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What do ya think?


Dark Cloud

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Im building myself a new jigging rod and saw this on a rod at a store. Not sure if I like it(nothings glued yet) I have built over 50 rods(friends and relatives) and can do some it really nice diamond wraps. Was thinking of doing a wrap between the two pieces of cork at the butt. What do ya honestly think? Someone told me it looked like the rod wasnt complete or finished... Not trying to sell anything, been there done that and only make a rod or two a year now...

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Dark I like it.. the reason for doing a rod like that is to bring the weight down.. If I were you I would not add the thread below the handle as that would just add the weight back on. Not so much in thread but the epoxy cover coat would add weight.

I have 2 shimano Drop Shot rods that I use for walleye jigging.. and love the rods!

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Deitz - im kinda torn. Your right about keeping the weight down but I got a bad feeling the rod will be tip heavy. I can always put one of my stradics on it. They are the heaviest of my spinning reels. Or I can yank the butt off and epoxy a little lead in the bottom of the blank. Thats one thing I learned with building my own rods - I do alot of jigging and rods that balance a little light in the tip feel better to me and seem more sensitive. But I want to keep weight down??!!??

Im probably gonna splurge on some more expensive but lighter weight guides.

Yes its a disease....

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Looks pretty nice. I too like some weight in the butt section in order to keep the rod tip up slightly past level all by itself. I'd rather have some extra weight on the rod at the butt section in order to not have to get forearm fatigue from holding the tip up. An idea would be to put some lead tape at the bottom of the graphite blank above the cork, and wrap it to make it look nice. Just an idea if you like a balanced rod.

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DC,

Here's what I'd suggest- you want to put the rod together so that it's balanced when you're done. You'll want to decide which reel to put on it, then put in on in the right place so that it's balanced to your specs. I agree with DD, adding weight is defeating the purpose of sensitivity. If you're not looking for a particularly sensitive rod, fisherdog's advice makes sense (that's not a round-about cheap shot at him- some rods don't need to be particularly sensitive- crankbait rods, downrigger rods, etc.) But, any weight you add will decrease the sensitivity of the rod. So, if you want as sensitive a rod as the blank you're going to use allows, get the reel seat where it should be so that the rig is balanced right and don't add any weight.

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I have a custom built rod with a handle like that. The rear piece isnt quite that long but close. It brings the weight back without adding bulk. It seems to balance the weight really close to the reel seat. Also it is amazing how as soon as you use this type handle for casting you instinctly grab that little handle piece. I love the feel of mine.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ok guys heres the final rod minus the finish. I played and played with where to place the reel seat and thats the best spot for a stradic. I also shortened up the foregrip so when the reel foot is between my pinky and ring finger, my trigger finger is right on the blank. I like to jig this way and it cant be done without a tennesee handle or this creation. I found these superlite guides to keep overall weight down and the thing from being tip heavy. I did add a custom diamond wrap and a small pattern on the lower section - weight vs. looks. Shes getting a coat of finish now and sat she'll be jigging up some eyes on our opener...

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very nice work..very pretty,a nd most of all, I bet it catches fish!

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Thanks LOW, just curious.

DC, beautiful looking rig. You mentioned the front cork being shortened. For nearly all apps, the front cork is purely for asthetic value and serves no real purpose. So... shortening it up like you did is a great idea. Looks like you went with Recoil guides too- sweet! Can't get any lighter.

Like DD said, I bet it'll catch fish!

Thanks for sharing the pics- good work!!!

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Deitz and Scoot - Thanks! She's gonna be a dream with 1/8 and 1/4 oz jigs, plus casting stickbaits. Its a 7 footer, I really prefer the longer rods for all applications - casting distance and hooksets! I went with a $50 Cabelas blank. I have made alot of rods useing everything from orvis to loomis to st croix blanks and honestly the cost for those blanks isn't nearly justified. I really like cabelas blanks in the 30-60 dollar range.

Scoot - those guides are actually the lightweight guides you see on st croix and berkly ice rods. I got some recoils ordered but didnt have the patience to wait for em, i'll just make another rod, lol...

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Nice work as usual DC, that diamond wrap sure looks purty. If ya ever get tired of making rods for yourself, you could build one for an ol' travlin to Canada road buddy. grin.gif

Just funnin ya DC, it's good seeing ya around here and there on the web, I hope all is well for youse.

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Duff - I suppose I owe ya after you having to deal with me from the cities all the way up to LOW. I havent built too many these past few years but kinda got the interest now. Gisserts wife broke the one I made her, im gonna make her one and that long haired freak from Wisconson, I owe him one then you can be next....

Things are good, been fishing alot as usual...

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Deitz, Scoot, Duff, and others. Gave the new stick a serious workout this weekend. Im really happy with it, dad even used it for a while. Looks like he'll be getting another fishing rod for fathers day. We started on the opener at midnight and were into alot of fish for a few hours. We ended up catching about 80 eyes this weekend over 15 inches out of three diff systems. Got a bunch in the low 20's and I got one 25.5...

Heres a few picts...

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Heres a shot of fri nights haul for a fish fry tonite. The rest were C&R'd. Bottom is the new stick and top is a nearly identical rod I made about 12 years ago...

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Great pics dark, fish and pole. Quick question, where does a guy out in the country learn to build a rod. I suppose I would have to go the cities to learn or something. Something I would love to learn to do.

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BottomDwel- You can take classes.. often times Comunity education offers them.. Or youcan give Thorne Brothers a shout!, they offer classes as well.

Dark Cloud!.- Man that top pict looks like a beautiful spot!.. wow!

So, how did you like hte new handle design?.. after using it hard.. Is there anything you would do different?

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Quote:

Deitz - im kinda torn. Your right about keeping the weight down but I got a bad feeling the rod will be tip heavy. I can always put one of my stradics on it.


If it is tip heavy move the real seat further towards the tip(within reason of course) that would help balance the tip better than adding weight to the rod. The whole reasoning for the split grips is to reduce the weight of the rod and enhance sensitivity.

OK...I posted this before reading all the way to the end, didn't mean to be redundant.

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Bottomdweller,

There is alot of info on the (Contact Us Please) . org site and there are some very good books out there. There is even a site out there with some video tutorials. I learned mostly on my own with some tips from a friend. I would suggest reading a bit, buying the components and give it a whirl. It is not rocket science, but it does require attention to detail and a lot of patience.

If you want shoot me an email at svanguilder at mchsi . com and I will send you some links.

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Bottomdweller - I self taught myself, lol. First rod I made was a cabelas kit and the kits come with a small instructions booklet. It was rough but I hacked my way through it. The basic step by step books are great. You certainly dont need a power wrapper or expensive tools. I have a power wrapper and dont even use it, I still spinn by hand. I built a simple jig and use a thread tension device. And a electric dryer is a must but dont cost too much. If you are interested I can show ya what you need and work ya through a few road bumps...

Deitz - The rod is definatly light. Lighter than anything ive seen and I love the action - fast, ML. Im still getting used to the handle. On real long two handed cast it is diff.

That pict was on a river that is really known as a "trout" river. We saw all kinds of people with fly rods. Most dont realize it even has eyes in it. We usually release all fish over 24 but we kept that bigger fish as dad has a recipe for baked fish thats better with a bigger fish. When we cleaned that fish it had a 9 in brown trout in its stomach!

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