Ifishinxs

Considering I started wrapping rods by placing the blank between to kitchen chairs. Your light years ahead of how I started.

I eventually stripped a sewing machine motor, along with with the fly wheel and control pedal from an Old Singer sewing machine. Then created my stands and I was on my way.

If your just building fly rods which are for the most part, just a single wrap of A or even C thread. What you have there will do the job nicely. Now find yourself an old barbacue rotissere motor to use for your drier and your golden.

Ive got one as well, take it on every trip I go and then promptly forget about it when I get there...its still in the back seat of my truck as we speak...

Strap that Go Pro to your head you won't forget it that way.

That is one good looking fish...great soundtrack too!

Thanks

This Go pro Camera is really coming in handy.

Okay the link is up and running now..Here is short clip from yesterday

Yellowfin tuna over 100Lbs on stand up gear...It doesn't get any better.

Ifishinxs- yep I have done some marbling in the past. Mostly on spin rods, most fly guys don't care for it on fly rods it seems. Here's one I did for my nephew for Christmas last year with some marbling. That was actually the first marbling I ever did on this rod for him. I think I've done maybe a half dozen more since that rod last year with marbling, but like I said mostly spin stuff and a couple casting rods with it.

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This is a rod I have been working on for the past couple weeks between customer rods. It's a Christmas gift for my 17 yr old nephew Cody.

 

You guys know me I like to think outside the box, well this one has a few very outside the box things on it which I think came out even better than I could have hoped for. Read onto see what I am talking about.

 

My nephew loves anything Patriotic, military, history, or aviation, so I did this rod with a Patriotic theme to it for him. The blank is a 9ft 8wt 2pc fly rod blank which is dark blue in color. The reel seat is one of the 'different" things I came up with. it started out as a plain ol' all graphite FUJI spin seat (nothing special) but I decided to customize it by wrapping not only the front and rear hoods which you guys have seen me do before on fly rods. But I also wrapped the entire barrel of the reel seat with HT Red Metallic thread and finished over it with Threadmaster.

 

The grips are all natural cork, then this is where I came up with something really different far as the parts used. I did a split grip with an aluminum spacer, which is not out of the norm since you can buy aluminum spacers, but I didn't but an aluminum spacer....the red aluminum spacer in the grip of this rod is actually an all aluminum flashlight from the dollar store which I gutted and did a lot of thread wrapping and finish over.

 

This is what it started out as ...

 

 

In front of the reel seat you can see a machined red aluminum piece, that is actually the screw on battery cap for the flashlight which I wrapped over on the threads and finsihed over with threadmaster which makes a nice looking machined trim piece.

 

I also did my first marbling on this rod. I used red, blue, yellow over a base of white paint. I'm very pleased with the way it came out as it has the exact look I was going for. Then over the marbling I did a quote from one of my nephews Heros Chuck Yeager which reads "You don't concentrate on the risks. You concentrate on the results".

 

For the thread wraps it uses metallic blue, metallic red, and metallic silver. Then I added a "History Channel (his fav TV ch) coin to the butt for him.

 

That's probably enough babbling for now, here's the pics....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'd also like to say thanks to Nuno for the inspiration of this build. I don't build too many spin rod but it was his great work he does on his spin rods which inspired me to take this spin rod to the extreme I did for my nephew. So thanks for the inspiration buddy! :thumbsup:

 

Steve

I agree the Marbling art seems to get lost with the fly rod crowd. I think its just that not many builders use or even know about it, so its not promoted. Weight might also be an issue. In the offshore field it was huge as every rod is completely different than the next. I may have to fire up the wrapping machine and make a few this winter just to see how it goes..Have you tried any of the Gary Loomis blanks from North Fork composites?..I've been tossing around the idea of ordering one.

I did a quick trip up to Kingston Canyon yesterday as Mammoth Creek was really slow..I think some bait fishermen came through and sucked it dry..

I decided to bite the bullet and head north. I fished just a short section as I had my Non fishing 12 yr olds son with me..." Dad I'm Bored"

I picked up a Go Pro Hero 2 camera so this is the first time out..

Steve,

Very clean work...Have you tired doing some marbling?

I was a West Coast Rod builder and my main focus was offshore rods..I've been tossing around doing some custom fly rods..

Here a few photos of some past work

If I caught Brown trout that size I wouldn't know what to do with myself..Those fish are huge.

I got a late start off to the creek. I had to run some errands and make a stop at Circle Valley Fly shop here in town to pick up a few new floro leaders and talk some fishing..After that I was pumped and ready to go..

I tied up a Olive wooly Bugger and added about 20 wraps of .20 lead to keep it down in the current before I took off..

I pulled my truck right down to the creek side and got rigged up to start my walk down stream and it wasn't long and I was picking off some rainbows in the 10 to 15 inch range and having a good time..

Then I see the old guy on his Atv that I see almost everytime I fish the creek. He is usually leaving as I am pulling in, so we trade info each time we meet.. This time I was fishing a pool and he comes cruising over on his Atv with big grin on his face and asks me how the fishing is...I said "pretty good so far" and as I say this, I set the hook on another Rainbow..As I'm releasing my fish the Guy walks over to his Atv and lifts out a white towel wrapped around the biggest Brown trout I've ever seen in person..It was a big female that went 24" and weighted about 3lbs..Just a freaking Pig.

I asked where He caught the fish and he points to the spot in front of my truck.. yeah, I saw a few nice fish in that spot Saturday and lost a nice one when my tippet broke..

I contined to fish up and down the creek for an hour or so. Then it happened..I added a split shot to my wooly bugger, then made a cast into a deep run right above the big pool where the 24" fish came out off..

I let the fly sink next to an underwater ledge, made two short quick strips and my line goes tight and I set the hook..Holy crap this Brown comes clear of the water and straight back to the bottom of the pool, then runs up stream on me, then back down the stream and does a nice roll right in front of me trying to dislodge the hook, this is when I finally get a good look at the fish.

My first thought was OH NO, this never happens to me and what is going to break to turn this into another one that got away story..This fish is a pig and I had to move down stream to area where I could get to the fish. So I start to lead the fish down stream and It makes a bee line under the bank. Oh, Crap, but I keep constant pressure on the fish and it turned back out into the open water...I finally slide the fish over out the current into the eddy at my feet and grab the Brown in the lower Jaw and He was mine...Whew!

I always said if I ever caught a Brown Trout this size it was going off to be mounted. I layed the fish in the grass for a few moments and realized how beautiful this fish was and how many years it had been swimming in the rivers and creeks to attain this size. ( 23 inch male hook jaw )This was my personal best Brown and I couldn't bring my self to kill it...So back he went into the creek and swam off to live another day. It was almost a spirtitual moment as watched that big trout swim away..

I'll be back up to Mammoth creek in few days and maybe I'll be lucky again..

I been fly fishing for a while now and I am interested in getting a tfo bvk rod n reel just want some reviews before I spend the money

I have a TFO BVK 9' 6WT...Great rod for the money..I used it to see If I was going to get back into the fly fishing game again. (Didn't want to spend alot). I did, so now the BVK is the back up to my G loomis Stream Dance 9' 5wt.

I don't think you can go wrong with the BVK and the fish will never know the difference.

I got my boys off to school this morning at 0700 hrs. Loaded my my rods, waders and associated gear and hit the road..I live in Cedar City so I took the short cut and made the turn toward Hatch on the dirt road..Poked my head out on Hwy 89 and made the run over to Bryce Canyon and hung a left on Hwy 22 toward Antimony..Destination Black Cyn, Osiris Mill..Having never made this trip before I had to do some looking around to what was what!...The thick brush around Osiris Mill made just finding a spot to enter the river tuff. So I moved down the river aways and found a decent spot with access. The water was off color (milky white)..I put on my waders on and got my gear together and gave it shot for an hour or so. Nothing but small fish for me. I talked with another angler and was given that "this spot normally rocks nice fish" but not today.

I continued up to kingscanyon and still the same water conditions...Headed to Panguitch and stopped at Henries for a Cheese burger and a chocolate shake to wash it down. Now I'm back were I started at the Hatchery rd. Just south of Hatch..Shot across the street and made the run down to Mammoth creek where it crosses under the 89 hwy..I made my way over to the big pipe running under the hwy and could see the trout lined up under the concrete spill way. I pinned on a Prince Nymph and first cast was a 7 inch brook trout. I caught 2 more and then made the trip through the pipe to the other side of the Hwy..WOW the stream looks great on this side of the road. Only problem I had was that storm clouds where building on the mountain and I didn't feel like getting caught in a flash flood, so my time on the Other side was cut short but not before landing a nice 8" brook trout in one of the pools.

I made a quick run back through the pipe and decided to fish the out flow of the pipe. 5 more trout with one being a 12" Rainbow and I had to call it day at about 5 pm and make the run home..Great day on the water.

I have to leave my Pooch (Sam) at home or he retrieves my fish for me.

Hello Everyone,

 

I was hoping to get a little advise on what to tie/bring to a fishing trip in southern Utah. My wife and I are planning on stopping near Panguitch Lake outside of Bryce Canyon during the middle of September. I was able to research the BWO and caddis flies will be hatching around that time, can anyone confirm this and does anyone have any advice on where we might have the best luck in the area?

 

Thanks!

I fish the Panguitch area once a week if not more during the summer months..September is Hopper time. So Hoppers, Stimulators and Elk hair Caddis will get it done. Heres the problem right now..They closed off the dam water so Panguitch creek is a trickle right now. So I would look at Mammoth creek or make the drive to Anitmony and fish the Anitmony creek. (AC creek)

If you fish the lake its all about the Blk or Olive Whooly buggers fished near the bottom. I was at the lake yesterday and they stocked thousands of small Rainbow trout..3 to 8 inch models.