How Hard is it to Build a Fishing Rod?

If you are like me, you may be thinking that building your own custom built fishing rod would be a difficult endeavour. When I first discovered that it was possible to custom build a fishing rod, I put off the decision to do it. I thought I probably didn’t have enough skill. Probably special tools were needed. I thought it might be a complicated task that would take up too much space in my home.

When I finally decided to get more information, I was about 18 years old (30 years ago!) and was surprised to discover just how easy building my own fishing rod could be!  Not only that, work space requirements are not much at all.  All you really need is space that is a bit wider than the section lengths of the rod blank you choose to build your rod on.  For example, if you are building a 7 foot rod that comes in two pieces, all you’ll need is a bit more space than 3 1/2 feet wide.

Custom building fishing rods can get complicated depending if you want to even make your own reel seats and cork handles, but for most of us, purchasing the components is what we’ll do.  Generally, for fly and spinning rods, you’ll need to purchase:

• The fishing rod blank.
• Cork handle (spinning rods require a “butt grip” and  a “fore grip.”
• Reel seat.
• Guides and tip top.
• Nylon rod wrapping thread.
• Epoxy.
• Rod wrapping finish epoxy.
• Winding check that is put on the rod at the tip end of the fore grip.
• Hook Keeper if desired on your rod.
• Butt cap

The basic steps to building your own spin fishing rod are:

1. Determine where the spine of the fishing rod blank is, and mark it on the blank. This will be used to determine on which axis of the blank the guides will be secured.
2. Enlarge the pre-drilled hole in the cork grip(s) to fit the butt of the blank, if required.
3. Fit the butt grip onto the blank after applying epoxy to the blank where the butt grip will be.
4. Fit the reel seat to the blank by building up the area between the blank and inside of the reel seat, using strips of masking tape and then apply epoxy to secure the reel seat in place. Align the reel seat correctly with the axis of the rod that the guides will be on.
5. Fit the fore grip to the blank after applying epoxy.
6. Set the rod aside to allow the epoxy to cure for 24 hours.
7. Determine the spacing of the guides - a beginner may want to refer to a general guide spacing chart and make minor adjustments depending on the rod blank being used.
8. Using a file, grind down the feet of the guides so they taper thinly where the thread will be wrapped over.
9. Attach the guides to the rod blank using a strip of masking tape. The use of the masking tape is temporary.
10. Using the thread, wrap and secure the guide feet, removing the masking tape as the approaches the tape.
11. Secure the tip top with hot melt glue.
12. Make a decorative wrap above the fore grip if desired and attach the hook keeper in the same way the guides were attached.
13. Apply rod wrapping finish to the threads.
14. If you have a slow RPM (7 to 20 RPM) motor that you can attach the rod to, that’s perfect for ensuring there is no sagging of the finish while it is curing. If not, you can turn the rod by hand for the first half hour and then 25 degree turns every 10 or fifteen minutes for a few hours after.
15. When the thread wrap finish has cured, attach the Butt cap to the butt end of the rod.

Some of the above steps such as wrapping the guides with thread may take a bit of practice, but is not difficult to do. Once you’ve built your first rod, you’ll want to learn more about all the different components that are available to you, finishes, and probably increase your skills in making decorative thread wraps.

One thing for sure - you’ll be very proud when you catch your first fish on the rod you’ve built yourself!

You are invited to visit Custom Tackle.Com for more information on building your own fishing rod and to learn more about the fishing rod blanks and components available to you.