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IMPORTANT
SITE UPDATE:
Visit the relaunched
Fish & Fly at fishandfly.com
Building
your own fly rod - part 1
Our January 2002 contribution from Terry Lawton
Fishing is one sport where it is possible to make two of the most important items of equipment: the rod and the flies. While there are many more fishermen who tie their own flies than those who build their rods, who has heard of a golfer who makes his own clubs or a cricketer who makes his own bat and ball?
There are many benefits from making your own rods: the pleasure and satisfaction of catching fish on a rod you have made yourself, customising it so that the style, size and position of the rings are just as you want them and perhaps making the handle a special shape. The following companies have helped with this project by supplying the different components:
Harrison Advanced Rods: www.harrisonrods.co.uk
E-mail: rods@rapid.co.uk
- 9' 6" 6# two-piece rod blank
Hopkins & Holloway: www.hopkinsholloway.co.uk
E-mail: sales@hopkinsholloway.demon.co.uk
- Seymo rod rings
Lathkill Tackle: www.lathkill.com
E.mail: lathkill@yahoo.co.uk
- Pre-formed handle, Wayland carbon/black anodised reel seat, black and
metallic gold Gudebrod wrapping threads and rod bag
Where to start
To build any fly rod, you will need most if not all of the following fittings and items of equipment.
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• Fly rod blank
• Reel seat
• Pre-formed handle or cork shives (rings)
• Cork clamp (if using cork shives)
• Complete set of rod rings
• Fly hook keeper - optional
• Winding check - optional
• Rod whipping thread(s)
• Epoxy finish for wrappings
• Fine artist's paint brush
• Brush cleaner (thinners)
• Scalpel or craft knife
• Round file
• Masking tape
• Oil stone
• Epoxy adhesive
• Evo-Stik Resin W
• Tape measure
• Pencil
Most fisherman/DIY people will have nearly all the tools that you will need to make a rod, with the exception of a cork clamp.
Adhesives
There are many different types of adhesive available and most readers will probably have their favourites for particular jobs. The correct choice of adhesive is critical to the assembly of a rod. The adhesive you choose must be waterproof, strong and resilient (because a rod flexes) and permanent. Epoxies have the great advantage that they cure by the chemical reaction between the two components, rather than relying on evaporation, and that they will fill gaps. The first advantage is particularly important for tight fitting components such as the reel seat. All surfaces to be glued should be roughened to provide a suitable key: make sure that you remove all traces of dust before covering the components with adhesive.
Five minute epoxy can be used instead of hot melt glue to fix the tip top as it can be softened with heat so that a worn ring can be removed by holding it with a pair of pliers and twisting it gently at the same time as applying heat. Where a glue line will be visible - on handles for example - a clear adhesive should be used.
"For the rod builder, more rings mean more whippings and the difficulty of ensuring that all the rings are lined up perfectly. The choice of type of rings will be determined by personal preference, the type of rod you are building and what it will be used for."
Rod rings
From a purely mechanical point of view, the more rings on a rod the better: the line will be supported better and more energy will be transferred more smoothly to the fly line. The disadvantages of a lot of rings are the increase in friction, their additional, unwanted weight and the slight stiffening effect of the whippings which secure them to the blank. For the rod builder, more rings mean more whippings and the difficulty of ensuring that all the rings are lined up perfectly. The choice of type of rings will be determined by personal preference, the type of rod you are building and what it will be used for. Snake rings, either English or the American high pattern, are still the most popular for trout rods for river fishing. Lined, single leg rings are popular on stillwater and reservoir rods although fishermen are replacing them with snakes which are lighter and more stable than single-leg rings. Single-leg snake rings are now available which combine the light weight of the standard snake, have a slightly higher frame which helps eliminate line slap and the benefits to rod action of only one whipping per ring. Salmon rods are normally fitted with bridge rings, either hard chrome or lined. The butt ring or stripping guide should always be a lined bridge ring, even on a light trout rod. The tip ring can be either a hayfork type or a light, lined ring.
You will need to use a micrometer or a pair of calipers to measure the diameter of the tip of the rod to ensure that you order the correct size of tip top. Tip tops are available with standard, large or extra large loops, the last are best suited to heavy saltwater or salmon rods. Rods for heavier lines, say 8# and above, and sea trout/steelhead and salmon rods will benefit from having one or two lined guides, above the stripping guide, to help the line shoot that much better. The extra stripping guide, which need not be lined, helps reduce line slap and the consequent increase in friction. Similarly line shooting performance will be enhanced by using larger rings all the way up the rod and you may like to consider using one size of ring per rod section on a two or three three piece rod. On a three piece rod, the butt section will probably have two lined rings plus an unlined one, the middle section one size of ring and the top section one smaller size of ring. For effortless casting choose a butt ring or stripping guide with an internal diameter of at least 12mm for rods to be used with lines from 2 to 6#. For heavier lines the stripping guide, and the next ring up, should be 16mm or more.
To estimate the number of rings to fit to a blank, take the length of the rod plus one or two. So an eight foot rod would require nine or 10 rings, depending on the action of the rod and personal preference. A fast action rod would probably need one less ring than a more through or progressive action. Fitting the rings temporarily and test casting the rod or bending it into a curve with a line threaded will confirm the accuracy of your estimate. The most rings are needed where the rod bends most. Bear in mind that the slight extra weight of more guides and their whippings or even oversize ones may slow slightly the action of the blank. To keep the weight to a minimum, always use the lightest possible rings or guides. Rings with a long foot, which need longer wrappings, or over-long wrappings will also affect a rod's action, even if only very slightly.
You will need to have the blank to hand before ordering the rings as you will have to measure the diameter of the tip and then order the appropriate size of tip top. Similarly, if fitting a winding check, you need to know the diameter of the blank by the top-end of the handle. For this rod I chose Seymo black finish, game guides for the two stripping rings, one 16mm bore and the other 12mm; ALS-DLC single-leg stand-off snake guides, sizes 3, 4 and 5 and a DLC-OST black finish, oversize hayfork tip top (7mm loop).
"When opening-up the bore of the handle, using a round file, it is only too easy to over-enlarge the hole at one or both ends. Don't be in a rush and do keep checking for fit"
Preparation
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As the pre-formed rod handle has to slide down the taper of the butt section, it has to be prepared and fitted BEFORE any rings are whipped on to the section. When opening-up the bore of the handle, using a round file, it is only too easy to over-enlarge the hole at one or both ends. It is better to do most of the work from the bottom end of the handle as if you make the hole too big, you can disguise it where it has to be enlarged to fit over the reel seat. Don't be in a rush and do keep checking for fit. Aim for a comfortable sliding fit so that there will be enough adhesive inside to hold it in place firmly. Before you start whipping the rings or guides, you must file the ends of the feet to a fine taper: this is to prevent any unsightly bumps or gaps in the whipping as it rises over the end of the foot which will happen if the foot has not been tapered thoroughly. Taper the ring feet an oil stone. When you are happy with each foot, finish it off with a piece of fine emery paper to make sure that there are no rough or sharp edges that might catch or even cut the whipping thread. The thinner the end of the foot, the better will be the appearance of the whipping. Make sure that the underneath of the foot touching the rod is smooth and that it sits flat against the blank. At the top of the rod, where the blank is at its thinnest, it may be necessary to narrow the foot of the rings so that they do not stick out either side of the blank. Again this can be done with an oilstone. Depending on how well made the rings are, it may be necessary to square-off the ends of the feet of the intermediate rings.
< Read Terry's introduction to rod design and construction
COMING SOON... Positioning the rod rings
Terry Lawton is a passionate nymph fisherman who caught his biggest wild brown trout (in the UK) - 4lb 2oz - on a home-tied variant of a goldhead, Sawyer-style pheasant tail nymph.