I recently finished a new spiral wrap rod I built for me to fish for steelhead this fall. It is built on a 9 foot , 7wt fly rod blank with woven graphite handles and I used the Bumper system from the last Rodmaker magazine. My hope was to create a sensitive rod with enough backbone to handle the steelhead here in Idaho.

I took it to a local tournament fishing for Rainbows on Saturday and I really liked the way it handled. I didn't do well in the tournament, but had a good time with my new rod at what was for me a brand new fishing spot. I had enough fun that I took my wife back to the same place yesterday (Sunday). On a whim I let her try out my new spiral wrap rod.

You know the rest of this story. She caught all the fish (I handled the net). Said the rod was the best she had ever used. She could feel every rock, weed, stick, blade of grass and even the slightest hint of a strike. I no longer have a sprial wrap rod and I did not make any money on this sale.

Guess I'll start on my next new spiral wrap rod so I have something to fish with when the steelhead run starts.

Joe Douglas