MAURITIUS - Flyfishingtails

How to:
Start Building Your Own Fly
Ever thought of building
your own fly-rod? This could
be just one of the hobbies
that sprout out of the marvellous
sport of Fly Fishing, your own
custom built rods.
I know it sounds difficult, but with
a little research, practice and a
good measure of patience, you
will be capable to build a rod that
can be the envy of your friends.
There are also a lot of benefits to
constructing and designing your
own rod. Most importantly it can
save you a lot of money, as it is
often cheaper to build a rod according
to your own specs.
This includes the colour of the
wrapping, the casting action,
length of the blank and the
respective components to add to
the completed product. Secondly
you will find it very rewarding
when you start catching your
first fish with the fly rod you have
designed and built by yourself.
Before purchasing your rod blank,
you have to research what blank
you would like to use for the new
rod. You got to consider the various
characteristics of each blank,
like the rod action which comes
in slow, intermediate or fast, this
naturally will all depend upon
your casting style.
Then you must decide what rod
components you want. Depending
on the size of your hand,
you got to consider the various
custom cork grips available on
the rod builders market today.
You can purchase the raw grip
and mould it yourself, or just
order the completed product that
comes in different contours like
full wells, reverse-half wells, cigar
and super fine.
Now we got to look at the
reel seat to complete the grip
arrangement. Again there are
countless alternatives available
to pick from. These reel seats
are constructed from different
exotic woods, metals and other
synthetic materials. They come in
configurations like down-locking,
up-locking and also sliding rings
for the very light rods.
This is followed by the stripping
guide, a set of guides (where the
fly line winds through) and a correctly
sized tip top to fit the rod
tip thickness. You can choose between
single foot or snake guides
depending if you are going to fish
for light or heavy fish.
The guides come in light wire, ceramic
or titanium coated versions.
The light wire snake guides are
the best option for your very light
rods. You can also opt for a hook
keeper to keep the fly in place
when not casting.
To complete and fit all the components
to your new customized
rod you’ll require wrapping
thread in the color of your choice
and rod wrapping varnish to coat
the thread.
Look for good rod builders’ epoxy
to put together the rod seat and
bonding the reel seat and cork