Rod Building - Part 6: The Decision

I have ordered a Temple Fork Outfitters Professional Blank and Component Kit. My final choice was a 7 weight 9 foot rod, which is a compromise: I would had preferred a 10 foot blank, but the ones that I could find at this rather low price range (I don’t want to spoil anything expensive) were not reviewed anywhere.

The TFO Professional Reviews were easy to find and they were also rather positive. Other than that, it is a four piece blank which makes it rather transportable and it does have the no-fault warranty that might become useful. I also got a pretty good deal with local dealer on this one.

This rod building project of mine has two goals. First is to find out can a person who’s thumb is located in middle of the palm (it’s a Finnish expression, I don’t know is it used elsewhere) build a fly rod. The second goal is, if the first one succeeds, to have another useful fly rod.

The uses that I have thought so far are: streamer fishing for big trout, Atlantic-salmon dry fly fishing, and perhaps some still water fly fishing. I use a 9’ 5 weight rod almost all the time, but it is not at its best with big streamers.