Garage sale rod rebuild..

Hey guys, want your opinion on this dumb little side project, and if you think it will be worth a trip out to a few lakes. Please remember this is my FIRST attempt at building a fishing rod, and i had a budget of 20$. I got the rod from a garage sale for $1.50. And in the condition it was in, it could have been overpriced for that minimal cost. Im assuming it was from the 60-70s, and just beat to hell. It had no reel, and the cork grip was so badly tore up and dry rotted it just fell off in my hand.

this was an 8 foot fiberglass fly rod. The lower 3.5 feet were so chipped up they would not have handled any load without breaking. So I cropped it down to a tiny pole. All the eyelets were broken, so i replaced those. I built the wrapping rig out of some cork foam i had laying around. The tensioner for the thread was the spinner reel. (It worked surprisingly well) I used some heavier fly tying thread to wrap on the eyelets(just spooled it on to the reel, set the tension low but not off), then a small amount of flexible resin to coat them after wrapping. The handle is just survival para cord, again held on with a small amount of flexible resin. I originally put on this 10$ spinner reel i had laying around, but was given the low pro kastking baitcaster that looks better, but is probably way overkill for this rod.

The whole thing is about 4.5 feet long, and has the flex of about a light weight rod. The rod i started with had no markings, so i have no idea of the original weight, or manufacturer, or the true age. I have practiced casting a few times with it, and it easily gets out about 30 feet with almost no weight on the line and minimal effort from me. Im thinking it will be good for a sight fishing backpacking/camping pole. What do you guys think? This was just a project out of boredom and learning the process, more that trying to make a viable fishing pole. I plan on building a true good custom pole some day. But this was fun to do.

 

Yeah, that was the cheapest/ easiest one i found on amazon. I was looking at the plastic ones, but decided i didn't want to spend an extra 10-20$ on the added cork grip i was not going to use. It is actually weighted almost perfectly, the center balance point is about a quarter inch ahead of the reel. So almost perfect to where my hand sits. So it kinds works out. Has a surprisingly good action to it. And lol i also named it frankenrod..

 

I took it to Jennings on Sunday, got nothing, but i was throwing it out the whole time while my other rod sat with some powerbait. For being such a short and light rod it has decent action. Had no cracking in the resin or anything. Only issue was the tip eyelet i guess i forgot to fully secure, it slipped off about half way through the day. I was able to still fish with it, just couldn't get a full cast. As soon as i got home i cemented it back on and even gave it a little wrap of thread. It seems to be much more secure now. I don’t expect this rod to last forever, but if i can pick up a hand full of panfish with it ill be happy. I am planning another trip out tomorrow for a few hrs, (long lunch break). Ill update after a few more trips if it holds up well. So far though i kind of like the feel of it.
If the reel seat comes off i do plan to replace it with a lighter weight seat. Im not sure where i can find a smaller one, without making one out of wood. If you you know of a smaller seat that is super cheap let me know. Honestly i would prefer a smaller seat. I thought about buying a 10$ ice fishing pole from walmart and taking that seat, but not sure if it will hold up to that kind of use or even support a baitcaster reel. Never used an ice fishing pole before so not sure about them.

 

Ok, i guess i was not searching for the correct key words. My first build, i had NO IDEA what i was doing, lol. Thanks for those links. Hell if I'm bored enough i may go out and look for another garage sale pole and start a new one. Or maybe just buy a blank, and skip the cleaning and stripping part.

 

Awesome thanks. I actually spoke with Rick from Strouds and he told me i should go to squidco as well. To be honest i just forgot, and never ended up going out there. Im going to have to check them out this weekend.

As for laying the thread, i was surprised at how well it worked from the spinner reel, going through an eyehole screw at the bottom of my little wrapping rig to help keep tension. I think i would have a much prettier wrap in the end if i used the bobbin though.

 

Got out to Santee Lakes for a few hrs today, got skunked, but got a chance to practice with the fly rod and the bait caster. Im getting MUCH better with the fly rod, though trees still piss me off. Lost my 3 favorite flies. Gotta make a few more I guess. It was the second trip out with the little garage sale frankenrod as well. It cast AMAZINGLY with the new baitcaster... once i figured out how to adjust it, and cast it correctly... (lost probably 50 yards of 10lb braided line from cutting out birds nests.) this is my first baitcaster after all. I finally looked like a creeper and watched intensely as a young guy threw his out a few times. I think i creeped him out unintentionally. But then went back at it and finally got some AWESOME casts one after the other. Im about 1-2 feet off from my intended mark on most casts, but finally have control of it. The only thing i think i need to do to it is JB wield the top and bottom together. The top tends to slowly rotate as i cast. But everything else is holding up well. Caught a tree and a few underwater structures, had to pull it free a few times HARD, and everything seems to work well and nothing else is coming loose yet.. Now landing a fish of substantial size may be interesting with such a short rod. But the fight should be fun. More updates once i land something on it.