on a pond yesterday. Threw on a cheap reel and line, just to try something. First off, I thought the rod looked great in the sunlight. I'll see if I can get a picture later today in the sunlight. Casting was ok. Rod handled great and felt very comfortable, but I need to get back into the swing of casting. Thinking about booking some lessons to tune up my casting this year. Need to get a better line as well, I had pulled this one off another rod a while ago because of it's memory and coating. Panfish weren't overly willing, but I did manage to catch some bruisers. This is a buddy's pond, he's been feeding these fish for a couple years now during the warmer months. This was the first time we saw fish this year. Bluegills with shoulders. Solid 10 inchers. Rod handled them with ease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom S Posted May 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2015 Good way to break in a rod? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schnipster Posted May 4, 2015 Report Share Posted May 4, 2015 U caught a fish on the dry....? Damn i am dying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom S Posted May 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2015 Go find a pond and a warm day man. The nice thing about panfish is you don't have to hold your pinky out, like when you're fishing for trout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyjon Posted May 4, 2015 Report Share Posted May 4, 2015 Lovely way to break in a new rod! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ven-Pisc-ator Posted May 19, 2015 Report Share Posted May 19, 2015 Very nice. Fly fishing at its best, building your own rod, tying your fly, then casting it to the waiting fish. Ven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schnipster Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 Hows the rod bro? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom S Posted May 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 Rod is great. Just need to find the time to use it now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schnipster Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 We all need to get our heads around a fishing outing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bow Man Posted May 25, 2015 Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 Set something up schnipster, love to get out with all you guys. Have not had many chances this year so far, work is just crazy busy, plus doing some home reno's. But would make some time for a outing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom S Posted September 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2015 Found a reel tonight to suit this rod. It's a JW Young Pridex, 3 1/2". Feels right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler0420 Posted September 29, 2015 Report Share Posted September 29, 2015 Looks great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveC Posted September 29, 2015 Report Share Posted September 29, 2015 Looks good Tom. Have you had a chance to try it out yet? What line you going with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom S Posted September 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2015 Rod is rated as a 5/6. I've tried it out with a WF6, it cast fine. Picked up a WF5 last night to try as well. Then I'll be outfitted a 5 weight for panfish/trout, a 7 weight for bass, and a 9 weight for steelhead. Now I need to start looking for some long rods... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom S Posted October 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2015 Got out today for some panfish with this rod. Balanced perfectly with the reel and a 5wt line. Casts of 50-70 feet effortlessly, still had some 'go' in it, but the wind gusts were causing me grief. Light enough for the panfish to still be fun. Really liking this rod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron4blues Posted October 25, 2015 Report Share Posted October 25, 2015 Yup. A 5 weight in this wind is a challenge. I remember meeting up with an NFN member a few years ago to show him the basics. We spent half an hour on the grass then moved to the water. But the wind picked up and made a mess of every cast he tried with his 5. Even my casts were getting blown off target and I had my 10 weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom S Posted November 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2015 Decided to add a decorative touch tonight, a wrap in front of the cork. It's not very big, and it's not overly obvious because of the colouring, but I'm happy with the way it turned out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveC Posted November 17, 2015 Report Share Posted November 17, 2015 Looks good Tom, often wonder why most fly rods dont have hook keepers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom S Posted November 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2015 I guess they're just becoming one of those things that come in and out of fashion over time. Like twisted thread, Mylar under the guides, and spiral wraps. Some people argue that the line catches on them, but if you're sweeping line along the blank like that I'd be more worried about catching a knuckle then the hook keeper... I guess I could see that argument if you're shooting a lot of line and it jumps up and around the keeper. The older bamboo rods have little rings secured to the blank with a wire bracket and thread.... the click-click-click during casting drives some people crazy. I don't think most spey rods have hook keepers - from what I understand it's in case you need to extend your grip onto the rod, the hook keeper gets in the way then. Just don't hook it in the cork. Please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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