So, now that I have officially graduated with a master's degree (not in fishing) I should have much more time for rod building, fishing and blog post writing, right? What? I have to get a job? Well, I may still not have all the free time I dreamed about when I was in school, but I am hoping to devote a bit more time to this blog.

I held out on showing the results of the three fiberglass rods I restored, as one of them was a christmas gift for my father and I didn't want to ruin the surprise. I think the 8.5 foot 7wt Actionrod "Bass Action" rod that I made him came out really nice. Due to the very large butt diameter, I couldn't give it the lovely reel seat I would have preferred, but I did use  a nice full wells grip that should help my dad haul the big bass out of Little Lake Sunapee (once the ice melts that is).

I finished the rod out with a candy apple red nylon thread that turned a lovely burgundy color when I applied the Helmsman Spar Varnish. I decided to use spar varnish instead of epoxy on these rods to give them a traditional low-profile look. I tipped the wraps in a metallic gold thread to give it a finished look.

Since the first rod project I have acquired a better rod wrapper, and compared to the rod I made with the cardboard box and a book for thread tension, the wraps are much cleaner, without those unsightly gaps. 

This rod also benefitted from a rod turner, a gift from my mother-in-law, which allowed me to dry the varnish in a uniform manner.

I will post about the other two rods later in the week (after I get a chance to photograph them properly). I have added a tab to the navigation bar to a section where I will collect all the different project posts organized by project.

Until next time, tight lines.


-posted by Eben