Building Fly Rods

For Christmas this year I thought it would be fun to build a couple of fly rods for two of my favorite people in my family. My son Andrew and my future son in law Stan. I have been building rods for a number of years and although it sounds very complicated the process is actually very simple. First off decide what type of fishing your gonna be doing with your new fly rod, size it accordingly and call up either Jann's Netcraft or Cabela's and order your components or kit. This year I ordered a kit for Andrews true fly rod and components for Stans Hybrid fly rod. Yes , there are such animals as Hybrid Fly Rods, here in the Smokies we have adapted to tying a Fly Rod with Spinning Guides so we can fish straight monofiliment line without the backing or fly line and we often use either spinning reels or antique Johnson Century reels. Its far easier to "shoot" a fly with a split shot up under the hanging brush than wade the river and false cast for hours to hit the same spot, thus the creation of the Hybrid.

I ordered up a 5 wt 7'6" flyrod for andrew and a 4 wt 7'6" for stan. I find the stiffer action of the 5 wt is alittle better when teaching a new flyfisherman how to "push" the line when casting. I installed a rosewood reel seat, western tapered cork handle and snake guides to complete andrews rod. I used bright blue and yellow for the wrappings since these are andrews football colors at Gatlinburg Pittman High School in Gatlinburg Tennessee.

I wrapped stans rod with purple and yellow gold for LSU colors (although it was tough on a Vol Fan to do so) using Fuji Spinning Guides. There are some simple steps to building rods.
1. spine the rod to see where the rod droops. look down the blank and when the tip drops mark the top
    with tape and you will install the guides directly below the drop.
2. you will have to sand the inside of the grips and graphite arbors to make them fit your rod
    at the base. I use a round file and rasp. Just keep sliding them on and off as you file until you get
    a perfect fit.
3. make sure your aligned with your spine and prepare some 5 minute epoxy mix. glue on your arbors,
    glue on your handle and reel seat and winding check at the top of the cork handle. Allow to dry.
4. go online to find the guide layout for the rod your building and either tape or glue the eyelets into
    place before wrapping, making sure they are straight with the spine.
5. go to youtube and watch someone wrap a guide, its the easiest way to learn how to wrap.
    Pull the tag line back through the windings for a neat finished look.
6. After wrapping then its time to finish the threads. If you don't have a drying setup then just be ready
    to apply many thin coats and spend the time to turn the rod slowly until the finish tacks up.
7. Allow everything to fully cure before final sanding of the cork handle. Your now ready to put
    on the finishing touches. If you want to apply a name or the stats for the rod you have built,
    use either modeling paint and small brushes or a Silver Sharpie to write down you stats.
8. Now the most important step............go try out your new rod and enjoy catching fish on a rod
    that cannot be bought.....and that they do not produce.....

Options for a true custom East Tennessee Fly Rod is to install a Spinning Handle with Spinning
Guides so to fully make a true Hybrid fit for a King. Install a small ultralight reel and some 4 lb test with about 3 feet of 3x leader , a number 6 aberdeen hook and 2 split shot and hold on.......

I hope this has allowed a bit of ease when thinking about building a fly rod for you pleasure. Its actually pretty easy to do and the rewards are great.