Grandson's 11th birthday next month. Through the Cub scouts he's started fly fishing (and tying!) and loves it. I've ordered an 8' 3 wt, color of slate. I've built 3 fly rods and all 3 have been slate, 2 I used Garnet and a little silver metallic trim piece. One I used black with non-metallic silver trim. All look fantastic. But, without asking him at this point I'm thinking out of the box. I will keep it simple.

The only thing I'm certain about is the stripper will be 32" from the reel. HaHa

Pick his favorite color and go from there. Black/slate blanks are like an empty canvas waiting to be painted on. The only wrong answer is the color which he dislikes.

For me, I’m partial to a dark green, sky blue, light brown and tan colored thread. I think the tan/brown kind of gives it an old world classic look

Youi're correct, I can't go wrong. I just looked at my thread box again and I have quite a stash. Building grand dtrs rods and 3 other grand sons has broadened my color selection. The girls are much better at picking colors than am I.

[www.google.com]

I would think that blue main wrap with yellow and red trim would be great for such a rod.

Best wishes

Good point! I have built him a spinning rod in his school colors. Another reason I look for RodGeeks to bring back their color selections.

Here’s a slate swim bait rod I built my nephew. The thread is ProWrap Colorfast #404

[www.rodbuilding.org]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/29/2023 11:03AM by Daryl Ferguson.

Stan,
Since he has been inspired by the Cub Scouts, use their colors as Roger suggested.

It is a consideration.

roger wilson Wrote:
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> [www.google.com]
> out+uniform&oq=pictures+of+cub+scout+uniform&aqs=c
> hrome..69i57j0i22i30l3j0i390i650l4.5727j0j7&source
> id=chrome&ie=UTF-8#imgrc=pIsABW6oDmvFTM
>
> I would think that blue main wrap with yellow and
> red trim would be great for such a rod.
>
> Best wishes

Nailed it!

Blue and yellow would also tie in with the Ukraine conflict. In the future that may be looked upon as a world changing event. Twenty years from now he might take pride in saying, "This is my glory to Ukraine rod my Dad made for me when I was eleven".

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

If your grandson is still active in scouting and enjoys it , then I think Roger Wilson had an excellent idea . Perhaps one of the sponsors on the left might even be able to come up with a custom decal related to scouting . When all is said and done though , who knows your grandson better than you - so go where your feelings lead .
Ron

Stan
Only you can make that choice. It all depends on what your client likes and what your limitations are. Allow me to go out on a limb and say that I have not found two thread colors that looked bad when morphed together. I don't know if there is another name for it but it is where you start with color A, add color B, wrap A and B simultaneously for the next third , drop the A thread and finish with B thread.
Best of luck with your build

I'm conservative and so is my family, these colors won't be overstated or gaudy at all. I don't overwhelm the rod with wraps, the more simple the more beautiful. Blue/yellow with red trim is getting a look but I also have another idea or two and will update when decided. Lots of options.

Ukraine? My only thoughts about that is the possibility of a future draft, which would involve my grand sons.