Hello Everyone,

I've been bass fishing for awhile and recently decided I'd like to have a hobby for when the weather isn't cooperating so here I am. I just finished my first rod build. I didn't want to empty the bank account in case I didn't like it so I went with the CRB rod building kit from Mudhole. I also chose one of their rod kits to get my feet wet. I must say, the build was almost flawless. The grip, reel seat, fore grip and wind check were very easy. The guides that came with the kit were CRB Elites in "Concept style". Not sure really what that means other than they're SMALL, lol. It took me a bit to figure out a good way to put them on the rod. I ended up taping the two larger ones back by the grip. I used a hobby glue stick out of my wife's crafts for the rest. Frankly, I'm not a big fan of either way. I think I'm going to go with the bands/tubing from now on. Anyway, that was the hardest part for me. The hand wrapper worked flawless and I only had to re-do one wrap because I forgot to overwrap the tag end and, of course, it completely unraveled. I felt pretty stupid when I did that, but that really wasn't a big deal. I just re-did it and moved on. Anyway, the rod is finished, rigged and in my boat. The wraps aren't any masterpiece. They're just simple wraps, no trim bands or decoration. I just wanted to keep it simple and get my feet wet with the end product being a rod I would enjoy fishing. I think it came out great and even got the stamp of approval from a buddy that owns a tackle shop.

Anyway, the kit I built was the MHX MB843. It's what I call a jack of all trades rod. It's a 7' MH power / fast action rod. I went with the full cork grip. And, again, it came with CRB Elite guides in "concept" style. Again, I'm not sure what that means other than they're pretty small. I don't that I would call them micro, but definitely not more than a size or two from it. I'm very happy with the outcome and it can be used for just about any technique I want to use it for. Right now, I have it rigged with a spinnerbait. Love spinners this time of year here in Arkansas. For comparison sake, I'd put the rod on par with my Dobyn's fury in terms of weight an balance. It's feather light. I'll be VERY happy if it fishes as good. Oh, the rod is metallic lime green. I was a little disappointed when I saw the color in person. It's more of forest green, IMO. I used chocolate thread to wrap the black guides. Frankly, I only used chocolate because it looked better than the teal, avocado or the metal threads that came in the kit. Actually, I might have used gold, but it was one of the metallic threads in the kit and I read somewhere that those can be a bit tricky so I opted not to try it on my first build. Oh well, I didn't build it to be an art piece. I built it for the enjoyment, and to get a useable rod to put in the boat.

In closing, I'm hooked! I had a blast building it. Oh, I did have one hiccup that drove me NUTS! I lost the tip top not once, not twice, but three different times. I didn't realise it didn't come in the guide kit so when I couldn't find it the first time, I started sifting through the trash and found it in the grip packaging. I won't bore you with the details on the other two times but, fortunately, our robot vacuum found it both times. After going through that headache, I snatched one of the wife's little sewing saucer things that holds needles and whatnots. I won't lose another one! I just hope she doesn't miss her saucer, lol. Anyway, I already have three more builds lined up. A spinning rod for me, one for my wife and a swimbait rod for my nephew.

p.s. I've already learned telling someone you got into rod building is the same as telling them you have a truck, a boat, or a utility trailer. Those are the the sort of things better kept to yourself, else you start getting calls (like from my nephew).

Welcome to the addiction.

Daryl,
There really isn’t a better way to say it than how Spencer did, “Welcome to the addiction”.
Your initial approach to rod building was very logical and I consider a complete kit to be a good idea for many to get their feet wet without overwhelming themselves with a bazillion component choices. Now that you have the very basics down, you can start investigating the plethora of options available to build a truly custom rod. Seek as much information as possible, remember that there is no such thing as a stupid question, keep an open mind and, most importantly, HAVE FUN!!! You will most likely find that there are many on this site willing to help shorten / flatten your learning curve.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Thank you guys! Yes, I'm very much looking forward to taking a deeper dive into the craft. It's strictly going to be a hobby for me, however. That said, I've already had an acquaintance of mine that owns a tackle shop ask me about replacing the reel seat nut on his favorite rod. I don't think it would be that big of a deal. The nut cracked and will not lock down the reel. He thinks it would be easy. "Just take off the rear guide and it'll slide over the rest, and then put a new one on and replace the guide", he said. The rod is a Berkley Lightening, however, and the thing is a fifty dollar rod new.

@DARYL welcome to the forum!

I grabbed some plastic storage from Dollar Tree and Walmart for components and tools - helps keeps things organized... kind of because my table is still a mess. I'm new myself and still figuring out what systems work and how to organize etc.

You should download the app from the play store or app store and post pics of the build, the color scheme sounds nice.

Building rods in MA, Building the community around the world

I bought a little, 3 drawer, rolling storage table at Kohls. Think I paid like $50. That's where I'm keeping my stuff now. Hopefully, no more turning the house upside down looking for guides and tip tops.

I don't know what app you're referring to.

The rodbuilding.org app, in Google play store or Apple app store. Then you can post pictures right in your post in the thread.

If you have a dollar tree near you it's worth checking out for smaller plastic storage options, tool section and craft section.

Building rods in MA, Building the community around the world

Daryl, sounds good. I can tell by the way you wrote your opening post that this will be something you continue to do .. at least until you have 6 or 7 rods more than you need. lol

As far as the "concept guides" go, with casting rods, at least IMO, concepts are more about using shorter and smaller ringed guides. With spinning rods. concept means a lot more. Spinning rod concepts deal more with guide placement, and proper ring size for the size spool the reel has. Then you also have to consider the height of the guide. Different concepts have different guide placements. You mentioned you are going to build a spinning rod. I would go with a KR concept guide train on that rod. Super simple to set up. Just go to the Anglers Resource link in the left hand column, and look for the KR concept software. Put in your numbers and it will tell you guide sizes and give you where the reduction guides should be placed. It works awesomely.

As far as storing things. I just use a few old 3700 Plano boxes to store things in. They work quite well for me.

Thanks David, I'll check out the KR guides. Yes, I'm going to build a 7' one piece spinning rod to, hopefully, take the place of my old 2 piece (heavy) ugly stik.

Hey Daryl,

Welcome to the fold! This is a great place for information and to ask questions. When I started, I often asked them...trust me! If I can offer a couple ideas, as you gain knowledge in this "hobby", I'd like to say PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE... I remember how hard many things were in the beginning and how second nature they have become now. #2 - If it doesn't look right... redo it. Don't be afraid to tear something off if it bugs you (it'll make you a better builder). #3 - YouTube is invaluable!!! Mudhole have Live Shows that are great as well. #4 - My number one suggestion is to go to your local hardware/hobby store, buy some cheap wooden dowels, spray paint them black and use those to practice techniques on until your next build. I still use them to this day when I'm experimenting with stuff! (TBH my favorite part of building has become making/turning my own handles...very fulfilling.)

Chuck

><))))">….><))))">….><))))">….Just Fish

Prior Lake Rod Building Guild
Instagram @pl_rod_building_guild

I just started,too. Can’t get enough of it. Bought a couple kits from Mudhole and Rainshadow. The fancier I get with trim bands or dragon scale w/ dry wall tape, the more blemishes I notice. I can sit by the hot water heater behind the card table for hours. My best rod is a spinning reel with green thread and a cork split grip. Made my brother a jerk bait rod with carbon fiber split grips. The small guides are a challenge. Learned quickly that finishing epoxy needs to be mixed in pretty much perfect ratios. Tough for me to make the decals look good when coated with epoxy. Metallic thread is a bit trickier, too. Tons of great info and photos here. You guys are good. I’m even making my wife and daughter rods. They rarely fish. Better make em so I can use them, too. Thanks for the great info, Sam

Hi Sam,

I highly doubt I'll ever get into the decorative stuff. I just want well built rods that I can't buy in a store for the price, and not have to compromise to do it. I don't even put the decals, or the hook keepers, on. I don't use the keepers on my off the shelf rods.

I think I’m going to keep them a bit more basic, too. They look a little less busy to me. It’s fun to try some of the ideas I see on YouTube. I can’t make em as slick as they do, but an interesting challenge.

I found out pretty quick that I can't build a rod cheaper than I can get one from the fishing and hunting stores. I think I can get what I want if I build it myself. I've never spent more than $75 on a rod before. Now I have at least that in components and many rods with $200 just in components. I wouldn't have it any other way now.

Mark Brassett Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I found out pretty quick that I can't build a rod
> cheaper than I can get one from the fishing and
> hunting stores. I think I can get what I want if
> I build it myself. I've never spent more than $75
> on a rod before. Now I have at least that in
> components and many rods with $200 just in
> components. I wouldn't have it any other way now.

Do you think you could buy a rod for $200 in a store that's as nice as the one you're building for $200? I don't think so when you think about it.. I looked at a Duckett in the Big Pro store the other day. It was priced at $169.00. It had decent stuff on it, but the craftsmanship was sloppy. There was epoxy that went over the bottom of the guide ring on two different guides. Big deal? Probably not. Heck, it might make the string glide through easier, I don't know. Also, a couple of the guides were mis-aligned and another was bent. Some of the issues is probably the result of all the handling that goes on in a big box store, but the sloppy epoxy is the result of some 5 year old in China getting carried away with the paint brush.

Anyway, like you, I don't care if it ends up costing me more. I like it, and I'll get what I want and if I don't, I'll file a complaint on the builder. :)