First Rod Build

Hey friends. I am currently on the quest to start building my own custom ice rods. For my first build I would love to make a rod that I can use for jumbo perch and walleyes (I guess I want it to be comparable to the perch sweetheart). I have read a lot of great things on the MHX Solid Carbon blanks (although Im not sure I like the green painted tip). Can anyone suggest one over another? I would like to keep the length around 32″ as I am in the HUB Shanty sometimes, but prefer to be outside hole hoping. I am planning on making it a split grip with Recoil Guides. I would love some suggestions and tips. Not sure if I should even start to think about sanding blanks yet, but I know that it is possible to tune the action (may be needed to build this rod for what I want). Below is what I have in the “cart” so far, as well as hook keeper, cork for the split grip, colorfast size A thread. Epoxy and finish. Anything else you can think of?

Blank: CIB-36MLMF-MHX
Guides: (4) size 3 Recoil Single Foot Fly Guides and (1) Size 10 Recoil Spinning Guide (for bottom guide)

Thanks for your help in advance,
Branden

Take your time and enjoy the process.

Everyone has expectations of the final product. Sometimes you hit the mark on the first try, sometimes you don’t. The blank will feel completely different from when you start (blank only) to when its finished. I recommend getting your handle/reel seat if applicable done and cured. Then set your tip and tape your guides based on the recommended layout. Put a reel on it and thread the line through your guides and load the rod. Use a jig that is comperable to what you would use and see how you like the feel. Then load the rod with a bend and see how your action is. Your not going to make a slow action blank X-fast or reversed. But you can tweak it with your guide placements a little bit. Before you just wrap it up, move the guides around 10-20% up and down the blank and feel the difference. Ultimately, after you use it for awhile, you’ll discover what you want different and apply that towards the next rod you build. That is where the addiction begins.

BTW, if your a sight fisherman (looking at your tip), wrap a bright contrasting color trim into your wraps. If you don’t like the look, you can always strip it and re-wrap.

Attachments:

1. 

   IMG_0625.jpg
   

you can just sand the paint off and have a nice gray matte finish like normal carbon, or try sportsmensdirect, they have some nice carbon blanks also

The only MHX blank that is any good is the 28″UL. it is nice perch and pan fish blank. The 32″ UL has a nice fast tip and some back bone to it. That is what I use. I was at Mud Hole last year for family vacation and stopped by and looked at all there ice blanks. Out of 10 or so only those 2 would for fishing in Minnesota and compare to a Thorne style rod. You could always buy a Thorn blank also that way you know what your getting.

You may like the MH quiverstick or the panfish king for your pick. The 36 MLMF at its full length is a bit light for eyes, You would end up cutting the tip I think.

I think the #3 guides are too small myself, I use a 3 on the tip. Also a 12 or 16 is a bit better IMHO for the single foot guide.
Order a 2/0 for a hook keeper.

I began building mine last year, I now look back to what a made for my first 3 rods and they really suck to what I am making now. It makes me wonder what will come in another year or two. I am not trying to say yours will be crap but you may want to reconsider using $4 guides and $12 guides for your first rod.
You might try Flexlite for the lower guide and Pac Bay single foot fly guides for the rest. Janns Netcraft has them.

I am not a big fan of 2″ neon green. I now epoxy the tip, then air brush it pink for .5~.75~ then a light top coat of epoxy. It is a good contrasting color that shows well in a house or on snow. Nail polish would work too. You can also try marbling your epoxy pink too.

I did rod building in one of my classes this year and the kids loved it. I bought about 3/4 of the MHX rods as you really can’t tell how they actually feel from a description and it gave the kids something tangible to go off of too for their orders. If you are up near Mille Lacs ever and want to handle some of their rods to know what you are ordering shoot me a PM.

It is a fun process to learn, frustrating at times, but you tame it over time. Tons of info on the net. Have fun.

If I went with the Quiverstick, how much would I have to chop off to make it suitable for what I want to use it for? If at all? I guess when I think of fishing walleye, I think ML-Medium power rods, but I know guys that fish a 36″ ultralight for ‘eyes. Sooo maybe it would be fine the way it is?

Thanks for all your responses!

Swap shops old flyrod blanks done and cheap

After adding everything up… I’m only like $30 cheaper than just buying a brand new TUCR Precision. Maybe that’s the way to go.

No after buying everything you can make triple or even more rods buy bulk it’s a great hobby
And the fish taste better

Building rods is fun and addicting. When you look at what it takes to do 1 rod, it doesn’t really seem worth it. The beauty is being able to make exactly what YOU want. Sanding is surprisingly not that tough. A hand drill will work fine for a lathe, and a handful of sandpaper from coarse to 600 or 1000 wet/dry is all you need. Go slow at first. After a few you’ll use the coarse stuff to get you closer, faster.

Being willing to sand a blank lets you make something that isn’t available on the commercial market. Lets you fine tune a rod into a particular bait or presentation if you want to get that specific.

Finally, the savings starts to show up significantly after building 3,4,5… rods when comparing it to 90-100 dollar customs.

So, some thoughts on your initial question. I can’t speak much to the blank as I have not used the MHX blanks. You could sand the paint off the tip, but you might need to sand the finish off the whole blank to make it look right if the rest of the blank was painted or clear coated (really not as hard as it sounds, just takes time and care). If you want to add a clear coat over the entire rod, look into something like CPxtra rod finish. I add pigment powder to it to color noodle rods, but the clear finish goes on easily and very thin.

Good call on the color fast thread. No need for color preserver. I would also recommend Pac Bay fly guides. I’m sure they have benefits, but I just don’t see the real need for REC guides on an ice rod. Regular fly guides have been working well and quite ice free on the rods I’ve used them on.

For the cork – you might want to look into the tube that Mudhole sells to epoxy the rod blank to. I think Mudhole only sells cork with a 1/4″ bore, and that might be a bit big for an ice rod blank – might take a lot of epoxy to fill the void depending on rod butt diameter. I bought my cork from Janns as they have cork with 1/8″ bore and then ream it out with a rat tail file.

You probably want winding checks too. The best ones I have found so far that are small are from Sportsmans Direct. I bought the smallest one Janns had and it’s slightly oversize for an ice rod. Sportsmans direct also has some nice blanks for good prices that sand down very well, and are either gloss black or matte grey depending on what blank you get.

Good luck in your decision to get into the addicition or just buy a rod (and have more time to fish!)

Thanks for your lengthy and helpful response! Can you sand down graphite? Or is that only Carbon and Glass that you can sand? I am a crafty guy so the thought of building my own rods really is intriguing. Does anyone else have any other suggestions on blanks? I’d like to find some that are cheaper so that I can try to wrap one up and see if i like it! Mudhole Shipping is soooo expensive.

Branden Visser wrote:

After adding everything up… I’m only like $30 cheaper than just buying a brand new TUCR Precision. Maybe that’s the way to go.

Certainly a way to go and from what I see TUCR builds very nice rods.

There absolutely is something wicked-cool about setting the hook and feeling the fish on a rod you’ve built.

Branden Visser wrote:

After adding everything up… I’m only like $30 cheaper than just buying a brand new TUCR Precision. Maybe that’s the way to go.

I don’t think people build their own to save money as much that it’s just a really fun hobby. Like many things the initial investment is high.

I started doing it last year and really enjoy it. Randy Wieland was a big help for me. I made a wrapper/dryer out of an old sewing machine motor. It’s nice having the foot pedal for control

My first rod build. Not perfect but functional in all aspects. Consists of DH al dente blank and handle, REC recoil guides

Attachments:

1. 

   20150111_001613.jpg
   

2. 

   20150111_001605.jpg
   

I just got into building this last year and it is a great hobby. Like others have said, the initial cost can be a little spendy, but the rods you can create are amazing and for the most part ice rods can be built affordably.

I’ve gotten supplies from Mudhole, Jann’s, Sportsmen’s Direct and DH customs. Dusty at DH has the 32 inch Perch Pounder blank that I believe he sells for $25, which may be a good option for you. It surely beats the $43 or so that Thorne gets for the Perch Sweatheart. The
MHX CIB-36 blank may also be a decent option for you.

I too think that the fly guides are a good option, use the flexlite spinning guide and it gives you the look of using recoils. I like 10 spinning, 5, 4, 3, 3 for my guide sizing on longer rods, but I’ve trieds several others as well.

Branden,
As far as I know carbon is graphite. You can sand down solid graphite rods. Not something you want to do with a hollow rod (ie. most open water rods), but the solid carbon ice rods can be sanded. Sportsmans Direct blanks are nice. The Extreme taper rods are what they say – very fast tapers. You could fish them as is, or cut off some of the tip to make a beefy rod, cut off the butt to make a shorter rod, or sand it to taper it into exactly what you want. Their glass rods make great noodles when sanded down to needle tips too. The 32″ carbon rod has a very fast taper to the tip and as is could probably be used as a walleye rod with heavier spoons or jigging raps. The 34 is a slightly slower taper and might be about what you are looking for right off the bat. If it isn’t, you can basically turn it into whatever you want with a drill and sandpaper. Calipers can be handy, especially if you make a blank you like and want to duplicate it.
Shipping from them is about $6, and they have all the components, but you’ll need to get thread, epoxy, etc somewhere else.

Another piece of advice – taper the guide feet with a file, small belt sander, grinder, etc. so the leading edge is very thin. You’ll go nutty trying to get nice neat guide wraps otherwise. Also handy – buy the little stick of rod glue. Looks like a little hot glue stick, but works very well for attaching the small, single foot fly guides. Much easier and more secure than tape on the small guides and thin blanks.

I like a #12 spinning guide to make sure there’s no herky jerky feel when reeling up, but 10 is pretty common too. After that is normally a number 5 or 6 fly guide, and the rest #3’s. In my mind #3 is a good compromise of small enough to be pretty light and tidy looking, but big enough to cause no icing problems. Could probably go smaller than #3 if you fish from a heated shack most of the time. A #3 fly guide is a good bit bigger than the inside guides on a thorne Sweetheart rod.