Big “Slick” Rick from Windycityfishing.com will be picking up his custom 6′ Pistol grip rod this afternoon.

 

This has got to be one of the neatest little rods I have put together. Some trick epoxy work to get the candy apple color around the guides, and a few extra touches of color really set-off the metal trim and matte charcoal of the blank.

 

For a short little stick it sure casts like a dream.

 

I can’t wait to see you hang some hawgs from this one Rick.

Late Saturday night myself and close friends John Miller and Darrin Hartel headed up to the waters of the Wolf River system for some early season white bass and walleye fishing. We launched in the dark around 3:30am at the Finn & Feather resort in Winneconne, Wisconsin. Typically around early to mid-March the white bass of the huge Wolf/Winnebago system begin the trek up the river system through 3 to 4 lakes to find suitable spawning habitat. The river around Fremont, WI tends to be most popular, but they can be caught up and down the river from there at different periods of the run.

With this year’s unseasonably warm weather both the walleye and white bass have started their spawning runs nearly a full month early.

In the past I have done really well fishing for white bass at night during the white bass run in Fremont Wisconsin just some 15 miles up the system from here so our plans were to find white bass in the dark and head out for walleye during the day. The night bite proved to be tough, and we blanked for 3 hours of moving around the Winneconne bridge area casting, trolling, and working every lure we could think of.

Around daybreak the boats and shore anglers came out in full force just as the bite picked up. By the time the sun was up, the bridge area was so crowded with boats that you could have walked from east to west on them without getting your feet wet. We quickly boated a handful of feisty fat white bass and made the decision to get out of the combat zone for some open water trolling. Our target would be transitioning walleye in the shallow waters of Lake Winneconne and Lake Poygan about 10 miles up river from the Winneconne bridge.

The trip through the winding channel that runs through Winneconne and Poygan is one that should not be made without caution. With average lake depths of 6 feet, running 20 to 30 feet off course would have you sitting high and dry on one of the many shallow cane filled reefs that spot the pair of lakes. Luckily we had a veteran on board with years of experience running these waters and we made it through the tight passage with ease.

Once in range of the mouth of the river leading up to Fremont we started trolling passes working the 6 to 8 foot depths with six trolling rigs set out on planer boards. John is the veteran on these waters and he prefers to troll crankbaits this time of the year in bright chartreuse and firetiger patterns. After a pass over some of his past waypoints he made the suggestion to change locations and that was where we finally located some active fish.

We made 4 or 5 passes through a zone that transitioned from shallow flat to the edge of a lake point and each pass turned up 5 or 6 fish. Our catches here included walleye, pike, sheepshead, and whitebass. Action was fast a furious for most of the runs, and you can see in the picture that I am in the background setting lines as soon as the fish was brought into the boat. We had limited time to fish this area since it was a 3.5 hour ride home from Winneconne and we were all expected home that day at a reasonable hour.

The weather was gorgeous, mid 60s during the day and only a slight breeze at times. I brought up with me some homemade delicacies that included chipotle grilled venison chop, bacon & egg burritos for breakfast and triple meat Italian subs with my own personally pickled hot banana pepper giardiniera on fresh baked bread for lunch.

Great weather, delicious food, outstanding fishing, and many many laughs with some good friends.

I finally caught up on sleep and I’m ready to hit it again!

Specs:

Blank – MHX-F840-4

4 Wt. 4 piece High Modulus Graphite 8’0″

Custom turned reverse half wells cork handle, dark brown burl cork accents

Polished solid nickel uplocking reel seat with nickel cap and nickel knurled locking nut

American Tackle RingLock solid titanium featherlight guide set and tip with Nanolite plasma coated ceramic ring inserts

Size “A” thread in metallic steel blue, steel blue colorfast nylon, and Bullard black

Finished in Bullard International Diamond 2 epoxy with a touch of iridescent pigment

Velour grey cloth rod carrying pouches by Clear Creek

Custom FSA decals and personalized for 2 of the most patient fly fisherman on the planet. John Dyers & Mike Goode

Since the rod-building forum I frequent isn’t very local, I figured I’d give you guys a look into what I have going on at the rod bench here where it’s a little more pertinent to our local fisheries.

This is a 1970s vintage solid fiberglass St. Croix Musky fishing rod. The model number and year of production are not evident and I neglected to contact St. Croix about it since that info doesn’t mean jack to the owner anyway. One of my co-workers brought this in to me and asked me to overhaul it. It was his dearly departed Father’s pride and joy. I asked why even tinker with it, it should be hung on a wall somewhere… His response was “Dad would shit hornets if he saw it not being used and hung on a wall like some antique.”

So I will fix it up to as near new condition as I can so that my co-worker can affix the old Ambassador reel I cleaned and repaired for him, and take it out fishing with him once in awhile. Kind of cool I think, and definitely a great way to remember his Dad.

Here are the before pics:

As you can see, the guides are very old ceramic ring insert/rubber cushion/stainless steel frame type with very faded brown wraps. When I removed the guide wrap thread the underside of the thread was very dark brown like the brown of the sticker below. This is what told me what color to use on the re-wrap.

This is a sticker (cheap design) of a diamond wrap between the reel seat and the first guide. It’s also very faded and will need to be replaced.

For whatever reason the entire stainless steel ferrule was wrapped in black thread and urethane finished over… I guess it keeps it from falling apart or off? Also, the orange trim bands you see are actually old faded red paint lines for decorative purposes… I’ll have to fix that too.

Yep, that’s a solid oak rear grip. It’s sun and water damaged, warped, and completely fixable. Also you can see here that the tip-top is missing the ring and cushion insert. Neat thing about the old tips is that they were crimped on at the rod tip. You have no idea how hard it was to get that thing off without breaking the rod…

So it’s been on and off my bench for a few weeks now. New guides like that were hard to find, and took some time to get shipped. The new diamond wrap above the reel seat is done and epoxied, turned out fantastic, and although not exactly the same as the original, I think it looks MUCH better. The final coat of finish is drying on the rear grip today. It will need another quick hit with a scotch-brite pad, and another thin coat of finish before I hand the rod over, but for the most part I am done.

*AFTER PICS* – as promised:

I completely removed every single guide and all the thread wraps. I replaced each guide with an exact matching guide that took some time to source. You just don’t see rods built with cushioned ring inserts anymore! The thread wraps I kept as close to original as possible. The dark brown was hiding under that faded tan thread from the above before picture so I went with that as what I would have considered original. It also just so happened to match all the other brown treatments on the rod. The double red trim bands were replaced with single red trim bands. Since the original bands were painted over the brown, trying to match that just did not look acceptable.

The faux diamond wrap sticker that was sun faded was removed and upgraded to a real diamond wrap with 3 colors of size A colorfast thread.

The original St. Croix sticker was in bad shape, the edges were peeling up, there were big nicks, tears, gouges, and the sun had gotten to some of the lettering. Through the magic of carefully applied epoxy paint I was able to not only restore the sticker to almost new condition, but also re-seal the edges and cover with a double thick layer of Bullard’s Diamond II Rod Finish for ultimate protection.

The ferrule wrap was a tough one for me to decide what to do. Should I completely remove the thread and re-do? Should I just coat it in new epoxy after a thorough cleaning? Should I scrap the idea of a ferrule wrap altogether? In the end I decided to keep the original thread and design. I never really figured out why the thread was there in the first place, but if it was integral to keeping the ferrule secure I figured it best to leave well enough alone. I did put a high polish shine on the chrome plated ferrule and another nice protective coat of Diamond II on the thread. The two section mate beautifully, and the glass like finish of the chrome and ferrule really catch your eye.

The tip top was originally the only reason this rod was brought to me for service. The insert had fallen out and in order for my co-worker to fish the rod effectively it would need a replacement. Well, there it is…

The solid oak handle was a real mess. The sun and water had taken the finish right off the rod and left most of the wood exposed to the elements. There were sections of water damaged wood, and the handle was warped crooked from being set on it’s side while exposed to these elements. It took lots of sandpaper, 8 coats of stain and stain/laquer, but the real beauty of the grain finally shown through the years of abuse.

Now the handle has a smooth soft feel to it that only satin finished wood can bring. I have to admit I was skeptical about the ability of even making this handle usable again, but with a bit of care and elbow grease I was able to not only keep the handle but showcase it as part of the beauty of this vintage rod.

That is pretty much it for the work that went into this re-hab. I did other things like clean up the fiberglass, reel seat, reel foot clamp and screw, and rubber butt cap with soap, water, a magic eraser, and you guessed it, more elbow grease.

I’ll bring the rod to work Monday and I’m sure my friend will enjoy fishing with this fine piece of history. However, if it were mine I’d still hang it on the wall… even if dear old Dad would be rolling in his grave.

Saturday afternoon I met up with JayPee the HHF and Cory Yarmuth at a local Kane County pond with some open water. conditions were terrible for open water fishing, 27 degrees, 10 to 20 mph winds, bright blue skies, and water temps hovering around 35 degrees. We were determined to fish and fish hard though.

On the way out JayPee and I talked about our plans, our strategy, and what we were going to look for to help us locate these ice-cold fish. With any luck we figured we could find a bit of leftover or newly emerging green weeds somewhere and hope to locate some fish cruising the grass looking for baitfish. Another option was to look at the small culverts that have water trickling in from a nearby creek. We both figured the water there would be a bit warmer due to the shallow water of the creek and the effect of the sun on it’s shallow stream bed.

Slow rolling rattle traps, crawling jig n’ pig, shallow slow-wobble crankbaits, and even jerkbaits were among the top picks for us to tie on. Being out on the water though and having the opportunity to gauge the mood of the fish would be vital to figuring out how to get them to strike.

 

 

It was Cory that struck first with a healthy bass on a red craw Bomber squarebill crankbait. His fish was caught right over the top of new weeds in 1 or 2 feet of water and it gave JayPee and me hope for more. Unfortunately that fish was the first and last from that area.

It wasn’t until we moved locations to where some creek water was spilling into the pond that JayPee latched into another pair of fish. This time he was throwing a jerkbait, a Megabass Vision 10 in fact, and according to JayPee the fish were hitting cautiously after a long pause.

I took the hint and tied on an X-Rap trying to further develop the pattern JayPee had developed. After a few follows and missed fish, it seemed like the fish were interested, but just not committing to our baits. I told JayPee we should move to one last spot I knew of that had a slightly better in-flow of creek water and after a few more casts he agreed.

This last spot was the ticket. JayPee’s second cast found paydirt and JayPee brought in a nice 10 inch smallmouth that clobbered his jerkbait at the tail of the creek inflow. For the next hour the sun dipped below the horizon while JayPee and I clobbered another handful of bass apiece. Most fish were in the 10 to 12 inch range, but JayPee happened to hook into a solid keeper 16 inch fish before we had to call it a day.

 

 

The twitch twitch pause of a shallow suspending jerkbait was just what the fish wanted today, and for me it was a new technique in this water. I was very accustomed to using shallow, slow, wide-wobbling cranks in this water temperature range and the addition of this technique for cold water bass to my knowledge base will be one I won’t soon forget.

 

 

Thanks for fishing with me JayPee, I had a ton of laughs, it felt great to feel the fight of a fish or two, and I learned something new!

For more pictures and to keep up with JayPee and the CAST 312 crew, head over to www.hiphopfishing.com

Have you ever had one of those days at work where, one minute everything is calm, quiet, comfortable… no rush orders, no co-workers complaining, no nagging bosses… but one minute later all hell breaks loose. At some point near the end you realize that you’ve gone for almost 8 hours without a break, a glass of water, or a pit stop and you feel like just crawling out of your skin and hiding under a desk somewhere in the dark.

Yeah, I’ve had those days too, and in fact I had one just the other day. I know some may scoff when I say my job isn’t always as easy what THEY see. It’s not your typical government operation, stand-by to stand-by stuff all the time. We do work… sometimes.

Anyway, Wednesday was just one of those days. Nothing went right at all. We got caught on a messy job, equipment malfunctions, crazy deadlines, blown protocols, just an absolute nightmare. So when I got off work that night I did what any stressed out fish-head would do, I fished.

I jumped in just upstream of a nice quiet treatment plant discharge along the Fox river and made my way slowly down to the outflow. I wasn’t really that prepared to fish the cold water like this. Normally I would have had thick neoprene waders instead of my breathable waders, extra sock and pant layers and probably some live bait. The 55 degree treated water there is crystal clear and the fish have a tendency to all but ignore anything that isn’t real food. Or, maybe I just don’t fish artificials that well?

Determined to get a line wet I picked the the most real appearing item in my wading box for my first couple casts, a Case Hellgrammite. Hellgrammites are the larval form of a Dobsonfly.

They live in rivers, creeks and streams among the rocks and debris along the streambed, picking away at little critters and such until they mature to the point where they can hatch and become a Dobsonfly.

Creepy right?!

I’ve never seen these things in the water or in the air, but for some reason, river fish everywhere just seem to love these things.

I made 4 casts into the swirling waters, and on the fourth cast as I was dragging the Hellgrammite pinned to a 1/8th oz. jighead across the rocks, I felt a sharp hit and a good tug on the line.

Damn did that feel good. A good 2 to 3 minute battle ensued with some line pulling runs and a heavy bend in my light action spinning outfit.

Unfortunately that would be the end of my Hellgrammite fishing. That surly catfish tore up that plastic to the point of no return and I was forced to find another option. As I was rummaging through my tackle pack, I noticed a bag of small ice-fishing baits poking out of the pocket of my parka.

They were the StankX Polly Wogz that Travis Crosman had sent me to test on the ice this year. Ice fishing locally had been lousy this year with a few freeze-thaw cycles that left the ice unsafe for most if not all of the Winter. In fact I didn’t even get the chance to ice fish once this season. Terrible.

So I re-tied my line with a tiny jig and pegged a couple Polly Wogz on there hoping that it was critter-looking enough to look like another emerging larvae of some sort.

Sure enough, two casts later I had picked up a decent little 6 inch bluegill doing the same thing, just slowly dragging the bottom with it.

The bluegills hit just as hard as the catfish, but the fight just wasn’t the same. A few more casts and another little bluegill came to hand. I had to give these little guys some credit, they were hanging out in the same water that those catfish were and could easily be seen as food themselves.

Getting tired of the little fish I decided to move downstream a bit and try the calmer slack water of a pool just below the outflow. I had seen carp rolling and splashing there the whole time I was here, and the action was convincing enough to draw me away from dinkfest 2012.

Carp are notorious for being lure shy and very tentative when it comes to tricking them into biting a poorly presented bait. Even anglers utilizing live bait or prepared bait techniques can often find themselves fish-less if they do not give those bugle-lipped buggers exactly what they want.

Knowing full well that the carp and catfish will key in on the emerging critters the same I decided to give them a shot with those little Polly Wogz. Finding the right angle to cast into the pool without spooking the carp was difficult so I set myself up away from the outflow with two different directions of current in front of me before the slack water of the deeper pool. This would allow me to use the current to drag my lure in the pool at a slow steady pace without drifting it downstream and away from the holding area. Some occasional line mending was needed, but for the most part it just dawdled along down there at about an inch per second.

I was getting ready to give up as the sun had dipped past the treeline when I noticed my line had taken a turn upstream and needed mending. As I reeled in the slack and put pressure on the line I felt a tug back so I set the hook hard. Line started peeling off my spool and the fish took a turn into heavy current and down stream.

Fumbling around the rocky water in the dark found me two-stepping along the current seam like a drunken sailor. I was spooking out fish from all over this area and I was amazed at the amount of fish I had been drifting right past for an hour without so much as a nibble.

Surprisingly, after one hard run that fish just gave up. I was able to coax it out of the current and up into the shallow flat for a quick grab and a photo op.

With a few hard pullers to my credit and some freshly atomized treatment vapor in my lungs, I decided I had better get moving back to my car before I couldn’t see the river in front on me.

A group of 4 Herons squawked and beat wings up and out of the shallows in front of the island that blocks the view of Rt. 25 from where i was fishing. As I passed where they had been perched a school of shad skittered away into the depths. Something larger was right behind them and made a dashing attempt to snatch one from the school as they blasted past me. I won’t forget to hit that spot with something a bit bigger next time out.

Next time out… there will definitely be a next time out, and soon. That was a great way to let the days aggravation wash away.

The Texas Custom Rod Builders Show (TCRBS) in Lake Jackson, Texas on February 17th & 18th will be showcasing the finest in hand crafted custom rods by builders from all across the country. It’s sponsored by the Custom Rod Builders Guild and Bullard International and will run both Saturday and Sunday.

A list of vendors that will be in attendance at this event include the following:

Batson Enterprises

Phenix Rods

Bullard International

Angler’s Workshop

United Composites

Rods for Soldiers

Acid Rod/C&M Tackle

plus more

… as well as talent from the likes of Doc Ski Rods, Bill Havens of Saltydawg Custom Rods, and Jim Trelikes.

Seeing as how I am 1,124 miles away from this event, one has to wonder why the hell I am even bringing up this topic?

I’ll tell you why, no, in fact I will show you why:

 

Yes, the Texas Custom Rodbuilders show will exhibit some of the finest hand crafted custom fishing rods and tackle, but the big part of the show there is the great big THANK YOU to men like these from the rodbuilding community.

A group of over 25 custom crafters including myself from all across the country have donated time, materials, and components to the show so that TCRB can hand them out to returning OEF warriors. These are men and women who put their lives on the line to defend our freedom, and this small gesture of thanks is the least we can do.

A few pictures of the TCRBS rod I built that I have named “Gunmetal & Blood“:

I won’t get into the details of the build but the pictures do not do this rod justice. The Batson SB822.5 blank is an extremely lightweight high density graphite blank that lends itself to a wide variety of applications. From start to finish this rod was built to be a stealthy fighter that any military member could appreciate.

I’m very proud to say I was able to participate and contribute to the TCRBS rod build-off for the troops. Our nation’s military members will always hold a special place in my heart, and giving back to them in any way possible is the least I can do.

I urge you to take a moment and find your way over to the Texas Custom Rodbuilders Show website and visit one of their links to show support for this great event.

Specifications:

• •  35 liter capacity – front panel loading
• •  Dimensions (LxW): 17.5″x12″
• •  Main pocket, plus four other pockets, great for stowing options
• •  Large stretch mesh front pocket
• •  Small front stash pocket for smaller items, quick access
• •  Small internal hidden pocket for items you want to be hard to find
• •  External side entry laptop pocket
• •  Water bottle pockets

• •  Internal organization / key clip
• •  Bottom lash straps, great for securing items to your backpack
• •  Dual side compression straps to compress the size of the pack around loaded equipment
• •  1″ removable waist belt, so heavy loads can be carried more comfortably
• •  Cell phone pocket on shoulder strap
• •  600D ripstop polyester, tough durable material
• •  Reflective tape on shoulder straps for additional safety
• •  Made in Vietnam

The product I am reviewing in this post is the Coleman RTX 3500i backpack. I received this product from the Outdoor Blogger network (OBN) as a prize in exchange for a gear review to add to the OBN Gear Review Log.

Having spent 5 years in the United States Marine Corps, this outdoor blogger knows a thing or two about carrying a load on his back. I’ve spent countless hours in the field with upwards of 75 lbs. of equipment strapped to my backside, traversing some of the nastiest terrain you can imagine. All the while enduring the harshest elements Mother Nature can dole out and punishing my equipment to the point of failure.

The equipment I used in the service was built for exactly these scenarios and for the most part it held up to our abuse. From the last 3 months of use in my civilian rigors, the Coleman RTX 3500i has also proven itself to be engineered just as well.

Of course these days I’m no longer repelling down sheer cliffs, wading through muck ridden bogs, and burying myself 4 feet deep in a snowbank seeking shelter from a passing storm at 7k altitude at the Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, CA. These days I’ve traded in my M16 for my laptop, my canteens for a coffee travel mug, and a 3 day supply of M.R.E.s for a bologna sandwich and the all important Snickers candy bar.

I use this pack every single day, and have done so since this pack arrived on my doorstep in November. It goes to work with me, it goes fishing with me on the boat, along shore, and now on the ice. I’ve even used it as an over night bag for a couple nights as I stayed to welcome my newborn son into this world at the hospital. I have yet to find a situation that this bag could not handle for day to day or overnight excursions.

The lower side mesh pockets with buckle straps hold water bottles, thermos, mugs, baby bottles, rolled up clothing, eyeglass cases, computer cables, small tackle boxes, large bags of soft plastic lures, and more. Absolutely perfect pouches for just about anything.

The inside laptop pouch is wonderful and has kept my iPad2 safe in transit, and it even served to secure important documents that I didn’t want to get bent or curled edges . There are plenty of small pockets and zippered pouches along the interior that can hold memory sticks, USB dongles, keys, fishing licenses/permits, small survival kits, first aid kits, and more of those mandatory Snickers bars.

The main pack is roomy, featuring expandable sides and compression straps to help cut down on excess bulk. The zipper pulls and strapping are all very well stitched, and the seams are double stitched with some extra material used to prevent tearing or pulled stitches as well. The tough ripstop material has also impressed me with it’s ability to keep out dirt and moisture just as well as any military pack I have ever used.

During my hospital stay I used the included waist strap to secure a folded and rolled pillow underneath the pack using the bottom loops and straps. Hospital pillows are devoid of any worthwhile filling, so a couple nights on my hideaway were much more pleasant having a comfortable place to lay my head.

The shape, padding, and design of the shoulder straps is in one word, awesome. Very comfortable to walk around all day loaded with tackle and supplies for a walk around the lake, and with the use of the waist support belt, my back and shoulders were no worse for the wear.

On the right shoulder strap there is also a nifty little spandex pouch that is a perfect perch for my HTC Incredible, my MP3 player, and best of all, my pocket camcorder. With the straps adjusted just right, the pocket camcorder can sit at chest level and record the world in front of you as you walk the trail, fish the stream, or sit in your deer stand waiting for the right time to take your shot. What a great little addition for the technologically savvy, and a feature that I have grown to rely on.

The only negative aspect of this pack that I could think of, and I had to think really hard, was the absence of any waterproofing or water resistant properties. Coleman does not advertise this pack as having this feature, so it’s hard to consider this a problem. If you were looking for something all-weather, this pack would probably not work for you unless you applied some kind of third party waterproofing spray or treatment to it.

The Facts:

Pros –

1. Great side pouches for drinks and the like
2. Well padded and protected laptop/tablet interior pocket
3. Plenty of pockets and zipper pouches for small items
4. Soft padded and supportive shoulder straps
5. Large roomy main pack will hold anything you could ever need for day out in the woods or waters.
6. Perfect little shoulder height electronics pouch for cell phone or camera

Cons –

1. It is not waterproof or water resistant

5 Star Rating System:

***** = Five Stars (Excellent product)

**** = Four Stars (Great product)

*** = Three stars (Good product)

** = Two stars (Fair to below average product)

* = One Star (Terrible product, do not buy)

Coleman RTX 3500i – ***** (5 Stars)

I found absolutely nothing wrong with the backpack itself, and that is why it gets an excellent rating. The price tag on this wonderful piece of equipment comes in around the $60 price range from most reliable retailers and for the price I can’t imagine finding a better day pack. As feature rich as it is, and considering the quality of construction, I urge anyone out there in the market for a new pack to take the RTX 3500i for a spin. I have already suggested this bag to a few friends and I have heard nothing but positive results from them thus far.

 

The Coleman RTX 3500i backpack featured in this product review was provided to me at no cost by Coleman via the Outdoor Blogger Network in exchange for a product review. I currently hold no professional association with Coleman whatsoever and no other compensation, monetary or otherwise was accepted in exchange for this review. As a member of the Outdoor Blogger Network this gear review must comply with the giveaway gear review guidelines. All independent gear reviews at The Four Season Angler will be honest and unbiased. If the gear is something I find to be worthy of being included in my own arsenal or gear bag, I will come right out and say so. If however, I find that the equipment is not worthy, I reserve the right to give my honest opinion without hesitation.

First off, forgive my brevity. My current schedule and lifestyle has removed me from the comfort of my desktop computer. This update and many others will be made from my mobile which although very convenient, is horrible to type on.

Details, details… Busy Sunday here around the FSA house, but those details are not the ones I am referring to. Soon I will retreat once more into the peaceful seclusion of my poorly lit workshop to continue work on the 4 wt. fly rod I am crafting for my good friend John Dyers. John has his own blog called Lost and Found – Fishing the Midwest and it really is quite good. He is an avid angler and an enchanted fly-fisherman, I’ve been told that is a common characteristic of all fly anglers. I have yet to come under the spell, but I’m sure I will eventually fold.

While slaving away into the wee hours of last night’s shop session, I came to wonder about the function and physical properties of each component as I began assmbly of the handle.

For those not familiar with fly fishing jargon, this handle is commonly known as a reverse half wells type grip. It’s tapered to a point at the top where a well placed index finger or thumb would rest, curved about the mid-section to allow for full palm support, and widens out at the bottom which will clue the fly caster as to where the heel of his hand should stop.

Cork is a great material for a fishing rod handle, it is lightweight, very rigid, and will keep it’s grip even when wet or a bit slimy from a freshly released fish. Unfortunately durable it is not. Cork is a bark that comes from trees grown in countries that surround the Mediterranean Sea. This particular section was sold as Portuguese cork, and is virtually free of any blemishes, pits, cracks or imperfections. When dry, the cork is very susceptible to damage and should be treated to protect and prolong it’s lifespan.

If you look at your cork handles you will see that the edges and ends of your cork take the most damage. After a season or two, untreated cork will be chipped, cracked, pitted and scratched up. That is why it is good to treat your cork with a quality cork sealant after every trip.

We all do that to our cork fishing rod handles right? Oh yea, that’s one of those details you don’t let slip your mind… wait, what, you don’t treat yours after every trip? Shame on you… Truth be told, neither do I. Who has time for details like that?

Salvation… There is another type of cork called Burl that is a combination of different colors or grades of cork chunked up into small pieces and glued together with a rubber glue of some type. This burl is perfect for accent inlays, decorative bits, and because of the rubber glue used it’s also a great way to protect the ends of your expensive cork handle.

On this build for J.D. I will be adding burl to the top and bottom of the reverse half wells, glued in, compressed, and then turned smooth in the lathe.

I’ve seen where John fishes… his cork needs all the protection it can get.

Titanium, high modulus graphite, and premium grade cork.

4 piece, 4 weight, 8’6″ fly rod build. Step 1

Measurements have been made, lines have been drawn, and the featherlight machined reel seat is now a permanent fixture.

Next up, cork and trim…

Been fishing this area since high school. exactly did the right thing. bridge, then hit open water. Started using black flies tipped with ...

I love how Kotter's got the ruler like a samurai. Looks tough!

Thanks Nick! Hope the guys can tag a few fish with these rods.

The rods look fantastic!

Patient? They just know you'll take beer for payment..

That looks incredible!!! Fantastic job, Ed!!

Nice work man, you are an artist.

Looks Great Ed! I'm sure your buddy will love it!

As soon as I take some good pictures I will post them up.

So when do we get to see the after pics???