So here you go, there she is. My first ever built fly rod. Having heard only but good things about CTS blanks, me and couple of friends decided to go ahead and ordered 3 weight rod blanks for those smaller creeks and tighter spaces when chasing trout or bass.
I believe it turned out a pretty sweet twig water stick. I added details of the blank and components I used at the bottom of the page. Actually I found choosing the right components and sourcing them from somewhere to be the hardest part of the rod building process. At least to me. You have some sort of design in your mind, you measure all the ins and outs and then go online and try place an order. Some of the suppliers don’t have this, others don’t have that. So you end up ordering bits and pieces from all over the world. Another challenge was to apply a decal and cover it with a layer of epoxy. In the end I think everything turned out not too bad so hopefully this rod will get a few fish for me in the near future. Please let me know what you think of this build or have any suggestions.
Components used:
- Rod blank: CTS Affinity MX 7’6″ 4 pieces Olive
- Grip: Struble Ultra Fine
- Reel seat: Struble’s U-17 Uplocking Gray anodized
- Reel seat insert: Struble Vera reel insert
- Stripping Guide: Fuji Concept stripping guide Alconite ring (chrome) size 10
- Snake guides: Hopkins and Holloway set in chrome
- Thread: JS Stockard Regular Nylon size A sunburnt