A Pair of 4 wt Fiberglass Rods

I have just completed a pair of 4wt fly rods. The 6'11" and 7'5", both 4 piece. They are built using imported S-fiberglass blanks, with some tweaking. 

The shorter 6'11" rod uses single foot guides from the spot where the blank flexes up (starts just below the tip section). The longer 7'5" rod model wears all traditional dark snakes, while both rods have vintage Allen carbide strippers, both oxidized to match seat hardware. Rods are wrapped with Japanese Clover silks in honey and rust, and have traditional style sliding band reel seats with cork inserts, and flor cigar grips turned on blanks. 

Both rods are fantastic casters with prescribed lines... very, very smooth. The shorter rod features a snappy dry fly action, while the longer rod will also take a 3wt line for more delicate presentations.

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Epic Bandit 10wt

Just completed...

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Happy Easter!

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Rod Handles - Before & After

Working on a couple of 4 wt blanks...Handles were turned today!

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Rod Handles

Turned today...

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New Works in Progress

More pics coming up...stay tuned!

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Fiberglass 6wt - Streamer Special

Just completed... This is an 8'6" 6wt streamer and sight-casting fiberglass rod. Medium-fast taper, S glass, 4-piece. Light in the hand, with excellent power in the butt. Downlocking saltwater aluminum body/composite hood seat, Struble rubber button, black EVA Wells grip and tiered check. Single foot TiCH guides and no-tangle TiCH strippers. Clover silk olive windings, tipped red at the handle and the tip. Ready for action, with that 1970s charm!

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New Streamer/Sightcasting Fiberglass 6wt Rod

New/old work in progress... Glass streamer/sight-casting rod in 8'6" #6 configuration. Pictured with my Conquistador 868/9-4. You will notice a similarity, and also some differences. Both made from the original batch of green blanks, just different shades.

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Two Trout Glass Rods

I just completed two prototypes. Both are 4pc models, with uplocking seats. One is a 5'11" 3wt, the other 7'5" 4wt. I am planning to fish the smaller rod on my trip to Europe next week.

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Steffen 8' 6/7wt

Steffen 8' 6/7wt, 3pc fly rod blank build, featuring flor Ritz grip turned on the blank, and Struble U22 reel seat hardware with integrated fighting butt. The insert is made of the matching fiberglass tubing. Guide wraps are made with jasper silk thread with rusty NCP accents on the butt and the tip top. Multiple coats of spar poly were used on the wraps. 

The rod should be a perfect tool for chasing smallmouth bass with larger streamers and popping bugs!

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Grip for Steffen 8' 6/7wt

In the works...Steffen 8' 6'7wt. Completed Ritz grip with NOS Struble U-22 reel seat and matching fighting butt. Reel seat insert is a phenolic fiberglass tubing.

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Glass Rods and Brown Trout, Serbia

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Trout Glass Rods or "The Magnificent Seven"

My personal collection of currently used trout glass or hybrid glass/bamboo rods, L to R:

6'6" orange S-glass 3/4wt 3pc, quick dry fly
7'3" Paradox Hybrid phenolic glass/bamboo 4wt 2/2, parabolic
7'4" Unstructured Prototype E-glass 3/4wt 3pc, med-fast progressive
7'6" orange S-glass 4/5wt 3pc, quick dry fly and streamer
7'6" Unstructured "Old Empire" E-glass 3wt 4pc, semi-parabolic
8'1" Hybrid phenolic/S-glass 3wt 5pc, dry fly fast parabolic, regressive butt taper 
8'2" (250cm) Unstructured Prototype E-glass 4.5wt 4pc, dry fly progressive

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Orange vs Orange

7'6" 4/5wt vs 6'6" 3/4wt

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Orange S-glass 7'6" 4/5wt 3pc

Just completed, on imported S-glass blank. Very crisp rod, ideal for most trout situations. Montagne-inspired split uplocking reel seat w/button, dark guides and burnt orange jasper thread wraps.

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CTS Quartz 7'6" 3wt 3pc "Seaweed"

Just completed... The build features bronzed NS/tiger maple cap and ring seat, blued Snake Brand Universal guides with the matching blued yellow agate stripper, all wrapped in golden-olive silk. Signature wrap, stripper inlays and the tip-top wraps are sunburst thread, while the ferrule wraps are done in transparent silk, so that white aligning marks are not obscured. Garrison-inspired 6" flor cork grip. Aluminum rod tube and custom tailored rod cloth round out the package.

 

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Kaneglass-Flavored Short S-Glass 6'6" 4wt Fly Rod

I just completed this build on an imported 6'6" S-glass blank, since I was looking for a fast tapered blank for fishing particular streams. The resulting rod is quite quick for fiberglass and is perfect for confined places which hold larger trout. It features bronzed nickel silver hardware and guides, phenolic-glass reel seat insert, rust wraps with chestnut accents and short, Powell-inspired grip. After finishing the rod, I realized that it's got a bit of a T&T Kaneglass vibe going, even though it wasn't my original intention (most likely a subconscious thing :-)).

 

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Milenkovic 813-5 DF: Phenolic/S-glass Hybrid 8'1" 3wt 5pc

 

This is my latest build, a Hybrid-construction 5pc pack rod, which utilizes phenolic fiberglass butt section and S-glass for the rest of the rod. Using this approach, I was able to significantly slim down the butt section (thicker walls), and achieve linear to regressive taper in the butt: something you don't see very often among contemporary glass rods. The rod has a very fine tip (under 4/64ths), while thin butt section transmits the feel into the casting hand really well. The color among blank sections was adjusted to achieve a flamed-cane look and blend well together.

The rods dampens as good as any glass of modern construction or better, as any "dry fly" designated taper should! I used the tip-over ferrules for lightest possible weight. Thin wire blued snakes, blued Mildrum Belmar-style stripper, Powell-inspired flor handle and reel seat w/figured maple spacer. The thread wraps are in brown silk with tan accents.

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