spoonplugger1

If it was me, I wouldn't go to a custom builder cold turkey, I'd do a bit of research and have my ducks in a row. A great rod company that you can also get blanks for is St. Croix, they also make rods in your power and length requirements, and you can put your reel on them and see how you like them as a combo. Find what you like than you have something for you and your builder to work from. For your purposes I might look at the 7 ft. 3 in. version also, might be a better choice when you throw some flipping into the mix.

Really depends on the tackle weight and size you like to fish, I built some casting rods on the Mag Lt weight blanks G Loomis developed back in the early 80's with the same power and line weight of your blank. A 5 ft 10 inch version, the blank was the SJ700. Fished one of the Edge rods I think on your blank, the tip was not as fast as the SJ700 were, but only by a small bit, but the backbone seemed to still be there. One of the favorite blanks/rods of the trick caster Stan Fagerstrom, I used it for many years than sold it to a gentleman who retired to a house on the edge of a golf course and he fished the course's lakes for largemouth with it, last I heard 8+ lb. fish was his biggest, I caught smallmouth to 6+ on it, and it was a fantastic deep water crappy rod also.

Being a custom rod builder, I look at things a bit different, you might fix an existing rod to get the job done. What is exacting wrong with the 6 ft. rod? Handle length wrong, to heavy, to stiff? A 4 ft. rod would be awfully short with an 8 in. grip and 4 in. reel seat. No matter your height your have to have enough rear grip to anchor the rod well to your fore arm, heavy cover and just wrist power won't cut it long.

Been using the hole in the tip of the trigger tip for close to twenty years, Rich Forhan was the first custom builder I seen use it on his Revolver Rods. No extra weight, cheap and fast to drill a 1/8 inch hole in the trigger tip for your hook keeper. Just don't palm the reel, or rod with the hook still in the hole as you probably found out.

Love my Rainshadow XP840, 7 ft. long ultralight popping rod blank. If bass are in the offing I go to my St Croix 5S76MLXF, it has a very ulralight, but XF tip that the butt of a decently stiff Med. Light rod. I've caught trout, panfish, all the bass, speckled trout, bonefish, steelhead, and many other fish on the St. Croix.

Colin, If you haven't already purchased your blank, I'd go for a longer version, I see no advantage to so short a rod. The longer rod will cast further, make all your fish feel bigger when caught, and better manipulate your presentation over distance. My first was 6 ft. long, I use a 7 ft. rod most often.

How about the Fuji VSS reel seat with it's Winn split grip. Fuji HPS hood with Winn foregrip sleeve over it.

Acts just like a regular singled keyed floating hood nut that's been around forever, it's just a long version that you put a cork, or eva grip over. Hear some of the new stuff has two slots, but don't know for sure.

Looks like it might be a Fuji KDPS17ASH with Loomis' own cork on it, it will fit on a Pac Bay or Am Tack reelseat, I've swapped the nuts from one to the other from time to time over the years.

Mick, Pulled the part numbers off stock and off the top of my head, but page 50 is where it's at in the catalog.

Pac Bay has made that seat for over 30 years, still do in the 17 mm size you want. CI17-250 cork spacer, and G17SKIC I believe steleton reel seat. Just about everyone carries Pac Bay, before GLoomis was sold they used a lot of Pac Bay reelseats and guides.

Bore fore grip to correct size, using a coping saw, or similar saw cut grip from inside out. Do not cut all the way through, you want to break the grip in half the rest of the way because an irregular edge is so much easier to hide once you glue the halves back on the rod. Grip size will be governored by the height of the guides, distance from the reel, and height of reel off the rod. You don't want anything touching under casting, or full flex under load while fishing. Your line will cut any grip under load reeling, or under a drag.

The IM graphite is just that, intermediate modulus graphite, this doesn't mean it hasn't been dramatically improved over the years. GLX is not IM material, but that said it was introduced in 1994, you really think it is top of the line material now? Your 1994 boat, car, computer still top of the line? The NFC HM material is the stuff Gary tried talking G Loomis into going to when it became available. That said none of our graphite are expressly designed for fishing rods, they are all aviation graphites, fishing rods are such a miniscule market share in the graphite industry. The high end graphites will never come from an off shore blank manufacturer. It's trade secret material that is protected technology, so when you hear the pie in the sky claims out there in a cheap rod, or rod blank it's just all sales pitch. There are reasons we still have a US manufacturing market.

G Loomis founder, Gary Loomis now owns North Fork Composites. You want NRX like qualities, here is where you'll find them.

Unless your building a lot of big, long saltwater butt wraps, or turning a lot of cork and EVA you'll never really need a power wrapper. You can turn cork on a hand drill and mandrel, again negating the need for a power wrapper.

Lots of great articles on this site in the fishing gear section to help you out.

Admittedly, I haven't seen every production micro rod, but the ones I've looked at, none had a guide smaller than a 4 mm.

G Loomis used them prior to the buy out for probably decades, good enough for me, I use them a lot. Same with PacBay's reelseats, etc. good stuff.

Pac Bay GBS reel seats. One piece, hump you like, cutaway for contact with the blank.

Here is a good analogy for what you did when you built your rod. Your going to your favorite swimming pool and enjoying diving off the spring board, the next day you go back again, but someone has strapped a 50 lb. bag of sand to the underside of the end of the board, is it going to be as fun to use the spring board today? You did the same thing to your rod, but in reverse, you freed up the intrinsic power built into the blank and used it to get more snap out of the blank. Just like your rod, other than the obvious sack, the spring board would probably look just as straight and just as inviting to use, but you would sure know better upon using it. all rods have a certain amount of power and response built into them, you can use it to cast and catch fish, or you can blow a punch of it starting and stopping unnecessary weight just like the modified spring board.

Take the guides off, strip the paint off with citrastrip paint stripper, put the guides back on, go fishing.

Looks good.

Another retired Coastie, Semper Par-ding-ding at you brother.

Cork is naturally impervious the water, dies, dry rot, etc. It's stiff and stable for it's weight, no sealers are needed, but there is a product called U-40 Cork Seal that has a following, as it is reported to help keep them looking nice longer.

As Delaware said you used the wrong stuff, rod guide finish is in the potting resins family of epoxy resins, not the adhesives. You can use a varnish, or exterior urethane you get at your local hardware store too, it will just need multiple applications to build up a look like epoxy. Six is usually my average, but it don't need to be turned as long, doesn't droop or football, and dries faster between applications.