One of my customers I built some rods for was in Greece and found a piece of drift wood in the Aegean Sea while fishing in the shape of a pistol grip fishing rod handle and wants me to build him an ultra lite rod with that piece of wood for the handle....what would you coat the wood with to seal in the natural drift wood color and protect it?

Water based urethanes are generally clearer than oil based types, which tend to have an amber color. Permagloss or LumaSeal are both water white clear and could be a good choice as well.

Just make sure you select a product intended for exterior use.

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Harry,
Another product to use is "instant glue". Search the archives for finishing methods using this glue. You can also search the net for methods to use this instant glue when finishing wood.
But in the right hands, using the right method, instant glue makes a great very long lasting hard finish. The finish work does need special techniques to complete properly. So, if you do want to use this method, do a fair amount of practice on other pieces before you commit to the finished handle.

Good luck
Roger

thanks for the help men.....still going to search alittle more, I only have one shot at this.....