Hey yall, greetings from Baton Rouge!

Well I've never built a rod, but I'm already addicted to fly fishing. I've ordered a few catalogs, and just from looking at them I can see I'm about to dive head first into another addiction!

I'm a full-time college student, so my question is: how do i build a rod to live up to my expectations, but still be able to feed myself atleast once a day?!? I wanted to build a 7 wt. 4 pc. SCIII St. Croix, but after the blank and the components I picked, I was well over $300.

I know that may not sound like alot but it will really break my wallet. So i figured that since it's my first rod to build, I could stand to get a cheaper blank and components, if not just to practice my building with right?

So, what say you? Does anybody have any reccomendations about the lower modulus rods or anything? I appreciate yall's help and sharing your knowledge with a total newb!

Baron

I just started out last year. My suggestion is to go get 2-3 of the absolute cheapest rods you can get. Todd @ Mudhole helped me out with unbelievable patience. There are many other sponsor who have inexpensive stuff also. I recommend getting 2-3 of the same rod and watch your progression from one rod to the next. You'll be surprised at what you will teach yourself as you go. I figure that as long as I can critique my own work , then I'm still learning. After you think you have it figured out, then show it to one of the accomplished builders to pick apart.

John

Hey Baron; Let me offer a suggestion for your first build. You got to make a phone call to Bob McCamey at Custom Tackle Supply ,a sponsor on the left of this page. Bob is in Shelbyville, TN. I guarantee you he can advise you and fix you right up with the proper material for your first Fly Rod build and not break the bank. He will ship all the parts you need at one time. One stop shopping. You will immediately take a liking to Mr. Bob.

J.B.Hunt
Bowling Green, KY

The Batson RX7 or RX6 blanks are hard to beat the the price. They're also great fishing rods.

You will get a lot of great info on here, but if you are just starting out and feel the way I do about it and want ot know the things that I did when I started then a post like this will give you some helpful tidbits but contacting one of the more experienced builders through e-mail or some will even give you their number to talk to them about things. First and foremost, you need to unblock your e-mail so that people can give you more detailed answers directly into your mail box. You do this by going to the forum list and then near the top there is a tool bar and you need to click the "Control Center" tab. From there, it will be clear how to unblock your e-mail address. If you want someone else's e-mail on here just click their name within a post or reply they have made. You can get mine by doing this. If you want, I am still pretty new but since I have just recently gone through what you are and are going to go through I would be more than happy to help out as much as possible so, if you want, e-mail me with some questions and even a phone number and I will be happy to help in any way I can.
James

I am a newb too! just finished my second build, first was unknown mfg 8-6" 5wt 4pc, blank was $15, very good action similar to old Sage DS2 in my arsenal. 2nd was Forecast F6-6" 4pc-2wt. blank $27.00 fantastic little brookie rod. I would suggest any rod from Batson/Forecast. Also Sevier has a Tigereye blank 7-4wt I have been looking at, comes highly reccomended I believe Schneiders has them, a few others might as well. Lots of sponsors have the Forecast and Batson.
Good luck both rods turned out well above my expectations. I will be building more Forecast, Batson or rainshadows in the future without a qualm about how well the preform.
Eric

Thanks for all the replies guys!
I haven't talked to anyone in person yet about building a rod, sounds like that's really the way to go. I got L.A. Garcia's Handcrafting a Graphite Fly Rod though, so that has helped a little.

A blank for under $30 sounds amazing, and I guess it's just hard to believe they would perform that well (not trying to second guess you though!). I have several nice factory rods that are higher end, so I'm just worried that I will be disappointed by getting a cheaper blank.

Like I mentioned earlier, I really want a 7 wt. I want to get in to some red fish here in Louisiana and I also like carp fishing, so I would use the same rod. However, I work in New Mexico in the summers and would like a 1 or 2 wt. for small streams.

for a first rod, and it being a cheaper blank, would yall suggest building a cheap 7 wt. or 2 wt? my meaning, which will be more dependent on it's action and performance in relation to price and quality? Is it better to have a quality 7 wt. or 2 wt., if you could only build one?

Sorry for being such a newb guys!

Baron

Sorry misread your post as 7 ft 4wt. Haven't built 7wt yet. I still don't think you'll be dissapointed in the Batson products, and old flyfisher/builder told me when I first started that even the low end blanks today are better than ever, and most of us never learn to cast well enough to reach even the low ends rod potential... he was a casting instructor as well.
good luck with whatever you choose. As everyone told me"it will turn out much better than you expect.
Eric

My suggestion would be to go to the Bingham Enterprises site and see if they still have any of the discounted blanks left. They are the "special purchase travel blanks" in the bargain basement. I picked up two spinning rod blanks and they are top quality. You can get a 4 piece 6wt or 8wt for about $36. They are a nice mahogany brown color. These are discontiniued blanks, so there is no warrantee on them, but you are only paying about 20% of original MSRP. If you don't go crazy with the components, you should be able to bring the whole thing in for about $100.

Call Karen at Bingham and she can help you out with components.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/30/2009 03:02PM by Bob Riggins.

My advice Buy a load of cheap stuff closeouts etc
Build them rip them up rebuild them
Practice your techniques and stuff first
Then when you feel confident and you will by then have an understanding of what you want buy then build
Biggest thing to learn is take your time and dont rush things
Just because for instance epoxy says "dry in five minutes" read it carefully and it actually takes 24 hours to reach full strength

Any questions or problems dont hesitate to ask everyone here loves helping people even if they have to type the same thing seven times a week

ABOVE ALL HAVE FUN and enjoy building
then when you fish one of your own and catch on it there is no better feeling
Add to that the comments you get from others like "where did you get that rod" and your chest seems to grow three feet in size

Allen

Go to Custom tackle supply as mentioned earlier. Bob is very knowledgable and he will listen to what you are trying to accomplish and will help you. He and his business are great to deal with.

Thanks for all the replies guys!