I am going to start on my first ever complete rod. The blank is a 7' Medium power/fast action St. Croix SCIII spinning rod. My question for this post is : What length grip should I get, a 7-inch or 10 1/2? I what to make this for my son who always wants to fish with my St. Croix's.

I have been reading everyones post several times daily for weeks. This is something I have wanted to do for a long time and finding this website has made me finally decide to do it. Everone here is very friendly and willing to help whomever. I have been soaking up as much as I can, now I have to try it.

Thanks,

Scott Kleppe

My personal opinion is this: The grip will depend on your son and how he fishes. How long of a grip does he normally use on a rod of this type? And is that length comfortable? These are the questions you should answer.

Best of luck with your first full build! You'll love it.

Jay

That depends on what you want and find comfortable. I take the measurement from the elbow to the tip of the thumb and locate the center of the reel seat at that point from the butt of the rod. You may want something shorter if you are making a really light outfit or find that , that measurement causes the rod butt to hit your waist area and tangle with shirts and jackets.

Good answers so far. They key is comfort and fishablity for your son. You didn't say what his size/age was but keep in mind that there are various size/types reel seats available. I'm assuming that you are going to go with preformed graips. Keep in mind that you can cut a preformed grip down to whatever length your son prefers. That's the beauty of making your own rod. Browse through the library above. You might want to read the New Concept Guide System and the Static Deflection article for starters. I would also strongly recommend Tom Kirkman's book Rodbuilding Guide available from most dealers on the left. It will be the best $15 you spend on this addiction.
Don't hesitate to come back here with any questions

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

Depending on what reel you will put on the rod and how your son holds it. Get the blank and tape the guides on. Then tape the reel on and see where the balance point is (The weight of the cork will not make a whole lot of difference). Use a length of cork so that the reel seat will be in a position so that whenwith reel the reel is attached, the whole outfie will be in perfect balance. That's the beuty of custom. Don't just use what is out there, hack saw a longer grip if need be.

What size grip is on the St. Croix rod that you use?
Contact sponsors on the left and request a catalog or talk to them on the phone. Decide what size you need and go from there. As Mike said above, Tom's book is the best $15.00 investment that you can make. Bet you can't build just one!!

I think the factory rods that blank have a 9 inch rear grip, Fuji skeleton/cork insert reelseat, 2 1/2 inch foregrip, for my own rods that's a pretty nice combo.

If your son is small a long grip gets in his way when casting, as his arms are short if he is under 10, This is hard to say without specifics. He has used your rod what length is it on that?, but note long rear grips are great for rod holders but take away valuable busness end real state (blank in front of the reel seat) extra length here helps cast longer and fight the fish absorbing loads over a greater distance. Another aspect is..does he cast two handed? I can cast a 10' spin rod two handed with a 4" rear grip with one hand on the reel seat, basically like you hold a baseball bat, tight small and concise motion area. He may not be able to do this, but my opinion, and its biased by my druthers, is to use a 6" max rear grip. The the rear grip 6", reel seat 4", and fore grip 3" equals 13" and if he is younger with shorter arm, that about the length of his forearm then he can fight a fish one handed (armed) without lodging the fighting butt in his belly. I'm bigger I make my overall grips 16-18" (rear, seat, and fore grip combined)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/30/2006 05:58PM by Chris Karp.

Thanks for the input. I have ordered a 10-inch grip and once it arrives I will have him hold them on the rod an see what he feels comfortable with Might even end up cutting the longer one down a bit from what I hear. I know the first wont be perfect, but I'm will be trying my best for him to be proud of. I did order Toms book and a couple Flex Coat manuals. I also have a two volume CD from Doc Ski that I have watched entirely. Stay close everyone, I'm sure I will have more questions.

Thanks,

Scott