S Hovanec

Doesn't surprise me one bit. I've got SCV blanks up to 3/4" short of what they're supposed to be.

The 2500 and 3000 have the same body. The only difference is the spool and handle.

Wrapping isn't the hard part. Finishing is what always trips up beginners. Why booger up a $100+ blank with a bad finish job, only to strip it down and risk taking the paint off or gouging it. Practice on dowel rods if nothing else is available. That's what a lot of people that do decorative wraps practice on.

Cheapest and best practice is to strip down a rod you no longer use and rebuild it. Everyone has some crap leaning in the corner. I have a whole garbage can of broken pieces parts sitting there for practice and repairs.

If it is a Bushido blank, which it appears to be by the description, then it is an import.

Yea, the old RX7 and RX8 lines. I think the RX7s are some of the best blanks for the money. My favorites are the ISB822.5 and ISB802.75

You should be able to find some older generation Batson blanks on clearance now that they're introducing the new lines. St Croix SCII are priced nice. Bingham Enterprises Bing SHX blanks are good for the money. Dont have much experience with Mudhole MHX, but many seem to like them. Mudhole also has their CRB series which are inexpensive.

I agree. I'm almost embarrassed to look at some of my early creations. I gave away my first casting rod and spinning rod. Still have my first fly rod, but it hasn't seen the outside of the rod tube in about 7 years.

Life's too short to fish with an ugly rod. I know beauty is in the eye of the beerholder, but it would take many beers for me to hold one of those.

No way to really tell unless you build it and put the intended reel on it. Handle length and reel weight play a big part in balance.

Also I wouldn't spend too much on high end components for your first build. You will make mistakes and your finish work will suck on your first couple builds. That sucks even more when you buy a high end blank and a bunch on bling.

Do you have a wholesale account with Mudhole? Their shipping rates are better for wholesalers.

I've been buying from Bingham Enterprises for over 10 years. Karen is nice and real easy to deal with.

I don't care about the auto stow and deploy, but my next TM will have iPilot. I fish offshore too much to not have it.

I got a request to build just such an animal last year. After researching and finding all US made components, he didn't like the price I arrived at. Also, it wouldn't have been the best performing rod, but he wanted all US components.

For the most part, the only thing on a US made rod is the blank and thread finish. Some of St. Croix's grips are made in house too. Cork is from Portugal, thread from China, guides, reel seats and hook keeps from somewhere offshore.

If someone in the US would produce a good guide, believe me, companies will use them. Until then, its Fuji for me. I should clarify, ceramic ringed guide, I know Rec guides are US made.Snake Brand guide are made here, and I use them as running guides on my fly builds. For strippers, its Fuji too.

ALX blanks are rolled in the US.

The show in Pittsburgh has been almost all hunting and fishing guides for the last 10-15 years. If you want to book a trip, it's the place to go.

I don't know about it being "textbook". My catch rate increased when I ditched the mono for floro and it increased again when I ditched the straight floro for braid with a floro leader.

Any stick and string will work. Will it be optimal? No. I feel you'll have trouble keeping fish buttoned up.

Maybe the people wrapping the casting rods at the factory are more skilled than those wrapping the spinning rods.

IMO, they would then need to offer 3 models of each rod. LH and RH retrieve spiral and then conventional for those that don't like the looks of the spiral. THen, couple that with 'micro' guides and standard guides and each model has the potential for 6 variants. That really becomes a big catalog if you're already offering 10 or more models of casting rods.

Sustain 2000FB Chronarch 101SF.......4 of them.

Never played with the microwave casting. Just built a test rod with the spinning ones.