Wrapping Rods

Anyone do their own Rod building?

I do all of my rods but avoid the crap like in the photo. I go for feel and sensitivity, Not outward looks....

I built rods back in my teens in the 70s. Loved doing it but my interests moved on. Not sure I'm down with Billy's color schemes, except the one on the right, but you can guess from that I'm more for subtlety than flash. And there's some nice woodworking in Ripd's handle--did you build that up yourself in get a turning blank? Gotta have an outlet for the creative instincts and building a rod is as good as any.

Bailey Boat said:

I do all of my rods but avoid the crap like in the photo. I go for feel and sensitivity, Not outward looks....

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I wouldn’t call Ripdmup’s work crap. That’s an insult. That’s very nice work. I have found that the guys that take the time to add a little pop to their builds also take the time to make them preform excellently.

Buster said:

I built rods back in my teens in the 70s. Loved doing it but my interests moved on. Not sure I'm down with Billy's color schemes, except the one on the right, but you can guess from that I'm more for subtlety than flash. And there's some nice woodworking in Ripd's handle--did you build that up yourself in get a turning blank? Gotta have an outlet for the creative instincts and building a rod is as good as any.

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Yeah the pink one was a rod I did for a girl. I’ve done just about every color under the sun. That pic was one I had handy on my phone. That greenish one really pops I think you’d like it if you saw it up close.

Billy H said:

I wouldn’t call Ripdmup’s work crap. That’s an insult. That’s very nice work. I have found that the guys that take the time to add a little pop to their builds also take the time to make them preform excellently.

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Just like cars, you have to customize it to your liking.

Billy H said:

Yeah the pink one was a rod I did for a girl. I’ve done just about every color under the sun. That pic was one I had handy on my phone. That greenish one really pops I think you’d like it if you saw it up

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KMixson said:

Just like cars, you have to customize it to your liking.

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And for me, every now and again I want to see what I CAN do in the shop, regardless of its utility. Nothing wrong with showing off your craftsmanship on the cabin wall after building a few users for the boat. Or whatever your creative gig is.

I agree with Buster, creative making a rod or whatever is always satisfying; I do woodwork projects in my garage, though about trying my hand at building a rod but I have 20 or so rods and reels now so not on my lists, my wife has me working on building planter boxes for the spring season so I'm busy right now with woodworking!

Billy H said:

I wouldn’t call Ripdmup’s work crap. That’s an insult. That’s very nice work. I have found that the guys that take the time to add a little pop to their builds also take the time to make them preform excellently.

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IMHO.......Anything that doesn't add to the rod only subtracts from it. Looks catch the fisherman, NOT the fish.....

Bailey Boat said:

IMHO.......Anything that doesn't add to the rod only subtracts from it. Looks catch the fisherman, NOT the fish.....

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Jealousy is an ugly thing

Billy H said:

Jealousy is an ugly thing

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whatever.......

Bailey Boat said:

I do all of my rods but avoid the crap like in the photo. I go for feel and sensitivity, Not outward looks....

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Bailey Boat said:

whatever.......

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You portray yourself as rude and angry, with poor parental training.

I am guessing that a number of us have caught many times more fish than you, much bigger fish than you, and have built many, many more rods than you. Yet, you are the only one calling other's work "crap." Really, your manners are the only thing here that qualify as that.

Why is that? I don't need an answer, but you might want to consider that for yourself. Hopefully, it's just a momentary lapse, and you will do better in the future.

On the matter of wrapping rods, I personally prefer subtle designs. A single-thread wrap of silver, gold or other color below each guide, a small metallic or feather inlay, and for me, a few bands of silver or gold above the handle that tell me which blank it is without having to read the label. They look fairly plain from a distance, but when in your hand, you may notice the details, if you care.

Function is my driving purpose. I strive to always build rods that feel "alive" in your hands, and I have been fairly successful. I have used primarily G.Loomis blanks, and that has a lot to do with it, but Lami, St. Croix, Rogue and others also make some nice blanks, too.

Most of my rods in the past have been specifically designed for inshore fishing, specifically for light tackle jigging in saltwater, but some of my favorite blanks have been the Loomis MB (Mag Bass) series, so they work well in many applications. The big thing is that they are shockingly light with strong backbone and almost shockingly sensitive.

When taking guys fishing, and they are using their rods and not catching, I will hand them one of mine to see what happens, and almost always they immediately start catching. Several have described them as "almost electric", like an electric guitar versus an acoustic. Suddenly, they can feel EVERYTHING.

Most don't realize the difference equipment can make, but it's real.

thill said:

Most don't realize the difference equipment can make, but it's real.

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On equipment--in most hobbies there's a threshold point for equipment. For example, buy a hand plane or a square at the Big Box and your woodworking will be frustrating. Carpentry and woodworking are different things and those tools are made for carpentry. But once you hit the threshold with a proper woodworking plane with a flat sole, a solid frog and good steel in the blade, it's about your own skill using the tool rather than the quality of the tool. A big issue for many beginners or casual hobbyists is they buy cheap and get frustrated. It's not that you need to spend $1500 on a rod and reel, but the $40 Cabela's combo isn't going to cut it if you're out there every weekend.
It's important to spend enough that the tool doesn't impede your skill. As I once heard someone say--a proper tool won't make you better, but a bad one will keep you from getting better.

You are right... there is a limit. A $500 dollar rod is probably not 5X better than a $100 rod.

And as technology gets better, so does quality.

Some of the newer, inexpensive rods have a very good feel. I saw a Lew's combo on clearance for $18. I got some for the kids and was surprised how good it feels in the hand. the rod is comparable to many rods that are over $100 as far as sensitivity, just maybe a touch heavier. And the reel is butter smooth and has a very good drag system. For $18, it's a CRAZY value and will catch with the best of them.

Cost isn't everything.

Going back to rod wrapping... A friend of mine will take a rod like that Lews I mentioned above, and then do cool stuff to it to make it custom, and people love his stuff. They know what it really is, but they don't care.

To each their own.

thill said:

You are right... there is a limit. A $500 dollar rod is probably not 5X better than a $100 rod.

And as technology gets better, so does quality.

Some of the newer, inexpensive rods have a very good feel. I saw a Lew's combo on clearance for $18. I got some for the kids and was surprised how good it feels in the hand. the rod is comparable to many rods that are over $100 as far as sensitivity, just maybe a touch heavier. And the reel is butter smooth and has a very good drag system. For $18, it's a CRAZY value and will catch with the best of them.

Cost isn't everything.

Going back to rod wrapping... A friend of mine will take a rod like that Lews I mentioned above, and then do cool stuff to it to make it custom, and people love his stuff. They know what it really is, but they don't care.

To each their own.

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It's good to hear there are decent cheap options. I'm curious how they hold up over time.

We have been using them for 2-3 years now, and they are holding up well. I wish I had bought more, because they are perfect for guests- Smooth and sensitive yet no huge loss if they break one. So far, not an issue from any of them. Some of the "better" reels have had issues from saltwater in that same time period. I'm impressed.

thill said:

We have been using them for 2-3 years now, and they are holding up well. I wish I had bought more, because they are perfect for guests- Smooth and sensitive yet no huge loss if they break one. So far, not an issue from any of them. Some of the "better" reels have had issues from saltwater in that same time period. I'm impressed.

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In the past my durability issues were guides that bent easily, rings that fell out of guides, and handle parts that came loose. Performance issues were rods that weren't centered on the spine, blanks that didn't go all the way through the handles, and overall really "soft" sensitivity. For reels, it was bad drags and kind of freezing up under load, not to mention poorly designed bails, spools, and line leveling. I haven't bought a cheap setup in two decades so just assumed they stayed bad.

Buster said:

In the past my durability issues were guides that bent easily, rings that fell out of guides, and handle parts that came loose. Performance issues were rods that weren't centered on the spine, blanks that didn't go all the way through the handles, and overall really "soft" sensitivity. For reels, it was bad drags and kind of freezing up under load, not to mention poorly designed bails, spools, and line leveling. I haven't bought a cheap setup in two decades so just assumed they stayed bad.

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These rods and reels have been tough. Those kids are hard on stuff, and no failures yet.

None of the issues you mention above. Not soft, they have a sensitive, blank through to the butt, with very smooth reels with good drags. Infinite anti-reverse with no slop. Have caught numerous "over slot" redfish like in the pic above, and they are strong and pull a lot of drag on 12# braid, but no problems.

The one exception to your list is that I've never checked the spine on them. With a spinning rod, finding the spine really doesn't matter, although I always do when I build mine, out of habit. These rods are good performers in my opinion, and I'm pretty picky about my tackle and I have fished more than most, even having hook and line commercial fished for a couple of years.

After using these combos, several guests went out to buy one for themselves. Turns out, the normal price for that combo was something like $79.99, so they weren't super-cheap, just heavily discounted.

Even at full price, it's a $40 rod and $40 reel. I would happily pay $39.99 for either, and not look back. I'm pretty impressed with the Lew's brand. I like the reels more than many of my Pflueger and Daiwa reels, and I've never seen any $39 rod that are their equal. Not many $79 rods are their equal, but It's been a while since I bought a store-bought inshore rod, so maybe quality has gone up across the board.

A good commercial-built rod that I used to like were the Bass Pro Extremes in the Rich Chunn 6'6" MH. Those were really good rods for $99, and even when they went up in price, they were worth it.

My fav are still Loomis, but they are very expensive. The Mag Bass GLX is still $550, even from Walmart and they are more in some places. Look here:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/G-Loomis-GLX-903C-MBR-Casting-Rod/5499506044

I started building my own rods for 2 reasons. Cost, and I couldn't find a spinning rod with the taper and backbone I wanted. Most "spinning" rods were flimsy. The Mag Bass series are excellent.

Before Loomis stopped selling blanks, I could buy a MB804, MB805 or a MB844 blank for about $69, so I could build a high-quality rod for about $100. When D&B rods went out of business, I bought 6 of those blanks on clearance for something like $39. I only have ONE left, and I'm holding on to it! Awesome rods for what I do.