Custom Fly Rod Components - A Series

As a Custom Fly Rod builder, I am committed to helping my customers select the best components for the rod that I am going to build for them.  Since most customers have not had a custom rod built before, they have a lot of questions and rely on the builder to help them.  I am going to write a series of blog posts that breakdown what selections need to be made, and provide some information that will help you when the time comes to make your selections.

There are essentially five major selections that need to be made.  The blank, the guides, the grip, the reel seat, and the decorations.  I will write a separate post that breaks down each individual selection.  

The first in the series will address the blank.  Selecting the correct blank is the most important decision, it will determine the performance of the rod and is the largest price driver of a custom rod.  Matching high quality guides, either single foot or snake guides with the blank is the next selection to be made, and I will address them in part two of the series.  In part three, I will discuss the types, and designs of the grips.  The reel seat including a discussion of the hardware and the insert will be the topic of part four.  The final part in the series will be a discussion of the different decorations and inscriptions that are available on custom fly rods.

My hope in writing this series is that you, as the customer will be better informed when it comes to making these selections when you have your custom fly rod built by me or by another competent fly rod builder.

So stay tuned, Part One - Drawing a Blank will be posted in a few days.