shakespear mirco lite rod

[hugastump]

Kid brother just spent 150+ on a new St.Croix rod , I thought he was NUTS. Then he let me try it. I'll never be able to afford one , but I now know the difference above my Ugly Sticks.

[wicklundrh]

Kid brother just spent 150+ on a new St.Croix rod , I thought he was NUTS. Then he let me try it. I'll never be able to afford one , but I now know the difference above my Ugly Sticks.

You buy the parts and come over to my house and I'll teach you how to make one. I garuntee it will be 10 times better than your brothers and won't cost as much as he paid!!!

[huntinslabs]

I have been on Mudholes site many times with my pointer hovering over the class schedules. Just know it would cost me a pile of money in the long run.

[wicklundrh]

I reccomend the series on you tube put out by Captain Kevin Brotz from get bit outdoors. Each video will cover every step needed. In my opinion, the best course out there. He runs classes too but I've recommended his series to several people and all of them are now seasoned rod builders. Do it, you won't be dissapointed

[drfish]

I build fishing rods and have several that I have built for myself, that being said I still like the micro lights that Shakespeare produces. Light weight handles line well, priced right (if you break one you will not cry), and fun to fish with. I have caught bluegill, crappie, bass up to 4 pounds and cats up to 9 lbs on these rods. For my 2 cents they are a good rod at a excellent price.

[glasseyes]

as a hobbie I can see making rods, and also the satisfaction of making your own if you fish but I have not the patience to do this nor the desire . I love to fish and fish with good rods, so I paid to have the rods made like I wanted and am very glad I did so. I bought the supplies from Mudhole and did look at some of the equip. needed to build ones own rod, just does not seem to be worth the money spent unless it was a hobby and or I was to build for others. either way I dont have the patience or desire so I know I would not build a quality rod.

[floaterguy]

as a hobbie I can see making rods, and also the satisfaction of making your own if you fish but I have not the patience to do this nor the desire . I love to fish and fish with good rods, so I paid to have the rods made like I wanted and am very glad I did so. I bought the supplies from Mudhole and did look at some of the equip. needed to build ones own rod, just does not seem to be worth the money spent unless it was a hobby and or I was to build for others. either way I dont have the patience or desire so I know I would not build a quality rod.

I agree, I tie most of my own flies for steelhead because I got sick of loosing flies and paying up to 2 dollars to replace them when I can tie most of them for pennies but building a rod is a different story. It looks like it would be fun to make a few and I'm sure there's a difference in quality with a high dollar rod but honestly, I don't fish enough to tell the difference between a 100.00 rod or a 100.00+ rod. My 60.00 F&S TEC-LITE felt just as nice as a 130.00 St. Croix rod in the same isle. Like I said earlier, I think there's a difference between my older Ugly Stlik and this new tec-lite and my new Fenwick HMG and another older Ugly Stik

[Ketchn]

A lot of the pricey stuff isn't all that yawl .....except for price ......held a many many Rod in my time that cost ridiculous money and wasn't much . Hold one and give it a work out before you look at the price would be my suggestion . You might be surprised by what you find . Lews has a nice line that are priced pretty fairly in my opinion .

[glasseyes]

I agree, I tie most of my own flies for steelhead because I got sick of loosing flies and paying up to 2 dollars to replace them when I can tie most of them for pennies but building a rod is a different story. It looks like it would be fun to make a few and I'm sure there's a difference in quality with a high dollar rod but honestly, I don't fish enough to tell the difference between a 100.00 rod or a 100.00+ rod. My 60.00 F&S TEC-LITE felt just as nice as a 130.00 St. Croix rod in the same isle. Like I said earlier, I think there's a difference between my older Ugly Stlik and this new tec-lite and my new Fenwick HMG and another older Ugly Stik

yes I should have mentioned that also, I started making my own lead heads and hair jigs years ago for same reason but the cost of the things I needed to do that does not even compare to rod building and again doesn't take much time or finness to make lead head jigs, a little more talent for the hair jigs but if you just want to catch fish its not that hard. Now if you really get into that its more of an art than anything .

[wicklundrh]

I built my own tying jig. Didn't cost anything. A turning motor for the rod finish will set you back 50 bucks. A set of cork remers is another 50 bucks. Most everything else can be gotten at a quality craft store for pretty cheap.

I know I do hear all the time from people... "Buy American", "Buy American"... Well, guess what, you kind of pay for it. Shakspeare rods (for the most part) are made in China! G-Loomis rods are no longer owned by Gary Loomis. They are owned by Shakespeare... so guess where they are made? Shakespeare actually sued Gary because, when he left, he had another company and was using his name on those rods. Shakespear said "it confused the customers". Gary was ticked off because Shakespear no longer made rod blanks for the hand tie customer and he started his business as such. His company "North Fork Composits" only sells blanks. And, when all was said and done, Shakespeare couldn't hold him from using his own personal name. Not to mention he owned North Fork (and started it) BEFORE he started G-Loomis rods.

St. Croix used to be built all in America HOWEVER, like with other companies, they moved production of a lot of their SCIV and SCV blanks (and rods) to Mexico. Besides, the industry standard (benchmark) of today is Japanese Torey Graphite.

That being said, Ketchn is right. IF there is one thing I can tell anybody is NEVER order one sight unseen. Always feel it, touch it, and hold it. I recommend the "blind" test. Have someone else hand you two rods, one in each hand. With your eyes closed, feel the weight, the balance, the feel of the rod and so on. Then open your eyes and look at the brand and finally the price. You might be surprised and you might be disapointed. There are many "species or technique" specific rods out there that are great rods for fractions of higher end rods. Then again, there are junkers out there too.

Building is a Hobby. Do you save money... NO. But you get exactly what you want. I grew up with customs as my dad built them years ago. Got out of them when I got out of the Marines because it was easy to find a rod I liked at the store. Eventually, I got into it because I couldn't find exactly what I wanted anymore. Key word was "exactly" what I wanted. I got good at it, a few people tried some of my personal rods, and the next thing you know, everybody wanted one. Some had sticker shock and some didn't. I don't do as many customs as I used to simply because I don't make a lot of money at it. Besides, the itch to build comes and goes. Some days I can sit and build them for 10 hours, other times I find it a chore to say "man, I have another eye to put on, another handle to do, another tip to glue on".

If you are OCD (like many former military guys) or you really love detailed work, it is a great hobby. Plus, it is cool to build a rod and give away to family or friends as a gift. I will say that you can buy some pretty cheap blanks and when finished, the rod is more than likely better than one you can buy for the same price in materials. I've seen kits for as low as 19 dollars before and that blank was better than most 100 dollar store bought rods.

In fact, the first one I ever built cost me 49.00. To this day it remains my dads favorite fishing rod. If I had to guess, that rod would have been a 150 store purchased rod.

One tip: Do NOT purchase a commercial blank from a company that produces off the shelf rods. You will be dissapointed. The reason is simple. The same blank you can buy, they build and sell. Example: a St. Croix SCV blank, cork, reel arbor and seat, hook keeper, guide eyes, and tip with run you around $300.00. Then you have to build it (takes time) pay for the thread, cork glue, finish, and so on. You are into that rod for $350 before labor. The EXACT same rod can be purchased in the store for $289.00 completely finished.