A new season of fishing rod building

A friend contacted me about 4 weeks ago about building him some fishing rods specifically for casting weights spinners for coho (silver) salmon. I have some very strong opinions on how to optimize a fishing rod for exactly that purpose, but invited him over to look at several examples of rods I would use for that purpose. We went outside and I let me cast and flex several rods on our parking pad. His thoughts on uses he might want rods for expanded, and he asked me to build a couple light spinning rods specifically for small fish, a couple long bobber and bait fishing rods, and an expanded two-model selection of rods of casting spinners.

When I went to order rod components, I ordered rod parts from 3 different companies to get most of what I needed. One specific model of rod blank I could not find in stock — so that would have to wait until later, and some of the guides and tip tops I wanted to purchase were in limited stock as well, but generally ordering rod parts this early in the off season provides a good opportunity to get specific components before they are ordered out-of-stock. I did pre-order out-of-stock blanks from one company, knowing it could be a long time before they arrived. I was pleasantly surprised to have those rod blanks arrive in the mail this week.

Having to order specific minimums from two companies, I ended up purchasing additional rod blanks, grips, guides, and reel seats to fill out the minimum orders. There are always more ideas of rods I would like to try building, than I could ever fit in my guide boat at one time. Suffice it to say, in addition to my friend's rods, I now have more than double to build, as a result of his inquiry. For that matter, he ended up requesting double what he was originally thinking as well!

I’ve already built 4 of my friend's rods, installed handles on a couple additional blanks for him, and received the needed parts for the remaining rods. I like to get started on a rod building project as soon as possible and complete it, but it will undoubtedly take me a while to complete this one. I can’t hardly build a rod without spending considerable time considering how it will work — even if I’ve built several similar rod models in the past. The reason I build rods is to get a specific tool (or combination of components) I may not be able to readily find in a store. When building a rod for someone else I want to consider specifically what they might want — especially since they may likely have a differing set of desirable traits than what I might choose.

I like seeing how the different color combinations come together, and may be pleasantly surprised at how well they may look together, or at other times may decide I do not want to build again with certain rod blanks, color combinations, grip materials, handle lengths or a specific style of reel seat, or guide. It is nice having control over all of those aspects for each specific rod built

Rod building provides an opportunity to consider what the next fishing season may provide, dream about the possibilities, and build with a plan toward the coming season(s). I am already excited about new possibilities for my guided guests next year, but like usual, my want-to-try gear list is already bumping up against my tackle spending budget.

What a great past time for shorter, colder, and darker days to come. Dream and Build On!