Building

Some of you probably don't think so, but if I can't get out and do some fishing the next best thing is working on rods or tying flies (and daydreaming about fishing). I've built a couple lately so I thought I'd show you what I've been up to.

The first build actually happened because my wife saw a post on facebook from a guy asking if anyone could fix a rod. She tagged me and luckily enough I could fix it for him. He must've liked what I did because he asked that I build him a rod. Not just the cheapest rod he could find, mind you, he wanted a Blue Halo fiberglass rod. Between the two of us we got all the components ordered and I put the rod together as quickly (and as good) as I could. He seemed happy, even mentioned another build in the future, and I watched this beauty leave.

Beauty

The most nerve-racking part is the epoxy

Really happy with the way it all came out

If you follow me on Instagram you've probably already seen the Blue Halo build and you're not alone. Soon after I finished that rod I was contacted about another build, this time on a matte gray Hook & Hackle blank that I've been holding onto for awhile. The customer wanted a 'one of a kind' rod that she could give her husband for their anniversary. Other than that I could pretty much build whatever I thought would be best. I decided a custom handle, maple insert, some decorative wraps were in order. The thing was a ton of work in a short period (the anniversary was coming quick) but I got the rod done and she picked it up almost the minute it came off the dryer. When I talked to her a few days later she said that her husband was really excited about the rod and wanted to go fishing with me as soon as the weather improved. 

Laying out the materials and trying to figure it out 

It turned out pretty enough, and it felt great in the hand

Things got a little crazy

But it turned out alright!

This decorative wrap on each guide was cool, but a huge pain

 I wish I would've taken more pics of this rod after it was done, but like I said, it was out the door right as it came off the dryer. I've got another rod that I'm just starting tonight, another fiberglass rod but this one is a bit more old school in feel and aesthetic. Well, until I do something crazy... Hope you're having a wonderful holiday season, and Merry Christmas.

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder

* If you're interested in my rods and/or nets just message me!

Going Glass

I like building stuff. I like fishing. I love lamp. So, it just seems natural that I would like to build flyrods. I've been building rods for about 9 years off and on, with the number of rods completed growing a lot lately. The latest build is a three piece, seven and a half foot, four weight built on a fiberglass blank from theanglersroost.com that came at a ridiculously low price. I ordered the blank a while back but got distracted by another build that I thought would be put to use a lot sooner (you can see that rod here) but it turns out I haven't put it to water yet...

A couple coats with light sanding in between and these end up smooth as glass

I started out having to finish a reel seat then do some serious reaming on the handle because of the thicker-than-graphite diameter this actually took me quite a bit longer than usual. 

I'm going to need a bigger reamer if I do another glass rod

As with all my builds it takes longer to make the decisions than it actually takes to wrap the rod. In an attempt to get some feedback I posted a pic to instagram & facebook showing a couple of the ideas I was entertaining. Everyone that responded said the same thing, so I went with chestnut wraps without any trim on the guides.

Could've just done every guide with all three colors....

Didn't take long to get all the guides on, and since I was planning on keeping the rod for myself a little crosswrap seemed like a good idea.

Not perfect, but it's kinda cool

Time to apply the finish and be done! Pretty exciting really. I decided to try out U40 Permagloss for the first time. Learning from a couple of trial runs, I did a double coat of color preserver because this stuff will seriously darken your thread (like everything turns black, just the the Stones always wanted). After signing the rod I put my first of two coats of the U40 on and watched it lift the signature. I've never encountered this problem before and it really made a mess of things.

Pissed off doesn't begin to describe it

I managed to wipe it all off before any damage was permanent and decided to come back to it the next day. This time after signing I sprayed the signature with a clear coating hoping to create a barrier between the ink and the finish. Well the spray itself managed to ruin the ink job and, again, I was left trying to clean up the area. Not a huge mess, but this was getting pretty discouraging. Next attempt I made sure that the ink had plenty of time to dry, lightly sprayed the clear coat from a safe distance and waited overnight to apply the finish. Again the ink lifted and ran, this time the damage was more widespread and it looks like some serious cleanup is going to be needed. Feeling fed-up I left the rod for another day when my patience had returned. This afternoon I decided to see if the damn thing would even cast halfway decent before putting anymore effort in. 

I think he's hoping one of these will end up being for him....not yet!

Atley and I both agreed it was a sweet little rod that wasn't a complete noodle while still displaying that softer action of a fiberglass. Couldn't get a real feel of it without taking it on some water but I feel like a little more effort to get a decent signature & rod info on there will be worth it. I'm glad all these screw ups were on a rod for me! No more messing with new finishes, I'm going back to using flex-coat two part epoxy! It's not as easy, but it hasn't let me down either... Hope you can get out, be safe, and enjoy nature.

-Kidder

This next build is gonna be sweet!

New Rod

I don't actually need a new rod (don't tell the wife). I do like building them though, and the idea of having a new rod for still water or anywhere else I might need to cast a little further/fight a little bigger fish made me want a new one. I decided to go with a blank that I've built two rods on already (both were 8 weights, one for my Dad and one for me) in a 9', 4pc, 5wt. I like the black blank and the price is nice. The only hesitation I have is the lack of any type of warranty or replacement tip. (see the blank here)

This rod was going to be for me to keep, so I figured a little extra bling would be more than okay. I decided to do a crosswrap just above the signature that ends at 17" and a decorative wrap that is at 22" to help with fish measurements where there is a slot, a flip up hook keep (the juries still out on whether I like this or not), and a custom handle that I turned. 

The decisions that go into building a rod for myself take more time than actually building the rod and I'm always on the lookout for new ideas (Pinterest actually has some really good stuff here). While there was plenty that I was unsure about the rod turned out pretty cool looking and after a quick tryout on the back lawn I really think this is the best rod I've built so far. 

Hope you can get out, be safe, and enjoy nature.

- Kidder

To Bling or Not To Bling

I've been hesitating to start a rod build that I have all the components for, which is completely unlike me, because I'm not sure what I want to do just above the handle. I've been experimenting with some cross wrapping ideas that would look really cool (see a couple here), but some people on a forum that I'm a member of don't think that cross-wrapping really fits with the fly fishing aesthetics. So I keep going back and forth, not sure what I should do and consequently haven't done anything. 

Until this weekend anyway! I finally figured that I should get all the guides on, do the ferule wraps, and I can still put off the decision making while I'm getting some work done. 

Amazing how long it took to get my first rod to this point

I like the ferule wraps

Cool handle

Look at all that blank space just above the handle...

So now I'm still not sure what to do, but at least I accomplished something more that just cleaning the basement this weekend. Let me know what you think I should do in the comments below! I think my Dad is open for whatever on this rod. 

Hope you can get out, be safe, and enjoy nature.

- Kidder

Practice

I might be a little excited to start building a couple of rods this next weekend. I've been looking up tutorials on YouTube trying to get ideas on how to make these rods even more customized. There is a lot of good info out there and some really boring videos (there are good ones too). I decided to try out a couple of ideas on an old broken blank. Atley took some pictures while I worked on the crosswraps.

I need to take more time at this stage...

Ended up being a cool little design, even if it was done a little haphazardly 

Decided to turn it into a double wrap

Definitely looks like a first attempt, but I kinda like the way it came together. The most important thing is that I learned a lot, so with any luck, the next one will look better. I have a question though, I don't see a lot of these type of wraps on fly rods, is it too much? 

Hope you can get out, be safe, and enjoy nature.

- Kidder

Planning Dad's New Rod

I've been able to get out fishing with my Dad a couple times lately, which has been great, and he tried out my 8wt rod that I built a while back. (Read about it here) Dad decided that he'd like one for his own which was perfect timing because I've really been wanting to build another rod. He really liked the look of the reel seat, and the feel of the blank I used for mine but decided that we should upgrade the guides. I haven't discussed color or wrap options with him yet but I suspect he'll let me do whatever I want in this area. When we figure that out I might try and incorporate the wrap colors into the handle just a bit more...somehow. Here's a few pics of my 8wt, I'll keep you posted on how my Dad's comes together.

Nice & simple at the guides

I really like the reel seat

I like the fancy wraps at the ferrules

Shopping for my Dad's rod helped me realize that I should build a 5wt on the same blank while I was at it. Not exactly sure what the plan for this rod is, but I'm going to build it as if I were going to keep it and see what happens. You can't ever have too many rods, can you?

Hope you can get out, be safe, and enjoy nature.

- Kidder

I've caught a bunch on this little rod I wrapped up a couple years ago

Totally not-for-show! Red wraps over a reddish/brown blank.

Good Weekend

It's definitely weekends like this that keep me going throughout the work-week. Two full days to be at home and take care of a few things with the possibility of slipping away for a couple of hours to do some fishing. 

First on the docket was to fix a couple of rods that were overdue. One was my son's that had the tip come off. Not a big deal to fix, and the job went quickly. The second was my older brother Jeff's. He had broken the tip off while trying to remove some ice. After testing out a possible patch job I decided to lose the 1-1/2" that had broken off and put on a new tip. Quick wrap and epoxy and the repair was done. Just to make sure the action wasn't effected too much I test casted it out in the back yard and it felt great. This is a rod that I built as a Christmas present for him a couple of years ago, so I am still a little attached to her. 

Done and done

Sunday brought a morning of a great breakfast with the family and tying up some flies. I bought a new fly box that had a couple of stickers over the cover. What's the point of a clear fly box if you're not going to be able to see through it? So I attempted to remove the stickers and was left with a ton of residue that was really sticky. Didn't believe it myself, but tried it anyway and was shocked to find out that peanut butter works great. Weird. 

Who knew right?

Then Atley and I were out the door to fish a small local stream to see if any fish were active. 

I love living here

Atley just wanted to play photographer today so I was left to do the fishing. First thing we walked down to a hole that usually holds a fish or two but the first few casts didn't bring anything. Rather than start changing flies I added some weight to my nymph rig and caught a surprisingly nice cutthroat for this stream.

Beautiful fish in a beautiful net, compliments of J Wood Flyfishing

The next hole brought an identical looking trout to hand but then nothing seemed to be stirring. We worked our way up stream but didn't move any fish for the next 30-40 minutes and it was obviously time to head back home. All in all a great time out on the water and the perfect end to a nice weekend. Hope you can get out, be safe, and enjoy nature. 

- Kidder

Building for Another

Working at the lathe

This was my eighth go at rod building, and I really think this is the best one yet. Just before Christmas the brother of a fishing buddy of mine asked how much it'd cost to get a rod built. I was kinda in the middle of a couple of projects, and told him that, but he gave me the go ahead to build a rod for a gift even though he knew it wouldn't be ready for Christmas. Just so happened that Hook & Hackle had a sale on some green Matrix blanks that would fit the bill excellently. With free reign to build whatever I thought would be best I selected a 9 foot, 5 piece, 5 weight blank with reverse half wells grip, green wraps with silver trim, custom reel insert and silver hardware. The rod really came together and now I hate to see it go. Oh well, here are some pics from the build.

Ended up with some nice options

Think I picked the best one for this build

Sure is nice to see it coming together

First coat of Color Preserver, man it looks dark!

All five pieces

I'm getting better at my penmanship!

Did a decorative wrap at each ferrule 

Test casted her this morning and I think he'll get a lot of mileage out of this rod. Can't wait to get it delivered. Hope you can get out and enjoy the water.

- Kidder

New Rod for a New Year

Since I'm not really feeling up to a year in retrospect, I'll just tell you about the rod I just built, some hopes for the new year and include some pics from the year that I like.

This rod took a while to get started on. First off, the USPS decided to run over the first blank sent my way by Hook & Hackle so it was broken upon arrival.

Pretty Thorough, they managed to break every section

It was even sent in a PVC tube...

Luckily, Hook & Hackle is a great company to work with and they sent out another blank with no hassle at all. Unluckily, the time that I had to build this rod had disappeared into the black-hole known as my Masters Degree that I've been working on for the past 2-1/2 years. But now that the degree is done (and I had a break from work) I decided to get rolling on the neglected rod. 

This was to be my big game rod that I could use to further my pursuit of Carp, Pike, Bass and any other opportunities that come my way. I turned the handle myself, a little while back, along with a fighting butt, and used a Graphite reel seat from Janns NetCraft.

It's the one on top. The other one needs a little more
work, hopefully I'll get to use it soon.

I wanted to do a little more than I usually do in terms of the wraps, so I decided to do a modified Olive Branch on all the ferrules with silver trim wraps.

The ferrule wraps

Nice looking rod

A look at what I did at the guides

I've got the epoxy on and it looks great, just need a 8wt line (and I think a new reel is in order) to test cast. I'm really excited about this rod!

Now some of my favorite pics from the past year (in no particular order):

My favorite fishing buddy

Was able to take the boy out on the kick boats

Caught a surprising big rainbow on a small lake

Was able to do some fishing on the Firehole River

Firehole River

Caught some carp

Got some time in on a great stream

The Bro-In-Law showing off

I love this pic

It was a wet summer 

Had some great success in the back country

Found new places close to home

Pretty brown

Helped my brother get addicted

The old boy can still work it

Nothing like the first fish on the fly

Was able to get out with some great people

Caught some great fish

Got to get out and try new streams

He made a lot of progress this year

Snow and Fog

It was good to get out with my dad

Nothing like crossing tracks like these

Definitely my favorite fish of the year (even though it was
not the biggest) can't wait to get back to this little lake!

In the year to come I hope to do more hiking, camping, exploring and of course fishing. I've got lots of places scoped out for some recon work, and tons of places I hope to get back to. Hope you can get out and enjoy the water.

- Kidder