Hey guys, I'm getting ready to build a 4 wt Pac Bay Traditional series, and was wondering what colors have worked well for you on the guide wraps. I haven't received the blank yet, and have heard the color of the blank described as "plum" and "rootbeer brown". Any suggestions? I'm using all titanium carbide hardware. Thanks!
Greg Pennell

Hey are you building the rod for your self? I recomend picking your own colors. You don't want a copy cat. That is what rod building is all about Reds, greens and lavenders go great with plum and rootbeer with a gold or yellow accent.
Good luck Bob

Greg

I collect pictures and buy fishing equipment books. I see what color combinations look good. I cut out fishing rod advertisements in fishing magazines and save them in a notebook. Professional designers call this a "picture morgue". I get ideas for turning grips from pictures also. When I build a fly rod I get out my book by the Fly Fishing Federation Museum. I study the grips and wraps done by the classic bamboo builders, like Garrison. I don't copy directly or "steal" sombodys design. I use this to get an idea of color combinations a proportions. You will find you don't want to copy sombody elses work because these pictures will inspire you to try different things and experiment. Kind of like, I will see a picture of a saltwater rod butt weave with colors that work well together, later I might use two of those colors on a baitcast rod for the guide wraps and trim rings. I hope this helps.

Bill Doherty

To answer your question, on the two PacBay blanks I have built I used Gudebrod #396. It is a brown color and when used with Flex coat and no color preserver it blends into the blank perfectly. Which length 4# are you building? I built one on an 8' blank and it is one sweet rod. Good luck.

Gudebrod Garnet w/ no CP is what I used. It was "exactly" the same color as the blank.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys! As I get further into this hobby, I plan on making up some color sticks on various color rod blanks, but for now, I'm just winging it. I should have asked which colors complement the Pac Bay blanks best, as I usually don't prefer the wraps the same color as the blank. Guess I can do some experimenting when I pick my blank up.

Greg Pennell

Greg

I did not mean to bore you with my advice. A lot of people come to this board and ask for new color combinations. I misunderstood your question. As it is, I have not built up a Pac Bay fly rod blank. I'm sure you got good answers above, and thats all that counts.

Bill Doherty

Bill, good advice (and yours was good) is never boring, and I hope I didn't imply that in my post. I have many hobbies, and one is taxidermy. In taxidermy it is extremely important to collect as much reference on your subjects as possible, to ensure accuracy in their reconstruction. I took your suggestion in much the same vein, and most definitely will keep a scrapbook of designs that I like, as I progress in this hobby.

Ron, I'm building the 7.5 footer...I hear it's a nice little rod. Thanks again!

Greg

Update: I went with plain ol' Gudebrod red, and grey 5-turn trim bands, with no color preserver. The wraps darkend nicely under the finish, and are not quite the same color as the blank, and have a pretty, sublte, appearance that I like. Thanks for your input, guys! I enjoy (and glean a LOT of info from this board:))
Greg