mtblucas

I really don't understand why so many people are telling you to not build a rod. I completely disagree with that advice. 5 or 6 years ago I built my first rod and it turned out great. It is still one of my favorite rods I own. The building process is very simple. Honestly, it is more expensive than buying a pre-built rod , but it is very satisfying catching fish on a rod you built. I have built a handful of rods now and they have all turned out really well, and each has caught lots of fish. I have no special tools (except for a cork reamer I bought and a tool to compress cork rings to form the handle (made tool for about $5).) The latter of the tools isn't even needed if you purchase a pre-shaped handle. I'd say, on average, it takes me between 5 and 10 hours to complete a rod with just these basic tools. Don't let anybody discourage you if you enjoy building things, and having the satisfaction of telling other fisherman the only rods you fish with were built by your own two hands! I think you should give it a try!