Rod Building

Roll My Own

April 9, 2013 by Leigh 2 Comments

Admittedly the title of this post will probably draw some attention from non-anglers, but I wanted a description other than “New Fiberglass Fly Rod Build”. As I sat there on Sunday morning wrapping the guides onto the blank with black and then silver thread, I realized that, in essence, I was rolling my own fly rod. The tobacco color of the blank only added to the metaphor.

This is my second fiberglass rod build, a two-piece 7′ 4″ 4 wt. The first was a one-piece 6′ 6″ 4/5 wt. that I use almost exclusively for kayak fishing. It has a soft presentation, but due to some minor modifications involving the dark art of injected foam, it has enough backbone to throw poppers, hairbugs and bring a nice bass to hand.

The blank for the latest build came from a gentleman in PA who was offering it in both two- and three-piece options. I asked him for his personal preference, and he responded that he uses the 2-piece on the spring creeks in PA. I also wanted this as a small stream rod. I prefer fewer sections, so I chose the two-piece. My guess is that the 3-piece makes a better travel rod. If you’re interested in building one of these send me an email and I’ll put you in touch with him.

The next step was to order the hardware (reel seat, grip, guides, etc.). I contacted “The Hole” twice, but when I explained that I needed some help with sizing and ordering parts, the guy completely blew me off both times. Guess he had some spincast builders on the other line. I will not be trying them again.

I called J Stockard, where the friendly voice on the other end walked me through options for the various components, and helped convert measurements from standard to metric where necessary. I continue to be a big fan of these guys. I hope they will consider my request to open a J Stockard retail store.

The rod building process is pretty well documented, and a quick search on Google can provide you with the how-to. There are also a number of video tutorials on YouTube. I won’t try and compete with them, but rather share a few shots from this build.

After a few coats of color preserver and epoxy, the new rod was complete.

The first trip was around the corner to Mill Pond to see how it cast. It was a sunny day and temps reached the 70’s. After the first few tries, it delivered a small popper to this eager customer, who put a nice bend in it.

To celebrate the completion of this build, I bought a t-shirt from one of my favorite blogs, The Fiberglass Manifesto.

As spring comes into focus, there will be more opportunities to test my new fish stick. Enjoy!

A New Rod for 2012

February 19, 2012 by Leigh Leave a Comment

Shortly before Christmas I built a 9′ 4 wt rod based on a J Stockard Forecast fly rod kit. It has a blue 4-piece Batson IM6 blank, a gunsmoke reel seat with rosewood insert, and a quality cork grip. Including shipping it was $90. Add in a $5 rod bag from BassPro and a rod tube from LL Bean for $8.50, and you have a nice custom outfit for right around $100.

It was the first time that I had built a fly rod from a kit, and I would recommend the Forecast package. I fished this rod almost exclusively for the past month, and have really enjoyed it. J Stockard’s customer service is also outstanding. See my recent post on J Stockard’s customer service here.

As luck would have it, a couple of weeks after this build I had a chance to pick up another 4-piece 9 ‘ 4 wt for $25. This one came with 2 tips. I placed a call to J Stockard and purchased their TFO Rod Component Kit, TiCr Series, along with enough parts to complete the second tip. Parts and shipping totaled $36, but discounts and earned credits from prior purchases brought the total down to $25. It came with a rod bag, so I called LL Bean for another rod tube.

Here are some highlights from this most recent build:

Below is a pic of the reel seat and grip. The TFO kit came with a graphite reel seat and metal frame. I think it looks nice, and the cork used in the grip is good quality.

This is usually one of the first items that I epoxy to the rod blank after finding the spine for each of the rod segments.

Next it was time to wrap the ferrules, guides, hook keeper and glue on the tip tops. I epoxied the tip tops and reel seat at the same time.

This pic shows most of the tools that I use to wrap. I have tried using rod wrapping tools and tensioners before, but I prefer to run the thread through a large book to provide resistance. I use a razor to cut off the thread at the end of a wrap, and a lighter to remove or shrink any fuzz or tags. The nail file is to smoothe any rough spots after the first coat of epoxy is applied to the wraps.

Here is a pic of the two middle sections in the rod turner. Both have color preservative applied and the first coat of epoxy. They turned for around 8 hours, and I let them dry for another day before applying a second coat.

This morning I took it out for a lawn casting session. It is a mid-flex rod with medium action. It is well balanced with my Okuma Sierra reel and casts easily.

So for $60, I now have another 4 wt with two tips. This will be a perfect rod to throw in the back of the car for last minute trips or when I’m driving and come upon a stream that looks interesting.

Here’s to an early spring and plenty of fish. Enjoy!

Interview With Tom Kirkman of RodMaker Magazine

January 12, 2012 by Leigh 3 Comments

We recently had the opportunity to interview Tom Kirkman, who publishes RodMaker Magazine. Tom just celebrated 15 years in business. No small feat, especially in this economy.

FF: How did you get started in rod building, and do you still build rods?

Tom: I had ordered a then new graphite rod from Browning-Silaflex. It cost $100 which was a lot of money in a time when most top quality rods could be purchased for just $25 to $35. It arrived with the tiptop twisted off. I ordered a new top from Netcraft and went ahead and got some guides as well – I didn’t like the ones on the rod. Over the winter I rebuilt the rod and ended up with such a great fishing tool I never bought another commercially made rod. I figured if I could repair and rewrap that one, I might as well trying building the next one. That was 1977, I think.

FF: What led you to start RodMaker Magazine?

Tom: I had made some money in the stock market and was going to retire at a fairly early age. Some of my rod building buddies got after me about starting a magazine for custom rod builders. Something full sized and that could be had through a subscription. They convinced me it was something I could do in the evenings a few nights per night per week. I had no idea it would lead to a 60 hour per week job!

FF: What is your favorite type of fishing?

Tom: I used to spend a great deal of time at the coast going after large quarry. Like my dad used to say, when you fish in saltwater you never know what’s going to swim by. That’s certainly true. But more recently most of my fishing is done on rivers for smallmouth bass. I like being in the water and I like the feel of the fight on a fly rod. It’s funny, the guys who started out river fishing with me used to kid be about being “disadvantaged” because I’d only use a fly rod against their spinning and casting outfits. Now, they’ve made the switch to fly rod only. They saw just how deadly it was when used properly.

FF: Where is your favorite place to fish?

Tom: I don’t think I can pick just one. Any moving river, with clear water and a rocky bottom is okay with me. The less development around, the better.

FF: What can we expect to see in RodMaker Magazine in 2012?

Tom: More of the same. We’ll continue to push the envelope. There is still plenty of room for innovation where fishing rods are concerned.

Tom is also involved with the International Custom Rod Building Exposition, held in High Point, NC on February 25 & 26. This is a premier event for rod builders.

We wish Tom and RodMaker Magazine continued success!

Great Customer Service

November 24, 2011 by Leigh 1 Comment

Last week I decided to build a 9 ft. 4-piece 4 wt. graphite fly rod for use in some of the smaller trout streams. Instead of ordering the components individually, I checked around and decided on a rod kit from J Stockard. They’re having a sale on their rod building kits, and the entire order cost $90 including shipping.

I ordered it on Saturday and they let me know on Monday that it went out. They also provided a UPS tracking number. By Tuesday afternoon I had the kit in hand.

There was one problem. Instead of a 4-piece blank, they had shipped a 2-piece blank. I call them around 3:30 in the afternoon and they said that they would ship the correct 4-piece rod blank.

I expected it to take a couple of days, but the next day (Wednesday) the new blank arrived, along with a prepaid shipping label to return the 2-piece blank. It will go in the mail on Friday.

On Tuesday I also received an email from J Stockard announcing 10% off on orders placed this week. I responded to the email and asked the customer service rep if my order would receive the 10%, since technically I had placed it on Saturday. She responded with a nice email and credited my account with the 10%.

I can’t tell you how amazed and pleased I am with the customer service received from J Stockard. I told 3 of my rod building friends, and I will definitely purchase from them again.

In contrast, over a week ago I wrote emails to Bass Pro, Cabelas, Orvis and Gander Mountain asking if they had any special events for the blogging community. To date I’ve had absolutely no response from any of them. Crickets.

A post on my rod building project is forthcoming. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Fiberglass Fly Rod Build – Part 1

January 10, 2010 by Leigh Leave a Comment

Building a fly rod is an interesting project, and easier than you might think. This winter I am building a 6′ 6″ 4-5 wt fiberglass fly rod that will be used for kayak fishing.

The video below kicks off a blog series on rodmaking. This first segment covers the components that will be attached to the fly rod blank.