What is a fly rod?  Why would anyone pay upwards of $800 for a graphite fly rod?  And even more curious...  why pay $2500 for a bamboo fly rod that is technically inferior to the $800 graphite one!  Well here we go again into that realm of the fly fishing mystique that fuels lifelong passions and causes spouses to question the ethics and sanity of their fly fishing counterparts. 

Fly fishing is a sport that clearly has its roots in putting food on the table.  But so does farming... and there are no farmers traveling to Argentina or Alaska just to try out the farming for a day or two in that location.  Although I admit farmers do spend a tremendous amount of money on their equipment.  But one is a passion the other is ... well, WORK.  When planning a fishing trip one connives and plans and weasels excuses that would amaze even those who have heard it all.  But back to rods.

The mechanics of a rod comes from the way it is used to dampen the quick jerking motions of a fleeing fish.  Without the give of the rod, its flexibility, the fish would break the line easily with the powerful dashes to the deeper parts of the stream or lake.  They are quite strong, especially a large one.  Also part of the game of fly fishing is the necessity of using a light tippet to get the fish to hit the fly without being distracted by the leader... but not breaking the tippet when the he realizes he's hooked.... it is the fisherman's ability to use the rod to its potential that adds to the skill and game of it all.   So how this works is the rod takes the strong forces from the fish running and bends with a gentle but unrelenting pressure, absorbing the violent pulling forces exerted by the fish.  The unrelenting pressure tires the fish in his repeated attempts to escape and the fish is soon in such a tired state he can be lifted from the water and harvested or released.  The earliest name for this was "to Angle" or "flye fishing with an Angle".  The idea was the same in the 1200's as it is now... to hold the rod upward and at an angle so when the fish pulls hard there was give in the rod tip, and thus the line was not as easily broken.  And even though those early rods were made of solid wood just holding the tip up... gave enough spring to the rod that the line would not snap.

In contrast to the solid wood rods of our ancestors, modern materials are amazingly light and strong... and flexible.  These days graphite is the material of choice in high end rods.  When I was a kid the new material replacing bamboo was fiberglass. The fiberglass rods were lighter and way more flexible... in fact many now consider them too flexible.

The new graphite rods are wrapped onto steel mandrills, in exact dimensions and thicknesses...then stripped off after being baked in ovens, by highly skilled technicians.  The quality of materials and techniques of making rods is constantly being refined and improved.  Every rod manufacturer has his pitch as to why their particular combination of materials and techniques is superior all others and try to tell us why it is so at every opportunity.  I have to admit they do it very esthetically and well... but if you believed each one's sales pitch then there would be many rods that were "the best".  Luckily "the best" is an individual consideration and it works out that many can think they have the best... and they do... for them.

So building your own?  It is out of the question to build your own graphite rod manufacturing plant, where you could make the blanks to your specs... so the next best is to select your rod as a blank from the stocks of a manufacturer of your choice, after carefully considering the specs of that particular combination of characteristics.  A blank is the rod without any of the steps taken to make it a fishing instrument.  Blanks are usually  about $100 to $200 cheaper than the factory finished rod.  So you can see the rod can still be quite expensive and shopping becomes important part of this process.  The web and search engines are amazing today in the help they give looking.  I recently shopped at a sites in Italy, Australia, Ohio and Washington all in one 1/2 hour period on line.  Completely impossible a few years ago.  The web is a great place to learn about the process, materials and finished products, enabling you to make educated decisions about what you want to create.

Select a blank with the characteristics you want... (some previous experience needed here)... that will handle the fish and casting problems you are planning to be involved in.  The Northwest waters, where I do the majority of my fishing, are Steelhead, Salmon and Trout havens.  The Steelhead and Salmon can be up to 20 pounds and very strong.  That requires a rod with some backbone.  I also need a rod that can cast a shooting head 100 feet to reach some of the prime holding waters on large Cascade and Olympic rivers.  The blank specs needed for this is a "fast" 8 or 9 weight at least 9 feet long. 

For the trout rod a 5 wt is usually plenty, and if patient and gentle with your tippet, you can land large trout with it also.  However as a humanitarian point, if you know you are going to be catching larger trout use a 6 or 7 weight so the fish is not tired so long and deeply.  That alone can kill the fish according to wildlife Biologists who study such things... I agree with them... but as with many things in our society I feel it is over emphasized and extremely damaging to make people feel so cautious about an activity as to damage the creativeness in it.  No one is going to repeatedly, over tax the fish if he sees a fish float away in the current after releasing it. We are not a stupid lot as a rule. With that said it is obvious you use a blank that is designed for the weight of fish being targeted.

Selecting the materials to finish the rod is the next step.  Many companies out there sell kits that include all the needed components.  I realize they are selling it as a kit and are making money on it... so I usually shop for the specific items I need one at a time specifically for my situation not a "covers all" kit.  But shop and the kit may be just right for what you need. Another point is I don't need more Epoxy and thread, I just need the reel seat, guides and cork rings.  By the way the cork handles are also available pre shaped.  But I feel that is half the fun and lure of the custom rod... is assembling the handle with 1/2 inch rings and forming it to your hand size with tapers where you want them, made by you.  So a kit or by the item... the list is as follows: real seat, cork, guides, rod wrapping thread, 5 min Epoxy, thread coating, and lots of patience.

The whole idea of building your own fly rod is to have a hands on experience where your skill is passed into the actual instrument used to play the fish.

The procedure is after the blank is purchased... find the Spine, measure out the placements of the guides, epoxy on the reel seat, sizing and epoxy on the cork rings, shaping the cork, adding the winding check,  position the guides and wrap guides with thread, seal the thread... fish the rod.