It's been a busy couple of weeks here in Santa Cruz. New job, sunny days, not a lot of time to post on the blog. But I did want to post about the remaining two rods that I completed in December. 

The first was a nice little 8' St. Croix "PowerBulit" 6wt. I finished this rod out with red/gold two-tone nylon thread and a "Fenwick" style cork grip. 

I was afraid that the urethane foam that St. Croix had put in these rods would make it heavy and stiff, but I am pleased to report that this rod has a nice slow action, and I was able ot fish it all day without tiring. I caught a nice little Stanislaus River rainbow on it my fist day out with it, and it bent down to the butt (a fun characteristic of fiberglass rods in general). 

The last rod I finished in 2010 was a 7' 5wt solid fiberglass rod that I never was able to identify. This rod came out very nicely, with a Struble down-locking reel seat, and a "Moss" agate stripping guide. Unfortunately, the rod is very heavy and probably too stiff to fish on the Little Sur, where I had hoped to take it. It was a nice opportunity to play with some quality components, and try out an inlay for the first time.

 Thats it for now, I will be posting pictures of a new rod soon, as well as some new projects I have in the works.

-Posted by Eben