Old rods revisited: HarborSky saltwater camo fly rods

I built these rods in 2012 and still use them regularly. They are 9' for #6 and #7 lines. Graphite blanks were made by G. Loomis, painted by myself with a non-gloss paint, for the stealthy camo look. Their moderate action is well suited for precise shots on the flats. I use the #6 most often for my local sight-casting. It loads quickly for shorter casts. The #7 (fishes like a #8) has more power...I like it for longer casts on pale bottom flats. 

They are still fun rods to fish today, and they have held up very well, after many days in the saltwater environment! You can read about them in my original post.

Read More

Graphite 7'10" 6wt (Streamers and Sight-Casting)

The latest build: a shorter 6wt (7'10", 4pc) fly rod, built on a Diamondback graphite blank. I like a 6wt for my local flats fishing. This is a quick rod which loads easy for short and precise casts. 

Read More

Latest Saltwater Builds

Two saltwater graphite 9-foot rods, a 9wt (black) and a 10wt (blue sapphire.)

Read More

New Saltwater Handles

Just completed...9wt and a 10wt. Pictures of finished rods coming up soon!

Read More

Refurbishing the "Pink Panther" 868-4 from 2011

This rod has been one of my favorite rods, built back in August 2011. I caught some very nice striped bass on it. It needed its single foot guides replaced. The Fuji strippers were OK and also the tip top, so I left those unchanged, but rewrapped them. I put Pac Bay Minima single foots, so hopefully they can last another ten years or so...

Read More

Retrograph "Sightcast" 906-4

Fresh off the bench...the black rod! The blank was made by CD rods. Stealthy looking streamer rod, medium fast action, syncork grip, Fuji seat, Pac Bay TiCH guides. Built for rugged use in saltwater. It will make a nice sight-casting fly rod for schoolie stripers near my house.

Read More

Syncork Grip Completed

I am not in love with this material. It is hard to work with and it doesn't look that great. However it is very durable.

Read More

Retrospective

Current builds (on the left) vs old builds from twenty years ago (on the right.) Those were built in 1999, on G. Loomis Mega-taper saltwater fly rod blanks. Caught plenty of fish, but still in pretty good shape.

Read More

North Fork Gamma Beta F990-4

My most recent build, an allaround graphite fly rod for Northeast saltwater. An excellent choice for albacore fishing...

Read More

Saltwater Graphites (part 3)

The last rod in this batch of builds is an extremely light and powerful 9' 9wt. The completed rod weighs only 3.6oz. Just like the previous salty builds, it sports Fuji and REC hardware. It will be put on test very soon!

Photo of all four rods (L to R: 7, 8, 9 and 10wt)

Read More

Saltwater Graphites (part 2)

A one piece 8'10" 10wt stick, excellent for long hours on the jetty, when you are tired and don't have to worry about rod sections coming apart. Also, a nice boat rod. (The reel seat insert is red, but it turned out pinkish in the photos.) The rod wears REC Recoil snakes and Minima Titanium strippers.

Read More

Saltwater Graphites (part 1)

Just completed...9' 7wt and 8wt. A departure from fiberglass rods, but I built these for my own use, since I fish saltwater a lot and enjoy casting and fishing rods made of all materials. The rods have some unique touches.  A couple of more salty graphites will be coming up, so stay tuned. 

   

Read More

Comparison: Two Versions of Retrograph 904-4

So how these two builds compare? They are built on two identical blanks, with slightly different components. There will always be some variation in blank weight, regardless of the manufacturer. However, the difference in components will make larger impact on the weight of the completed rod.

Retrograph 1: 904-4 glossy blank, uplock cork/micarta reel seat with mini butt and aluminum fittings, 6.25" cork grip, TiCH wire stripper, Snake Brand Original snakes and tip top.

Retrograph 2: 904-4 hand rubbed satin finish blank, downlock micarta reel seat with nickel silver cap and ring, 6" cork grip, agate/nickel silver frame stripper, Pac Bay light-wire snakes and tip top.

I used identical finish on both blanks, and guide wraps were kept as short as possible. Here are the results. No doubt, the extra weight of nickel silver contributed to the slightly heavier weight of certain rod sections.

rod model	butt section	3rd section	2nd section	tip section	total rod weight
Retrograph 1	724 grains	267 grains	140 grains	63 grains	1194 grains (2.72 oz or 77.36 grams)
Retrograph 2	788 grains	276 grains	135 grains	62 grains	1261 grains (2.88 oz or 81.37 grams)

Read More

Retrograph 904-4 #041518

I like fishing 9' 4wt rods, and in that length, graphite is the only choice. Here's another Retrograph, just completed. Made on USA made blank, with moderate-fast action. The blank has a satin natural graphite finish. The rod features burnt orange micarta/oxidized nickel silver seat, oxidized guides and red agate stripper, flor grade Powell-inspired grip. Silk wraps are very dark, translucent burnt orange.

 

Read More