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Rod building

MITCHMO

MITCHMO

Well-known member
Joined
May 19, 2016
Messages
751
Location
Lake Michigan
Anyone on here know much about making a rod from a blank? Seems like a great quarantine activity. I have no clue how to choose a blank. I’m looking to make a jigging rod for jigging trout and Cisco. I currently use 6’ ish medium spinning rods. I would like a little bit shorter rod if possible and it needs to have some backbone but bend evenly all the way to the tip. These rods that have a stiff spine and soft tip don’t flick the jig right.

75’ to 225’ of water
12lb braid with 6-8lb leader
1-3oz jigs
I’ll put big eyelets to help with ice too. Basically a long ice fishing rod.
 
We’ve been having a lot of fun when we make it out.
 

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Rod building can be a lot of fun and it’s really not that difficult. You’ll need a few items to get started but it’s not too bad. If you have access to some woodworking tools you can make v blocks to support the rod while you wrap it. A good way to get started would be to buy a kit that includes all the components needed to build one. If you google rod building components, you’ll get several good places to buy stuff. As far as blank selection goes, you’d just have to take a look at what’s available from different manufactures
 
Rainshadow blanks are the best rod blanks for the money, in my opinion. Here is their website. http://batsonenterprises.com/ Batson does not sell direct, so you have to go through a retail supplier. I would recommend Utmost enterprises. It is a small family owned business just down the street from Batson's and they will have the best prices and can help you with selecting the proper rod blank for the job. You will have to give them a call or email to get in touch with them to make your order, but as a beginning builder they will help you through the process of ordering all the parts you will need. If you know exactly what you need to get started there are big box shops like Mudhole.com that can get you set up, but you won't get the best price or the service you will get at Utmost. If you have any other questions you can PM me and I can help you out. Been building rods for close to twenty years now.
 
I bought one of Mudhole's turnkey kits when I started. The thread carriage is awful and has never properly held tension. The handle reamers are falling apart after building 6 rods. It was nice to get everything I needed in one package, but in hindsight it would have been better to piece together a more quality kit.
 
I built a thread carriage. I’ll take a picture of it later.
 
Rain shadow is the way to go, but also st croix blanks ain’t half bad either. After this spring run of steelies I will also be building my first, I haven’t quite narrowed it down but leaning towards rain shadow. I have a st croix now, sensitive, I can feel a fish fart with it but isn’t quite as parabolic as I would like. Lots to think about!!!!!
 
rwc101 said:
I bought one of Mudhole's turnkey kits when I started. The thread carriage is awful and has never properly held tension. The handle reamers are falling apart after building 6 rods. It was nice to get everything I needed in one package, but in hindsight it would have been better to piece together a more quality kit.
Click to expand...
Strip the sandpaper strips off of the handle reamers and get some 80 or 100 grit sand blasting media from Harbor Freight. Slather on a thin coat of epoxy to the reamer and roll it in the blasting media. Smooth out clumps and let dry. Use old cork for grips and you are ready to roll. In a pinch or for first time builder, a heavy book can be used as a thread carriage. Just run thread through the middle of a closed book. Add weight as needed.
 
I built a few rods about 30 years ago. They came out well, however, like you asked - the issue is getting the right blank! One rod was a 9 ft spinning rod for salmon. Used a fiberglass blank (cheaper!). It could be used for a club! Too stiff & heavy.

Next rod was a 6 ft spinning rod for bass fishing. Carbon Blank is like a heavy-heavy action. Most of the NYS fish I caught couldn't even bend the tip!

Last rod was another attempt at a bass rod. It is the most usable of the 3. Carbon blank (think they were called graphite back then), 6.5 ft spinning rod. Has nice taper, about a medium action. But its still more rod than I like so it sits in the cellar with 25 other rods, some of which see intermittent action.

These days I usually use bait caster rods and prefer a medium light action. The waters I fish aren't usually weedy and I like the rod to bend. The spinning rods I like are Bass Pro Micro Lights.

Back to rod building, all 3 came out well and I did fancy wraps with threads, even have my name wrapped on the 9 footer! It wasn't terribly hard. I did wish I had a slow speed motor though for keeping the rod turning after I applied the finish over the wraps...
 
I build quite a few, mostly for myself friends and family but sell a few along. As mentioned rainshadow and Batson brands are great for the cost. If custom colors are of interest then I’d suggest taking a look at the RodGeeks blanks. As to a suggestion for your desired specs I’m sorry but I don’t know know enuf about that style of fishing to be helpful.
 
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The top rod is a spinning rod that I built with/for my ten year old daughter. She helped me with the grip, guide wraps and did a great job with the decorative marbling. The second rod is a boat rod I built for my Dad. It has a spiral wrapped guide design that works great when fighting the dorado and marlin that the rod was built for. The finish is a bit beat up as it has earned it's keep in both Mexico and on a couple trips for halibut in BC.
 
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It is not a business, but have sold a few to people who wanted to give them as gifts. I did build a Sage flyrod for Hall of Fame pitcher Gaylord Perry. The high school I used to coach baseball for was having a fundraiser to build an indoor hitting facility. He came to auction off some of his jerseys and sign autographs. As a thank you we gave him a Sage rod/reel and took him fishing. He is a great story teller and made the truck ride to the river one of the shortest one hour trips I have ever been on.
 
I bought a mud hole kit and have had no issues with the carriage. I climbed the learning curve with the blank that came with it, and it turned out very usable. Since then I’ve done several spinning rods, a fly rod, a casting rod for bass and a surf rod. I really enjoy picking out the components and spending the time doing the layout for the guides. After my second rod they started to turn out much nicer then I expected. Last year I believe St Croix stopped offering their blanks except for the top model. The SCIII and SCIV st croix blanks are fantastic if you can find them. The MHX blanks are decent as well and pretty affordable.
 
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