Hello,

An old friend from college and I are doing a trip out to Montana to fish the Big Horn for a few days. I’m toying with the idea of building him a rod for the trip. If it were any other friend I’d just tell him to go to the local fly shop and buy an Echo Base for $90 and be done with it. But he’s the kind of guy that would appreciate a custom rod….. even if it’s not as good as a store bought one. He’s an amateur Fly Fisherman at best and currently fishes with the cheapest Cabela's rod they make. So he’d be happy with something that’s at least a step up from that. Anyone have any recommendations for a cheap build.

I’ve been looking at “Kits” for the most part to keep cost low but wouldn’t have an issue buying all the components separate.

Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks

You did not mention length or number of pieces, but for the money it is extremely hard to go wrong with an American Tackle Matrix fly rod blank.
Norm

Norman Miller Wrote:
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> You did not mention length or number of pieces,
> but for the money it is extremely hard to go wrong
> with an American Tackle Matrix fly rod blank.
> Norm


Thanks Norm! Frankly I don't really think it matters. 2 or 4 piece and 8'6" or 9' would be fine. Really just the run of the mill fly rod. I was looking at the American Tackle blanks and they seem to run for $75-$90 in a 5wt or 6wt. So they may be a little on the top end of my budget.

Well try the graphite blanks at Anglers Roost, they have some very inexpensive blanks and components. The PacBay Tradition II kits are in the price range [www.anglersworkshop.com]
So is a Rainshadow RX6 kit. [www.anglersworkshop.com]
Norm

Chris

I've not built the RX6 kit referenced by Norman, but have built on the RX6 blank and it's a keeper. Try a test wrap with royal blue wrap with silver shiner trim. Makes an attractive fly rod.

You might like the Batson Forecast fly blanks.
A good price, and some are on Sale right now.
Here is a link;
[www.schneidersrods.com]

Best wishes,
Ron Schneider
Schneider's Rod Shop
Mountain Home, Arkansas
[www.schneidersrods.com]
mtnron40@yahoo.com
870-424-3381

Anglers Workshop has the Pac Bay Rainforest II 906 2 peice in their deal section for less than $42.

You might also find some good deals from the sponsors with July 4th specials.

Go 4 piece- they travel so-o-o-o much easier than 2 piece.

I did just find this RX6 kit on Hook and Hackle. Any objections? $79.63

[store.hookhack.com]


BB 906-4 blank
Pacific Bay A5 chrome reel seat with rosewood insert
Reverse Half Wells inletted grip
hard chrome plated chrome guide set
hookkeeper and tip top
winding check
Dark Blue Thread.

It's awful tough for an individual American rod builder to match the price or the quality of low end fly rods produced by automated machines tended by poorly paid workers.

The Tradition II kit is awesome. I've built on a few of them and so has my buddy. We both think they're great.

The Batson RX6 is a good selection for a novice fly fisherman. Excellent quality and priced right. Also a beautiful blank. For the Big Horn I would build him a 6wt. Big Horn flows right now are quite high, but have been coming down.

If you need 4 piece check out Bingham Enterprises SHX fly blanks which are titanium chrome color around $60. I have heard many folks talk highly about them.

I second the Bingham SHX blanks, I have built on quite a number of them and bang for the buck, they are worth twice what they go for

Ron Weber

Thanks for all the input on this. I think I'll be going with the Rainshadow RX6 9' 6 wt 4 pc kit from Hook and Hackle. $79.63 with free shipping. I started to add up all the other options and after shipping cost they were all over $100. Some were probably worth the extra money but at the end of the day I'm not the one fishing with it. :-)