Building my first rod

[Lonewolve]

Thinking of buliding my first rod, I think it will be a Sage Z Axis 11' 5 weight Switch, i tend to use rods 10' an longer on medium an large streams, and if i enjoy building this rod im thinking of taking a Bamboo course from Geroge Maxwell an build a boo, since i use 7'6" to 7' rods for my small stream flyfishing.
so what i am asking is, ..... what do you guys think about Sage, i am primarily a Gloomis guy but they dont sell their blanks anymore, i really like the Z Axis by Sage an that is the only rod series i have ever liked casting of theirs.
i figure i tie tons of flies, i might as well try building a rod an see if i like it
Tight Wraps & Tight Lines
Rick Wallace

 

[PACOFRANSICO]

Do a cheap blank 1st trust me. You dont want your 1st build being on a top of the line blank wait til ya get a rod under the belt.

 

[bikerfish]

yep, get a cheap blank, maybe something you'll use on a small stream, or even a flea-market re-do. learn the basics before spending big money on a blank.
I've built rods for the past 20 some years and I still get nervous with big dollar blanks.

 

[Lonewolve]

Thnx Paco for the reply, but just like my flytying im pretty anal an will take my time an do it right, Id prefer to do it on a decent blank that i will want an enjoy fishing.

 

[FrequentTyer]

I sort of agree that you should not start with a Sage blank, unless you really want a Sage, and then you should just buy a rod and build something else. Where I disagree is that you should buy a cheap blank. Maybe cheap relative to Sage, but not bottom of the price list cheap. In my experience, cosmetics aside, there is not a lot of difference between an $80 blank and a $180 blank, but a huge difference between a $40 blank and a $80 blank. Also, the quality of the hardware makes as much of an impact on the overall performance of the rod so you don't want to buy the cheapest guides or seat.
My opinion on rod building is that there are really 3 general skills involved. The first is the choice of components, and you can get a lot of good information and advice on this at places like the rodbuilder form. The second skill is layout, and this is the most important for performance. Splining the blank, spacing the guides, and aligning everything for the individual user. It is critical and time consuming, but not hard. The third skill is cosmetics (or maybe asthetics would be kinder). This is what you are most likely to screw up your first time around. But it does not alter the rod performance, so you will still wind up with a great rod that you will be proud to use.
Many factory built rods focus on the first and third skills, but it is not practical for them to spend too much time on layout for each rod. Sage is one company that does seem to pay attention to layout (at least they spline the blanks), so you won't be able to do much to improve on their factory rod. But you could build something comparable on a less expensive blank.
One last point on bamboo. I have been working on acquiring tools and setting up a bamboo shop for about a year now. I took a pretty intensive "boot camp" type class with Lon Blauvelt and Kelly Baker last year and I really enjoyed it. Having built graphite and fiberglass before this did help a bit, but really it is a completely different process. If you enjoy working with your hands and building the graphite rod, you are going to love working with cane.
Feel free to get in touch if I can offer any help.
Mike.

 

[MKern]

I would also suggest going for a less pricy option first. I would think about $100 -- $150 for a complete set-up/kit is good. (I think my first rod was $125 all pieced together)
Pick some length and weight you don't currently have.

FT is right, the difference between entry level and intermediate is vast, but between intermediate and high-end is minimal. this holds true with most sporting equipment.

 

[Lonewolve]

If I could get a 10' or 11' blank From Gary Loomis's North Fork Composites , thats the route i would prefer ,but they dont have any fly blanks that long, and i prefer a 5weight,I also use 4 weights an 6 weights, but a 11' 5 weight is where i am at currently.
I do appreciate all you input guys an will consider your input seriously.
Tight Wraps & Tight Lines
Rick Wallace

 

[brookiesofpa]

Lonewolve wrote:
Thinking of buliding my first rod, I think it will be a Sage Z Axis 11' 5 weight Switch, i tend to use rods 10' an longer on medium an large streams, and if i enjoy building this rod im thinking of taking a Bamboo course from Geroge Maxwell an build a boo, since i use 7'6" to 7' rods for my small stream flyfishing.
so what i am asking is, ..... what do you guys think about Sage, i am primarily a Gloomis guy but they dont sell their blanks anymore, i really like the Z Axis by Sage an that is the only rod series i have ever liked casting of theirs.
i figure i tie tons of flies, i might as well try building a rod an see if i like it
Tight Wraps & Tight Lines
Rick Wallace

Wolf,
I would suggest a Deer creek 5 wt switch. It is a medium action and I am quite happy with it. I never have tested a Sage z axis but can tell you I am happy with the action of the deer creek rod. It is a medium action. I have a faster action 8 wt and just struggle to "feel" the rod load so I have to really concentrate on casting it.( I put a 300 grain scandi head on the 8 wt and that helped a bit.) compared to the deer creek and my little 4wt 7.5 foot rod. The 4 wt and 5 wt switch is easier to feel it load, hence I cast a little better with them.
For what it's worth.
Greg