“It is finished.”
Please, forgive the Easter reference (yes, that was *last* week), I just couldn’t resist!
I have to say, this was not as difficult as I had feared… on the other hand, it wasn’t all that easy to create a flawless rod either. I knew from the outset that this would be my “starter”, that there would be a learning curve to this. As with most things, it’s largely a question of patience and confidence, but practice does make perfect after all. I was most nervous about the epoxies, there is no “do-over”… and most confident about wrapping thread, you tie a few hundred flies, you figure out how to wrap thread.
I did learn a few things the hard way (see pic below!) and I hope that the next rod will benefit from that experience. Definitely will be able to put a little bit more thought into design, components, threads and finishes, but I get the feeling that, as with most things fly fishing related, there’s a lifetime learning curve to it!
All in all, I am pretty proud of my sweet little 3 wt.
Here she be!
And tragically, I learned that the finish I put on the wraps, Trondak’s U-40 Perma Gloss, will actually MELT the ink right off the manufacturer’s decal. 🙁 I caught on almost immediately, made a split second decision to just splash on a horizontal brush stroke, and while it looks a little rougher than I would have liked, at least I saved the decal!
Would I build a fly rod again?
You betcha!
🙂
There was frost on the ground, and the water was quite low and gin clear. Sadly, there were more signs of coyote than steelhead, I afraid. OTOH, it was a beautiful morning, really nice to get out. Just as I was going to throw in the towel, I found a little group of 12 big fish all ganged up together in a little pond on one of the curves. Still no luck, but maybe one day when the water’s a little higher!
