I just finished building my first rod
 

I just finished building my first rod. I recently started fishing with Alvey reels. The trouble is there are virtually no rods available for Alvey reels other than the ones from the Alvey site. Unfortunately the rods they offer do not have the kind of action and construction for the kind of fishing that we do in the surf in Southern California. Most of us, myself included, like the action of the graphite steelhead rods for the surf. I couldn't afford to have a one custom made. My only option was to make my own. I didn't want to blow a whole lot of money on my first blank for obvious reasons. You never know how the first one will turn out. I looked all over the internet and there were lots of nice steelhead blanks out there. I like the action of IM6 graphite. I have several spinning and baitcasting rods made from IM6 and they work good for me. Light, sensitive, and great backbone. I chose the 9ft 2 pc Fish Eagle 2 IM6 steelhead blank from Cabela's. They were on sale for $24.99. The price was sure right. It is really a beautiful blank. It had a black and green pattern that looks pretty cool. I figured if I screwed it up it would be no big deal. I also went with Fuji Hardaloy guides and a Fuji delux reelseat. I picked up a deluxe rod building kit from Cabela's. It came with a dvd from Flexcoat that was very helpful. After checking out the dvd a few times I was confident I could do this. Things went pretty smooth. I had the grips, reelseat, and tip top on in no time. It took me several attempts to wrap the guides, but I got it done. Putting the finish on was no problem.
Here is the finished rod.

http://www.allkayakfishing.com/photo...m/DSCN0082.JPG

http://www.allkayakfishing.com/photo...m/DSCN0083.JPG

http://www.allkayakfishing.com/photo...m/DSCN0085.JPG

It didn't turn out too bad. It has great action and will be a lot of fun to fish with. I'm planning on building a few more and maybe a 6wt fly rod also.
I'm going to try it out Saturday.

Robert

Re: I just finished building my first rod
 

Robert,
Excellent job :rocker I know it will work for you Saturday, and thanks for showing us whatcha been up to. The price sounds very reasonable to start on to boot. If you want a few extra :dollar lemme know. I have a few rods I would like rewrapped and I'de rather give the business to you.

Just by chance, I seem to have alot of weekend days available again :) I plan on hitting Lake Perris Friday for some bass, and again Saturday somewhere also. I made a few creations for SD when I bring the tube down there to "J" Street...

http://www.allkayakfishing.com/photo...08/Jstreet.jpg

I dunno what to call them or if they'll even work but I'm gonna try. I got the 8wt rod I ordered from Gloomis and I'm itching to try it out, but maybe I'll just use my 6wt and call it a day.

Re: I just finished building my first rod
 

Perry,
You might just have the next "super fly" there. That will be fun down at
S.D. Bay. I have never fished J Street before, so we'll just see who's at home there. Might even scare up some bonefish. If you have any flies that resemble ghost shrimp they should work killer there. The new Gulp 2" shrimp has been doing really well down there for the conventional fishermen. Jackie and Bob are supposed to get their Prowlers Friday. It looks like I will be guiding them at Tidelands early Sunday. We'll probably fish from 6:00 A.M. to 9:00 A.M. I have to get back home to watch the Indy 500 at 10:00 and the Coca Cola 600 in the evening! A darn good excuse to bbq and have several too many beers! :brews :brews :brews :) I'll post reports for Saturday and Sunday. Have a great weekend Bro! Ill talk to you later.

Robert

Re: I just finished building my first rod
 

Nice rod Robert.I have fished J st for 15 years so have some knowledge of the place.Let me know when you guys want to go.It was really :hello slow there on monday1fish.The fish are spread out so a kayak is a better choice there. Jack