- 1). Determine the length, action and weight of the fly rod you desire. These three dimensions should be made with due consideration for the type of fish for which you will use the rod (trout, saltwater fish, salmon, bass, etc.), the type of water (stream, lake, ocean, etc.), the most common casting conditions that you will encounter (open water, brush lined shore, blowing wind, lack of back-casting space, etc.) and the material from which to build your rod (graphite, boron, composite, bamboo, fiberglass, etc.).
- 2). Order the rod blanks and hardware for the desired rod from a reputable supplier. There are many supply sources for rod-building supplies; in some cases, local sporting goods stores may have what you need, but begin building your fly rod only after all materials have arrived.
- 3). Find the spline of each rod blank by placing the butt section against a hard surface, gently bowing the blank while holding the top section, and allow it to pop into a pronounced curve. Mark the inside of the curve on each blank section using the china marker (place a small mark which can be easily seen). After marking each rod blank join the pieces and align the marks. Place the butt of the assembled rod on a hard surface and gently bow it, allowing it to jump into a pronounced curve to confirm that the spline has been found.
- 4). Attach the reel seat by lightly coating a small section of the rod blank butt with flex coat epoxy glue. If necessary, build up the butt diameter with several wraps of masking tape before you start, so that the reel seat fit is snug. Align the position of the reel foot slot so that it is on the opposite side of the rod blank as the marking made earlier. (The line guides will be placed on the rod blank opposite the markings.)
- 5). Apply a coating of flex coat epoxy glue on the rod blank ahead of the reel seat and slide the handle into place. The handle must be positioned tightly against the reel seat. Wipe away any epoxy glue that squeezes out between the reel seat and the handle. Allow the glue to dry for 15 minutes.
- 6). Attach the tip top by heating the hot melt adhesive stick using the alcohol burner. Once the adhesive stick becomes molten, apply a small amount to the end of the fly rod (the smallest diameter blank section) and quickly slide the tip top into position. The opening of the tip top must be positioned on the opposite side of the markings placed on the rod earlier.
- 7). Place the winding check on the butt section of the rod blank, against the handle (It does not need to be secured at this time). The winding check must be placed onto the rod blank before the next step because the stripping guide will interfere with sliding the winding check onto the rod blank.
- 8). Place the stripping guide and line guides, spaced as the manufacture of the rod blank suggests, on the opposite side of the rod blanks as the mark made earlier and secure each one in place with a thin wrapping of masking tape. Once the stripping guide and all line guides are in place, check their spacing a second time against that suggested by the rod blank manufacture.
- 9). Wrap each line guide, the stripping guide, and hook keeper using a thread color of your choice (You may combine more than one color). Make sure each line guide is aligned with the previous one so that when the rod is finished, all line guides are perfectly aligned.
- 10
Wrap winding thread on the rod blank against the tip top for decoration and against the winding check to hold it in place. Ferrules (the male and female sections where each rod blank joins) should have 1/4- to 1/2-inch windings on each rod blank. Remove any fuzzy ends from the wraps by quickly moving the thread over an alcohol flame and allowing them to burn off. - 11
Finish all wraps by applying a thin coating of flex coat epoxy glue using disposable brushes. Mix the epoxy in small plastic disposable cups. Rotate the rod blanks as you apply the glue and continue to rotate until the glue has dried so as to ensure an even coating without bulges. The glue on the rod wraps is dry when the glue remaining in the mixing cup is dry. - 12
Gently sand the rod handle using course then finer sandpaper to contour the handle to your liking. Allow the epoxy glue on the rod to dry for several days in a clean, dust free environment before using.
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