Building a Fly Rod - Part 1 Getting Started

Building a Fly Rod is a great project to get one through the last few gasps of winter.  I decided to put together a rod custom made for the conditions encountered here in Nova Scotia while chasing Trout and Smallmouth Bass. A good rod should also be able to handle the odd Shad fishing trip or even a salmon if one should be so lucky.

For day in, day out fishing around here I think an 8'6" - 5 wt. with a nice quick action is just about the perfect tool for the job.





After weeks of pouring over catalogues and websites I've gathered the parts and am ready for the build.

The first step in actually building a rod from scratch is to look over your blanks, the rod without anything added, and determine where the spine or spline of the graphite shaft is. As blanks have become better this step is often neglected as being "old school" and no longer necessary but it is a simple thing to do. It won't cause any harm and may just identify that sweet spot that makes your rod better than an identical one that has not been tuned or dialed in.

To my mind splining the rod is the most important part of the process. It tells you which way the rod wants to bend and as importantly which direction it will resist bending. That information determines the placement of the rod seat if it has a mitered recess for the reel foot. It determines on which side of the blank rod your line guides will be placed and ultimately, the feel of the whole rod.

You determine the spline or spine by holding the blank in a slightly curved position, the butt end on a smooth, flat surface. One hand holds the blank bent while the other gently rolls it across the the flat surface. As it rotates you will feel a definite jump as it settles into it's preferred curve.

Truthfully, it is a bit of a cross between using a dowsing rod and a Ouija Board as far as the sensation of splining a blank goes. Some people get it easily, others not so much.

Having determined the spline I marked the inside of the arc for the guide side. Some people choose to mount their guides on the opposite side if they want a softer loading but stiffer playing action. Some people say it doesn't matter. I suspect that if the subtlety of the difference eludes the end user anyway then it really doesn't matter.

Marking the blank originally I just wrap a bit of masking tape around the blank in three or four places and using a pencil make a guide mark. That is the blue tape on the blank you see in the pictures. When it comes time to fit components I use a China Marker to draw directly on the blank and remove the tape. That is because the tolerances of sliding on the reel seat and fitting the cork handle are too tight to allow for wraps of tape.

Next time-Building a Fly Rod- Part 2 Assembling the Reel Seat