First Marbling Attempt...

[Dark Cloud]

Hadn't built a rod in quite a while and decided I needed a new 7 footer for 1/8th and 1/4 oz jigs.

Was having a hard time deciding on a blank and saw Mudhole came out with a 7ft fast action, light MHX blank. Was figureing it would be a tad light for what I wanted but I timkered a bit and got it.

Took 6 inches off the front and added 6 to the back via a section of an old carbon arrow...

I like the looks and feel of a Fuji VSS reel seat but I also prefer a short fore-grip. I was able to trim that down and pair it with a red trim band and some composit cork. Finished the split off with the same thing...

Never tried marbling but got the bug to give it a whirl. Typically I do some sort of double diamond or chevron. I practiced 6 times on old blanks till I got what I was looking for. And im really happy with it....

This...

After a bunch of small work on the lathe turned into this...

And some shots of the marbling...

Paired it up with a new Pflueger I hold rods with the reel foot between my pinkie and ring finger and like to be able to touch the blank with my pointer finger...

Also went with micro guides, 9 of em. Test the spacing and casting with some Nanofil and was really impressed!

On vacation next week i'll get to pitch alot of jigs and do some dropshotting with it also...

[Scupper]

Nice work there Dark Cloud.

[Tip Up Rookie]

Wow nice work, that is a good looking rod - good luck on vacation!

[unfrozen]

I like your color choices on the marbling...even the reel matches. Trim rings look nice. Great job all around!

[Gary_l]

AWESOME looking rod !!!!!

[A.W.Wolfram]

SWEET! I love the matching rod Bling! That will be a great set-up.

o...and the flames rule

[upnorth]

Looks good DC!

[bobbymalone]

looks good to me. was it difficult?

i only hope to someday be able to produce rods like the ones you guys post in here. i've got a few customs under my belt. they get better every time, but i haven't tried anything fancy yet.

[Dark Cloud]

Thanks all! It was a fun build. I had never used the metal bands in a handle, used micro guides, or done any marbling...

Finished up the rod tonight, she's in the dryer with a fresh coat over the threads...

Went with a black/red wrap to go with the handle and reel.

Added some wraps on either side of the top marbling, it gave it a nice taper after the epoxy went on...

Bobby - The marbling wasnt too bad. I did a bunch of research on the net and practiced 6 times on an old blank or two. Biggest thing I found to get the effect I wanted was to let the finish cure for 30 minutes before applying. It didnt bleed and run as much then...

[CAMAN]

That's a beautiful rod DC! Good luck with it!

How did you taper down to the micro guides? Is it just the one large guide, or did you use more to get a slower taper to the blank?

I love micro guides and will use them on every rod I build now. I've got casting rods figured out, now it's time to figure out the layout that works best on spinning rods.

[Dark Cloud]

I tapered down from a high frame 16. 8 guides plus the tip

16, 10, 7, 7, 4, 4, 4, 4...

The 16 is 24 inches up from the center of the reel foot. First one from the tip starts 4 inches down. I added roughly 1/2 inch distance to the first 4 guides then 3/4 to 1 inch on the rest. ie -

tip---4in---4.5in---5in, ect... I wasnt super exact but added about that much to each succesive guide...

It loaded real nice in testing and cast awesome...

[Hardyboy]

Hey VERY nice work! that is definitely something to be proud of!

[Northlander]

Very nice work DC!

[rushing]

looks nice

[Eric_Kruger]

Where did you splice in the arrow shaft? Right on the end? I do this alot to extend Ice rods but am looking to build something along these lines for my first long rod.

That thing looks light as well, have you weighed it yet? Nothing like using a lightweight custom to throw jigs all day.....

[Dark Cloud]

Fished with the new rod all week and really like it! Perfect for 1/8th and 1/4 oz jigs. Here is the first fish on it.

Where did you splice in the arrow shaft? Right on the end? I do this alot to extend Ice rods but am looking to build something along these lines for my first long rod.

That thing looks light as well, have you weighed it yet? Nothing like using a lightweight custom to throw jigs all day.....

Yep, I added 6 inches to the butt end via a 15 inch piece of carbon arrow. I fitted it in there with some masking tape and 2 part epoxy.

The rod is super lightweight. I weighed it without the reel on my little digital scale that seems to be quite accurate and it came out at 4.0 ounces. Right in line with most of the nicer rods in that length and action. Im sure it could have been lighter if I left out the bling. Also by taking 6 inches off the tip and adding it to the back with all that epoxy to attach it plus the marbling epoxy - didnt help. But I find most rods feel better with some weight added to the butt section...

[upnorth]

If you need to add bling of any kind better to have it on the butt end of rod. It will be less noticeable from a sensitivity standpoint. And in some cases it can balance the rod better in your hand.