Squirrel's New Rod Build

[squirrelwhisperer]

Little squirrel's birthday is coming up in May. This is a big one. 12 years old!! He gets to shoot this fall! He loves being outdoors with his dad. He can't wait to hunt. He also loves fishing. (That's my boy! ) He has been fishing with me since shortly after he could walk. This year he asked me to make him a custom fishing rod. Since I am a part time rod crafter, amongst other things, I thought what better gift for this years birthday. (I can't wait till he asks for a bow) He has displayed enough responsibility with the store bought rods that I think he is ready for something custom.

All the decisions have been made and I should be placing the order today. He wants red, silver and blue to be similar to my "Murica" rod. He likes the contrast of the silver better than the white. Ok no prob. It is HIS custom, after all. I will be going with a Seeker blank, carbon fiber construction, medium heavy, fast taper, 7'6", rated for 10-30# test. I will shorten this to 7' to get the taper and action where I want it.  To that I will be adding the following: Custom cut and shaped Eva foam grips (dark blue), Fuji "door knob" butt cap (black), Fuji graphite real seat with trigger (black), Fuji double foot K series Alconite Guides (black frame). Guides will be double wrapped with accent wraps on the ends. He wants to go with an alternating double chevron butt wrap in front of the fore grip. I will attached pics for examples. 

This will be used mostly for wreck and ocean fluke fishing. It will need to be capable of hanging up to 6 ounces on the line. We will be using 20# braid for sensitivity. 

I will continue to update and post pics to this thread, as progress is made, with the final pic being the first fish he catches with his new rod. 

 

 

[squirrelwhisperer]

Double wrapped Fuji K guide with accent wraps



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[Deleted Account]

7 minutes ago, squirrelwhisperer said:

Little squirrel's birthday is coming up in May. This is a big one. 12 years old!! He gets to shoot this fall! He loves being outdoors with his dad. He can't wait to hunt. He also loves fishing. (That's my boy! ) He has been fishing with me since shortly after he could walk. This year he asked me to make him a custom fishing rod. Since I am a part time rod crafter, amongst other things, I thought what better gift for this years birthday. (I can't wait till he asks for a bow) He has displayed enough responsibility with the store bought rods that I think he is ready for something custom.

All the decisions have been made and I should be placing the order today. He wants red, silver and blue to be similar to my "Murica" rod. He likes the contrast of the silver better than the white. Ok no prob. It is HIS custom, after all. I will be going with a Seeker blank, carbon fiber construction, medium heavy, fast taper, 7'6", rated for 10-30# test. I will shorten this to 7' to get the taper and action where I want it.  To that I will be adding the following: Custom cut and shaped Eva foam grips (dark blue), Fuji "door knob" butt cap (black), Fuji graphite real seat with trigger (black), Fuji double foot K series Alconite Guides (black frame). Guides will be double wrapped with accent wraps on the ends. He wants to go with an alternating double chevron butt wrap in front of the fore grip. I will attached pics for examples. 

This will be used mostly for wreck and ocean fluke fishing. It will need to be capable of hanging up to 6 ounces on the line. We will be using 20# braid for sensitivity. 

I will continue to update and post pics to this thread, as progress is made, with the final pic being the first fish he catches with his new rod. 

 

 

That's a fantastic build. I hope he gets a lot of use and success with it. Way to go Dad!

[squirrelwhisperer]

Alternating double chevron butt wrap


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[squirrelwhisperer]

Possibly a better butt wrap pic


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[Lawdwaz]

Purty fancy rig, the boy is going to be thrilled. 

[Nytracker]

What rod finish are you using . I like multi coats of  light or med build for fly and ice rods . Much smaller  blanks . I would imagine your going to use a high build . What manufacturers  are you using . I use to love gudebrod stuff but sadly they are gone . I'm currently  using  flex coat .

[Arcade Hunter]

Looks awesome!

[squirrelwhisperer]

What rod finish are you using . I like multi coats of  light or med build for fly and ice rods . Much smaller  blanks . I would imagine your going to use a high build . What manufacturers  are you using . I use to love gudebrod stuff but sadly they are gone . I'm currently  using  flex coat .

Same here. Loved Gudebrod. I also use flex coat. Gonna go with procoat this time. Supposed to release air better.

 

 

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[coonhunter]

That is an awesome birthday present for a young man that enjoys fishing.

[squirrelwhisperer]

The order was placed. Now we wait, but with this virus crap, it's anyone's guess as to how long. Didn't get the K guides because he won't be casting but still got the Fuji concepts. I would have gotten silicon carbide but he wanted black frames. The SiC only come in gunsmoke in the series we picked. 

[Nytracker]

Who did you order from mudhole ?

[squirrelwhisperer]

1 minute ago, Nytracker said:

Who did you order from mudhole ?

Yes. 

[Nytracker]

Are they delayed shipping  do to coronavirus? Website said they were still shipping . The store is closed .

Edited April 7, 2020 by Nytracker

[squirrelwhisperer]

5 minutes ago, Nytracker said:

Are they delayed shipping  do to coronavirus? Website said they were still shipping . The store is closed .

Man I wish I knew lol. All I know is I want this done before his birthday. A rod like this should only take about 2 weeks, maybe less with this stay at home and be bored crap. 

[Nytracker]

I'm happy to be working ... butttt.... I wouldn't mind a week or two off  to catch up on things  and fish .

[squirrelwhisperer]

2 minutes ago, Nytracker said:

I'm happy to be working ... butttt.... I wouldn't mind a week or two off  to catch up on things  and fish .

I thought the same thing. I want to fish but the fish I want haven't migrated back yet. Soon tho. Some small stripers in the creeks. Blues should start to show soon to. Waiting for a bit warmer weather before I start to put mileage between the boat and the beach. Gotta get the John boat ready and do some trout. It's been quite some time since I went out with the old girl.

[Dinsdale]

8 minutes ago, squirrelwhisperer said:

Man I wish I knew lol. All I know is I want this done before his birthday. A rod like this should only take about 2 weeks, maybe less with this stay at home and be bored crap. 

I ordered some molds from them and they came about 2 days longer than normal last week.

They had an email that said as long as they had it, they were good but others supplying them might be delayed. Same thing with Lureparts.com

[squirrelwhisperer]

1 minute ago, Dinsdale said:

I ordered some molds from them and they came about 2 days longer than normal last week.

They had an email that said as long as they had it, they were good but others supplying them might be delayed. Same thing with Lureparts.com

Whenever it comes...made sure to order early enough for his b-day. Really looking forward to it because it will sure be nice to do something other than yardwork and Netflix!!

[Dinsdale]

I like watching their live stream rod building sessions on You Tube.

I've only done one but want to do another as travel rod.

[squirrelwhisperer]

I've made many and sold quite a few. It started out as me just making my own rods but then friends wanted one and their friends and so on. I'm not making a living at it by far. Its more of a labor of love, if that makes sense. 

[Nytracker]

I made some for sale ... about a dozen . It became  work. I was much more a perfectionist when it was a rod I was selling.  Took longer... alot of rework. Rewrappingn because  I didn't like something . Just didn't enjoy it anymore . The straw that broke the camel's back was a 4 piece rod I built for a coworker . It was a gift for her boyfriend . High end components sage blank. 

They broke up 2 weeks after she gave it to him. She.begged me to take it back she needed the money. I nocked off my labor which I didn't charge enough  for to begin with . Gave her the cost of materials .

[squirrelwhisperer]

I made some for sale ... about a dozen . It became  work. I was much more a perfectionist when it was a rod I was selling.  Took longer... alot of rework. Rewrappingn because  I didn't like something . Just didn't enjoy it anymore . The straw that broke the camel's back was a 4 piece rod I built for a coworker . It was a gift for her boyfriend . High end components sage blank. 
They broke up 2 weeks after she gave it to him. She.begged me to take it back she needed the money. I nocked off my labor which I didn't charge enough  for to begin with . Gave her the cost of materials .

Sorry all sales are final lol. I once made a beautiful 11’ sage fly rod. All the best. Custom made seat, stone guides, the works. Almost $1200 my cost. No way am I taking that back.


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[Nytracker]

Oh I still sold it a few months later. Got back the money . I'm a bit of a soft touch  when it comes to a single mom with 2 kids ..  l just dont to this day understand how she thought she could afford  that rod  on her wages to begin with. 

[squirrelwhisperer]

Oh I still sold it a few months later. Got back the money . I'm a bit of a soft touch  when it comes to a single mom with 2 kids ..  l just dont to this day understand how she thought she could afford  that rod  on her wages to begin with. 

Sounds like she wanted to do something nice for her man. No one knows what happens behind closed doors, except those in the room. Glad to hear you were able to recoup.


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