Hi All,
This thread is essentially for anyone who has built their own rod, but anyone owning a custom-built model feel free to contribute. I've built a pair of them in the past year, the first one a 6-wt. with SW hardware (my "toy" that I like to use for snapper blues, schoolie stripers, and mangrove snappers) which was built on a Cabela's 9' 4-pc. FT blank, and the other a 3-wt. St. Croix Legend Ultra 8'6" 2-pc. model. While I find these rods suit my casting style, I admittedly have little experience with high-ticket rods so it's hard for me to know how they compare; all of my store-bought rods were less than $200. Still, when I have to I can cast pretty far (nearly 100'), present quietly (but not at that distance, of course), and catch fish. This is essentially why I built rods: if I can successfully fish with "cheap" rods, why not build my own for half the price?
So my questions (finally) are:
What types of blanks do most of you builders use?
How do you feel they compare with store-bought models?
What compelled you to build a rod in the first place?
If applicable, why did you buy a custom-built rod vs. a manufactured model?
I'm currently working on my 3rd rod, a 9-ft. 9 wt. for my boss. The blank is coming from JJ King in California, who claims that his factory blanks are used by numerous rod building companies, but will not divulge the name of the blank manufacturer. I think they're Pacific Bay, myself. Can anyone confirm? The blank is reputed to be 43-million modulus, gloss green. If I don't like it, I can send it back. I greatly appreciate everyone's time!
This thread is essentially for anyone who has built their own rod, but anyone owning a custom-built model feel free to contribute. I've built a pair of them in the past year, the first one a 6-wt. with SW hardware (my "toy" that I like to use for snapper blues, schoolie stripers, and mangrove snappers) which was built on a Cabela's 9' 4-pc. FT blank, and the other a 3-wt. St. Croix Legend Ultra 8'6" 2-pc. model. While I find these rods suit my casting style, I admittedly have little experience with high-ticket rods so it's hard for me to know how they compare; all of my store-bought rods were less than $200. Still, when I have to I can cast pretty far (nearly 100'), present quietly (but not at that distance, of course), and catch fish. This is essentially why I built rods: if I can successfully fish with "cheap" rods, why not build my own for half the price?
So my questions (finally) are:
What types of blanks do most of you builders use?
How do you feel they compare with store-bought models?
What compelled you to build a rod in the first place?
If applicable, why did you buy a custom-built rod vs. a manufactured model?
I'm currently working on my 3rd rod, a 9-ft. 9 wt. for my boss. The blank is coming from JJ King in California, who claims that his factory blanks are used by numerous rod building companies, but will not divulge the name of the blank manufacturer. I think they're Pacific Bay, myself. Can anyone confirm? The blank is reputed to be 43-million modulus, gloss green. If I don't like it, I can send it back. I greatly appreciate everyone's time!