The blank I chose to use was a CTS blank, from New Zealand. These blanks haven't become popular in the US yet, but their time is coming!I have fished with this model prior to building this one. I was very, VERY impressed with what I saw. It is by far the best rod for me, and my style of fishing. It's not for everyone though!

Components:
Blank:
CTS - FF1104-211' 0" 2pc.
Physical weight - 2.54 ounces (72.0 grams)
Retail cost $168Custom colors are available at an additional charge; per CTS.

Guides:
Flexilite’s - Ti Chrome.
Total Weight - 5.8 grams.

Handle:
Natural cork, Laguna Cork, and Burnt Cork.
Reel seat insert is natural cork.
Total weight of handle - 3.05 ounces (86.7 grams)

The weight of the finished rod is 6.34 ounces!
Short of removing the reel seat hardware and switching over to a Tennessee-style handle (sliding rings)... this is about as light as as it gets. I have not fished with this particular rod yet, but I have been outside playing with it a bit. This is my first time using the Flexilite’s and I wanted to get a "feel" for them. So far, they feel the same as Fuji's guides that I have used on previous builds.

Soon, I will be starting on another CTS build, but this time it will be on a 13' 6" 3pc model (FF1363-3). I have not had the opportunity to play with one yet, but the feedback and personal opinions of friends and cohorts - I have very confident that it will mirror the performance of its little brother.

Here's a little something to look at:

Tight Lines!
Brian

Project - Ditch Stick

I built project Ditch Stick for myself because most of my float rods are between 11 feet and 13 feet long. The longer length makes these rods less desirable to fish with on smaller creeks and area's with overhanging trees and other obstacles are abundant.

The Ditch Stick was built on a 9ft 8wt. 4 piece blank. I decided to go with a beefier (8wt.) blank so that I could control the fish better in area's that have submerged timber and other obstructions. Normally a fly fisherman would opt for a 6 or 7 weight rod for Steelhead fishing. This rods has more nuts than I'll ever need on my smaller creeks. I have the power!

• The guides that were used for this build were Fuji Alconites in standard "float rod" sizes.
• The handle is custom made from individual cork rings (Natural burl and Burnt cork).
• The reel seat is also made from cork - warmer in the winter months!
• The reel seat hardware is an RA8L2 from Batson Enterprises.

I fished with this rod for the first time this past Wednesday, and I am extrememly pleased with the power of the blank and the rest of the build. It will serve me well on my smaller waters.

Here are a few pictures of my lil stick:


(The reel in these pictures is a Torrent from http://www.painefallscetnerpin.com)

Well underway...

Four of the builds that I have to do are underway, and I will be posting photo's of the finished rods soon.

At this time I am working on the following:

• St. Croix 2S116LM2 - Wild River - 11' 6" 2pc Float Rod for an angler from the Pittsburg area.


• St. Croix 3S80MLM2 - Avid - 8' 0" 2pc Med-Lite/Moderate.


• ATC F-908-4 - 9' 0" 4pc 8wt flot rod that is being cnverted to a Float Rod for small streams.


• American Tackle Matrix - 9' 0" 2pc 4wt. Fly Rod.

Here is a photo of me hard at work on the Wild River.

Sensi-Seat

The Sensi-Seat insert is a custom option for any Spinning rod handle, or rod that employs a spinning type reel seat.
The Sensi-Seat insert allows the rod blank to be exposed at the top of the blank. The exposure of the blank permits the angler to place their finger or thumb directly on to the blank; this permits maximum vibration transfer which equates to maximum sensitivity.

The insert material that is recommended is stabilized wood.
The inner diameter, or bore of the insert is sized to fit directly to the blank without the use of any arbors or shimming materials. This also aids in transferring the vibrations to the angler. Only the best adhesives are used to make this bond.

If you're looking for maximum sensitivity with an appealing look... look no further, it's here!

The Hammer Continued!

The handle section is complete and so far the total weight of the rod is 5.48 ounces.
The guides still need to be wrapped and the finish still has yet to be applied, but I am hoping that the total finished weight is under 6 ounces.

The handle came out just as I had hoped.
The Charcoal Silvertone wood has beautiful tones and contrasts, and goes very will with the color of the St. Croix 4F1006.4 blank.

I will be starting the wrapping process today and will certainly post photo's form all to see.
I plan to use Black thread for the primary color. I believe it will accompany the Charcoal Silvertone wood very well. I plan to use Dark Green and Matte Silver Metallic for accent and trim bands as they will accent the Shiny Gunsmoke hardware and the color of the blank.

I believe this is going to be one of the nicest rods I've ever had the pleasure to building, but time will tell.

Tight lines!
Brian

Recent Project & Fishing Friends!

I put together a short slide show of some of my recent work, and some of favorite fishing pictures. Please enjoy!

Project ~ "The Hammer"

I was fortunate enough to be asked to build a Fly Rod for Woodland Rivers Forum, which is based in Michigan (http://kmfproductions.com/phpbb/index.php).

The rod was raffled off as Woodland Rivers' way of showing their appreciation to their members. The drawing took place January 21, 2009, and I have since contacted the winner (Ta5teless), and together he and I have come up with a plan of action.

The components for the build were just ordered this afternoon, so it will take a week or two before I receive the materials.

The blank is going to be a St. Croix Legend Ultra 10' 0" 6wt, 4pc (model 4F1006.4).
I am using Titanium framed stripper guides from American Tackle, and RECoil single foot fly guides (RSFX) to finish it off. Together this combination should produce an extremely lightweight finished rod. The blank weighs 2.6 ounces, and I'm estimating a complete, finished weight of 4.5 to 5 ounces. Give me a few weeks and I'll have a definite answer on that one.
The rod will have a hand turned wooden insert in the reel seat, as well as matching wood inlays throughout the Full Wells style handle.

I will certainly post pictures of the build process once I get started.
I am very eager to get started on this build, for a few reasons:
* It's nice to support Woodland Rivers, and "give back" a bit of what they've given me.
* I've never built on that St. Croix blank before, or any of the SCIV blanks for that matter.
* I can sense how enthusiastic Tas5teless was about the build, and he has given me full creative freedom. I can do whatever I want!

Tight lines!