"We could be the biggest pantyhose seller in America, but we don't want to weaken the link in shoppers' minds between Home Depot and do-it-yourself projects."
So said co-founder of Home Depot, Bernard Marcus. I spend a lot of time at Home Depot, both due to my work as a buyer and because I just like looking at tools and stuff. I would spend a lot more time at Home Depot if they sold stockings but doubt it would be very productive.
My 'thing' is fly fishing. I love the feel of a perfectly cast loop, the gentle land of a small Adams or Big Ol' Popper, the sip of the tiniest brookie or bluegill, the smash of Hog Bass, its all the same to me. I am often asked what is the attraction. Frankly, I can not answer that, and hope never too. Lyricist Lou Reed (of Velvet Underground, think Walk on the Wild Side) sang,
There's a bit of magic in everything
and then some loss to even things out
A very close friend and fishing compadre, I'll call him Tom because that is his name, once said it must add a dimension to fly fishing using a fly you've tied. He was correct, as he usually is about such things. Hand tying ones own flies is almost as fun as shopping for hosiery. I later found that building my own custom rods even deepened the satisfaction. Sort of like going to Home Depot and finding Ms. Winslett trying on pantyhose...wait, never mind....
This is intended as a journal for first, myself. I learn different techniques and then promptly forget them and hope this will help me recall how I built a particular rod. More important, highlighting my errors and the stupid things I do may help me not repeat the same inane acts. (Something I am susceptible to). I hope this will also encourage others to 'roll their own' as it were. There are lotsa reasons why, but the main one is accomplishing the building of a $600 graphite rod, or as in the case I am highlighting here, a $1000 bamboo rod for pennies on the dollar. is deeply deeply gratifying. This alone would be enough, but my experience has been a rod I build fits me. It is like a Seville Road Business Suit for the stream. The action of the rod is to my taste, the color coordination of thread wraps, reel seat, and rod are to my taste, the grip fits my hands. The fly rod as a tool becomes a Fly Rod as working art. There are no shortcuts to a good casting stroke. But, once you gain the skills to cast well, an expensive Sage/Orvis/Winston/et. al., will never cast as well as the rod made for you.
I currently live in Texas where Bass is King. I also make occasional trips to Pennsylvania where a rod that can catch the smallmouth and big brown trout of the Juniata, Little Juniata, and Susquehanna Rivers is desired. And, I wanted bamboo. I had the opportunity to cast, and erred mightily when I was truly shocked at the wonderousness of the bamboo as a medium for a fly rod. I consulted with world famous rod builder extraordinaire Matt Albaugh of Albaugh Rod Company out of Idaho. His recommendation was a flamed Garrison 212e, a medium fast action 6-7 wt. (relative to bamboo) capable of tossing both small flies and poppers as well as bigger poppers up to size 4 or even 2. It turned out a local fellow I bumped into just happened to have one he let me cast. Simply marvelous. So, I contracted to Mr. Albaugh to make an unferruled blank. Below is a picture of a Garrison 212e that was recently sold...
Garrison 212e
Now the decision of how to outfit the rod.
For the reel seat I am going with Bellinger's Garrison Sliding Bands,
Garrison sliding Band x 2, one with cork
spacer, and band/end cap alone.
This show the spacer made of cork, but rather I am going with a spalted Burr Oak I found on the creek I think of as my home water. The process of reclaiming fallen trees and limbs is a bit prolonged, I will go into it in great detail later, but here are some pictures of the cross sections and blocks.
For a grip, I am going to use a Garrison style, which is really just a straight grip that rounds off at the for-end. And it will be rattan. I will go into much greater detail how I do this later, but in the mean time, here is a picture of a very similar one I made for a 3-wt orvis. Note this is more akin to a cigar grip.
The winding check will be integral with the grip, I will explain this when I get into the rattan grip.
For guides and tip top...I have tried several brands of guides for my previous builds, but found the one aspect I really loath is the grinding and sanding of the feet. (The feet on guides need to come down to a nice acute angle so the thread wraps are a seamless transition to the rod. Not sanding the blunt feet makes for a very unsightly rod). I am sure there are other brands that are quite nice, I am going with Snake Brand guides. They have a sterling reputation within the fly rod building community, and best of all, they require little to no grinding of the feet.
other brands >
The picture isn't very clear, but the feet are taper to a blunt end, this end will need
to be filed/ground/sanded to a nice find edge.
It has become almost standard to use an agate stripper guide, such as from Arcane, on a bamboo fly rod,
Beautiful, ain't it!
However, I am looking for a more subdued look and like the Mildrum style for this rod. Unfortunately, the original Mildrum's are no longer being made, but REC bought the rights and is close enough for my tastes.
Yeah, I'm gonna have to grind the (damn) feet, but I love the look.
The Hook Keeper...
oh, such a wee little thing, that causes me so much grief. Yes, I know, it is a result of poor casting form! but dadnabit, I hate it when I miss a fish because the line loops around the rod near the end of a cast and catches on that little 'D' style hook keeper.
I am not a fan of the folding hook keeper,
nor do I like the looks of the British style hook keeper...
What I really like is the saddle and loop. Particularly, I find the one manufactured, again, by Snake Brand, is a particularly classic look on a bamboo fly rod. I do wish it came in a bronze color to match their snake guides.
The strip forms a saddle which sandwiches
the loop between the rod and the
Ferrules will be from Arcane.
The finish is still something I am debating. Most likely I will use several coats of Minwax Helmsman Spar Varnish.
Finally, thread color. I love the look of clear threads, while it is a bit tedious, I will be going with Pearsall's Gossamer thread in 'Antique Gold'. I will use Pearsall's 4/0 in 'java' for the ferrule wraps and winding check/hook keeper.
