Help on having a custom spiral wrap rod built

[Hammerdown]

 I am looking for a rod to match up with a Daiwa Zillion SV. The primary use is going to be pitching/skipping/flipping 1/2 to 1 oz jigs into some of the nastiest logs and brush you have seen. I seriously lost 4 jigs in 5 hours, in a particular spot we call the beaver dam. It holds some sizeable fish. I want the length around 7'1", heavy and fast to rip them from their hole and on to the bank/boat. I also want super sensitive to distinguish between cover and bites. Light weight would be great also. What do you think? 

 

[kickerfish1]

Do you have a builder in mind? That would be step one.

 

Next you need to have a budget for your build. What are you looking to spend? 

 

Have you bad other custom rods built so you know what to expect from a cost standpoint? 

 

Unless you are willing to shell out $300 you won't be able to accomplish everything you listed including the incredibly senstive part unless you find a blank on sale or have some sort of hook up on the labor portion of the build.

 

Do you have a preference for painted or unfinished or neutral color blanks? Any sort of brand loyalty...brands you like, dislike, etc?

 

You can probably get 100s of recommendations from $50 blanks to those over $250. 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

If you'd like a quote email me what you're looking for. I do a preliminary quote , then review together to answer questions and discuss options. No obligation unless/until you place a deposit. 

[TOXIC]

Why spiral wrapped?  

[roadwarrior]

http://www.delawarevalleytackle.com/

 

Mike built me the ultimate Senko rod.

 

[Josh_Bovaird]

16 hours ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

If you'd like a quote email me what you're looking for. I do a preliminary quote , then review together to answer questions and discuss options. No obligation unless/until you place a deposit. 

Very good guy to deal with and will take care of you

[spoonplugger1]

If it was me, I wouldn't go to a custom builder cold turkey, I'd do a bit of research and have my ducks in a row. A great rod company that you can also get blanks for is St. Croix, they also make rods in your power and length requirements, and you can put your reel on them and see how you like them as a combo. Find what you like than you have something for you and your builder to work from.

For your purposes I might look at the 7 ft. 3 in. version also, might be a better choice when you throw some flipping into the mix.

[Angry John]

Congratulations joining the dark side.  Having a custom rod built is quite the experience.  There are lots of greet builders around and they vary as much as any group can.  The most important part is knowing exactly what you want.  That may seem simple but in practice is way more complicated.  Choosing the blank is just step one and were the thousands of options  really start.  Guide size will do a lot to impact the final build and the style of spiral you choose.  I would ask you to heavily consider the handle your after.  I am very different than most people being very tall and i love a long rod handle.  I went 12" on my heavy rod for frogs and heavy punching.  I hit them like i am teaching them to fly.  The length of the handle is so critical to how the rod is being used.  Short handles are great for jerk baits and top waters but suck for swim bait rods.  I would spend a long time working out what the task ahead will require.  If you know someone with a slantbridge i would try and use it for a bit and see if its your bag of fish or not!!!!

[Hammerdown]

Thanks for the help did a little research and talked with a builder. 

[burrows]

On 9/25/2017 at 7:49 AM, roadwarrior said:

http://www.delawarevalleytackle.com/

 

Mike built me the ultimate Senko rod.

 

Pics would be nice

[spoonplugger1]

What good would a pic do? It's a fishing rod like many others.

[burrows]

What's wrong with a pic it's not just any rod it's custom.

[spoonplugger1]

Well, I guess after all these years of building custom rods, especially performance rods, my customers want things their way, not mine. They want nothing put on the rod that isn't absolutely needed. A bare, minimalist rod.

Under that criteria, what is there really to look at? They care how it works, more than how it looks. All rods are built by hand, so custom has to be more than that. There have been many builds I walked away from, my name is on that rod for good, or bad. I bet other have done the same.

[MickD]

On 11/9/2017 at 7:35 PM, spoonplugger1 said:

What good would a pic do? It's a fishing rod like many others.

How do you know it's like many others unless you see it?   I love to see what other custom builders are doing, might see something I want to try.  This rod, for example, is probably different than all other rods and has a couple features others may be interested in.  For example, stuck with using downloading seats?  Uploading allows the hood rather than the threads to be under the fingers.  Smoother, more comfortable.  Turn the ramp to be just smaller than the ramp and the hand moves seamlessly between them.  Cover the burl cork with wrap epoxy then Perma-gloss for an outstanding look.  Too slippery?  Not so, try it and see.  It's the shape that's most important to grip and comfort.

[Angry John]

My custom has some very nice cork work but the rest is supposed to be very plain.  Custom builders are like any other group of artists and have a thing they like doing.  My builder likes tiger wraps and so do i so it works out well...

[.ghoti.]

3 hours ago, Angry John said:

My custom has some very nice cork work but the rest is supposed to be very plain.  Custom builders are like any other group of artists and have a thing they like doing.  My builder likes tiger wraps and so do i so it works out well...

Your builder likes what he knows how to do, and doesnt like what he doesnt yet know how to do.

[Angry John]

6 minutes ago, .ghoti. said:

Your builder likes what he knows how to do, and doesnt like what he doesnt yet know how to do.

Carbon handles for the win

[basscatcher8]

On ‎11‎/‎18‎/‎2017 at 7:49 PM, .ghoti. said:

Your builder likes what he knows how to do, and doesnt like what he doesnt yet know how to do.

Easy rut to fall in. Every rod I build for myself I make myself do something I've never done just to get the experience so I have an idea when I go to do it on a customer rod.