Rod Building, Creating Grips and Reel Seating.

OK, so now here's a couple photos of my rod building secrets.

First is the Cork grips, I'm building a fighting butt on the blank.

Then I sanded and taped off the Fighting Butt and made Reel Seat Spacers to take up the gap between the inside of the reel seat and the blank.

A test fitting to make sure the fit is right.

And the assembly using Loctite 5 minute epoxy with the mixing tubes.

Glue the reel seat in first and the grip on afterwards. below the final product.

Finally Done building the rod for Christmas......

Well, here's the pics of the rod I was building for my girlfriend's father. Nice 4' 6/7wt E-glass Rod.

Merry Christmas to all......

Rough weekend.... time to build a rod or 2

Well, I've started on bulding the fly rods this past weekend, mainly because I only have one day off before Christmas Eve, the due date for custom fly rod#3 to come off the bench. I appologize for not having pictures of the rod construction of fly rod#3 up but I do have a photo of the finished grip and reel seat. Also I have custom fly rod#4 started, the cork fighting butt end has been epoxied in place and the cork rings are glued together, ready for turning in the lathe or drill press, along with the fighting butt. I think fly rod#4 will go on the shelf for a couple days while I get fly rod #3 finished.

As for outdoors events,deer hunting with a shotgun season ended this past weekend, and muzzleloading / primitive arms deer hunting season started today in MA. Fishing on the Swift was cancelled due to scheduling conflicts and a real nasty ice storm this past week.

Oh well, it was a good weekend to stay indoors as long as you had the essentials, water, heat, power for the fridge and lights.

Winter Doldrums.... No more

Fellow Fishermen, have you often thought that just because it's winter, that fishing is over until either the ice is solid enough to stand on or spring comes through? There is a solution.

For those who haven't tried it yet, try tailwater fishing. Tailwaters are the discharge from dams that pull water from the bottom of the reservoir, where the water does not freeze and stays anywhere from 40 to 50 degrees. I've been fishing one tailwater here in Massachusetts, the Swift River, with relatively good success. Nice part is the section of the river is a Catch and Release from July 1st to December 31st each year. Just remember that in November and December that the water is warmer than the air, and ice can be a factor to either make or break your trip.

On the bench back home, I'm working on rebuilding some rods and as soon as some parts show up, will be building some custom rods this winter. Keep watching to see how to build a fly rod, it is not that hard to do and the pride you get from catching a fish on your own creation is priceless.

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Each post will have something to do with being outdoors around New England, from fishing and hunting, to camping and exploration.

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