Thread: first fly rod build

I like it!! What weight is it?

That looks sweet !

Thanks, Redge! It's a five-weight, built on a Lamiglas fiberglass blank. Should be pretty good for popping bugs and sponge rubber spiders.

Thanks, Cschott!

man, you are talented! how much did it cost to do it? how much do you make them for?

That is awesome, I've been wanting to try this. There is a guy in Winsborro, La that is a professional I've talked to him about getting started making rods...that pic makes me really want to get started now.

Thanks, Treefrog. Panfishhunter, this particular rod has over $350 just in components - just the birch bark alone was $50, and the two different kinds of wood were another $90 with shipping. The blank was $100 - you get the idea. The biggest factor though in price for this rod would be my time; I spent over seven months on this rod. I didn't work on it every day, but I easily have two hundred hours in on it, mostly in the handle. So a rod like this would not be cheap. There are a few custom builders out there that make bamboo rods, and they sell them for roughly what you could buy a used 14' johnboat and trailer for; the bamboo is the expensive part on those rods, but on this one it's my time; so for a rod like this, I'd charge roughly what I've seen those bamboo rods go for. Birch bark is extremely time-intensive - basically multiplies the build time of any other handle by twenty.

On the other hand, I make rods without birch bark for very competitive prices. I would make a basic fly rod with a cork handle with wood trim for $250, or an all-wood handle for $300. Blank selection is a big factor as well in cost, as there are very good fly rod blanks available for $50, and there are also $500 blanks available.

so if i wanted per say, a 3 wt rod that could be converted to spinning, with a basic cork handle and a 50 dollar blank, how much would it cost?