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Fish Rod Building


Bernie

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Hello All. Been on for a couple months and haven't seen much on this topic yet. I am thinking of making my own fishing rod. I first began to get interested when I seen a picture of a rod that Irishfield posted that Spiel had made. Beautiful! I have done a little investigating on the internet and there seems to be a lot of sites to buy the required material. But what is the best stuff? Who is reliable to buy from? I would prefer to buy in Canada if possible. I only fish on Nipissing for walleye. Presently use a 1 piece 6.6 shimano Crucial Med fast and really like it. Also have a 7ft gloomis thats ok too but its a little heavier. All input will be appreciated. Thank you :D .....Bernie

 

ps. This will also be a great wintertime project.

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I buy all my stuff (blanks, guides, epoxy, thread, cork) from Angling Specialties because I live down the street from the store. They could ship the materials to you if you live outside of the GTA. They mainly deal with Sage and Lamiglas but could probably get a hold of St. Croix or Loomis blanks if you ask.

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Hi Mjl. Thanks for the responce..I was looking at the St Croix blanks and would purchase one but before Ido would like to find out if there are other options. For example I know nothing about about Sage or Lamiglas. Are they better or worse for quality?

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thanks for bringing this up Nipissing,

 

was also interested in this a while back when it was mentioned that some members have made some, but wasn't able to find a site with prices and such, found some with certain parts but not others, (blanks seem hard to find, especially with a price), i had also found some "how to" articles but had given up my search, i just tried anglers specialties and can't access their catalog

 

what would be an average price for materials to make rod (approx)

any other websites would be appreciated, as i don't hit T.O to often

 

thanks

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Hey Jigger. There is a lot of information out there but if I'm going to spend the time to build a rod I would like to do it right the first time. These guys are selling and it's possible they dont always have customers best interests in mind. If we ever get this all figgered out maybe we can go somewhere and take a look. :D

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years ago I went to a place in Hamilton to get rod parts. Thay carried rod blanks as well as all the other parts , as well as some high end stuff.

I can't for the life of me remember the name of the place or where in Hamilton it was located - but my buddy swore by them as the best place to by rod parts - and he had made over 300 rods.

 

I don't even know if the place is still in business but I will try to find out more info and post if I do.

 

 

 

Don

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LG Custom Tackle is long gone and yes they were the best. No exceptions. There is a Loomis blank provider named John Collina. He has the recomendation of Lorne Green of LG Custom. Check out Dan Craft rods out west, I taught a freind to build rods on a Dan Craft blank and components, good stuff.

 

I occasionally browse a website called Rodbuilding.org, if you can't get straight answers from this site I'd be surprised. Lots of product links, mostly American.

 

Building rods isn't what it used to be, almost anything you can build can also be bought ready made. The only reason to build is if it's not on the pre-fab market.

 

So if you guys are thinking of doing something unique then it's totally worth it. If your just building St. Croix jigging rods in the same component layout as they already offer, whats the point?

 

Let me know if your interested in some sort of lessons, I have a number of years experience and could get you off to a smoother start.

 

Sage is thought to be the best, I think it may be a bit over priced. Loomis has lost it's rep since being bought out by Shimano. LamiGlass has remained solid over the years. St Croix has a solid reputation but hasn't managed to get the attention of serious builders. Check into Rainshadow and Forcast, they are sound products at fair prices. There are hundreds of suppliers in the US, most are highly specialized.

 

Good Luck, once you have fished well built custom rods you'll be hard pressed to fish anything else. :thumbsup_anim:

Edited by RivrRat
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Agree with RivrRat's assessment although sometimes it's fun turning your own grips, wrapping your own guides and personalizing your own rod. If it's St. Croix that you want, any local dealer should be able to order them in for you. I've never used a spinning/casting model from Lamiglas but their fly rods are super sweet - A totally underrated company IMO.

Edited by MJL
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RivrRat, MJL. Thank you. :D Actually I am happy with my present rods. I would just like to make a rod that functions as well or perhaps better but with a customized look. Usually if Im bored in the winter I will head to our boat building shop and make a table or a shelf or whatever. I think I could really get into doing this rod building thing. I have some things in mind of what it should look like already. Just need to find proper components and learn how to do it. :D

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RiverRat makes some good points. In this day and age it's really unneccesary to build a custom rod unless you simply want something that'll stand out (nothing wrong with that!). Personally it's all about function over form though...why bother to build one yourself when you can buy one of equal quality off the rack?

The only exception for me is floatrods and flyrods simply because I have such specific needs that it's impossible to find what I want ready built. Case in point: I'm currently building 2 different spey rod blanks into floatrods.

As far as where to buy components, he's already been mentioned, but John Collina in Caledonia is the man to talk to. He's got a website you can check out: jccustomtackle.com

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Thanks for the advise solopaddler. I think part of it is just the fact that it's something that I have partially made for myself. I could go out and buy a table too but handcrafted there is a certain satisfaction. Has anyone ever seen or heard of a rod with a cedar rather than cork handle? I was thinking of laminating some different shades cedar perhaps with an inlay of mahogany in it.

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One tip: If you build a wood handle and you want a nice glossy finish on it don't use urethane, varathane, or pretty much any other normal wood finish. Over time it will crack and wear away, possibly even yellow. What you have to do is soak your finished grip in rubbing alcohol overnight to remove as much of the wood's natural oils then apply multiple (7-10) coats of gunstock oil to the wood allowing each layer to penetrate and dry before the next layer is applied. When I do this I use a small folded over coffee filter soaked in the oil and rub it on...Removing the wood's natural oil allows the gun oil to penetrate deeply and the multiple coats give it a nice, hard, glossy finish.

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You might want to consider going with a cheap blank and guides for the first go around. It will give you a chance to make the mistakes on it before you blemish a 150.00 blank. The thing about a fishing rod that you make is you will see/feel the blemish every time you use it because after all you are your toughest critic. Just a thought.

 

Art

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My rodbuilding came of the need for quality steelhead fishing rods. You couldn't buy anything at all when I got started into river fishing for Steelhead. It's still tough to find quality float rods. Lorne Green of LG was the surest reliable source of float and fly gear for rod builders, he set a tough standard, John Collina gets Lorne's referal and mine.

 

Definately check out Rodbuiding.org, serious experts will answer any and all questions.

 

I'm not in agreement with the build a cheap one to avoid regretting mistakes approach.

 

Look at it this way, your learning to build rods, this means you can repair / re-build rods. So if you don't get it right the first time, just cut your wraps off or shave the cork off and do it again. I have re-built most of my early rods in order to improve or adjust.

 

The other thing to keep in mind is that your building for yourself, looks are secondary to quality of function.

Lots of trollers are building rods with a twist in the guides. In other words the stripper guide is on top of the blank and the following guides spiral off in a clock wise direction until they are under the blank. This allows the rod to run hour after hour in a rod holder, bent under the strain of a down rigger without the blank being twisted by the torque of all the guides being on top. These rods look very odd at first but function much more smoothly and last longer than rods built in the traditional fashion.

 

Moral of the story is build something you'll like for more than just appearances, function is the primary reason for doing something custom. Remember lots of thread = lots of epoxy finish = weight. Same goes for wood parts added for cosmetic reasons. I'm not saying don't do the fancy stuff or add personal cosmetic touches. Just keep in mind that the goal is to build a better, more functional, specialized rod. Bells and whistles don't neccesarily improve performance.

 

Check out the style of builders who post their finished products on the web. Check out how sparse the highest quality Sage fly rods are. Just the things needed to make the rod work, nothing more.

 

Of course a lot of this is just my opinion but I figure the mark of a true craftsmen and a high quality custom rod is to make a thing of beauty that feels like no other in your hand with as few parts as humanly possible.

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