Category Archives: Spinning Rods

Custom Rod Building, Spinning Rods

Laurel Ridge Rods ESS 1002-2 Steelhead Trout Spin Rod

This spectacular rod was built for a good friend and fellow outdoors man I know.  He and I spend a lot of time hunting and fishing together so I wanted to give him a rod up to his performance of fishing.  This rod is the signature ESS series model built on a 10′ 2 PC moderate action fly rod blank.  Featuring Burnt, Natural and Rubberized Handle pieces situated on either end of a Black Box Elder burl reel seat with RA-8.5 hardware, this rod has quite the aesthetic appeal.

I used the FUJI KR concept guide train to reduce up the 8L running guides, held securely by a mixture of gunmetal, electric blue and black guides to give some serious contrast.  A Ferrule decal was also added for that extra bit of Custom.  This rod has taken everything from Panfish to Steelhead and everything else in between and still continues to go strong.

Custom Rod Building, Spinning Rods

Laurel Ridge Rods ESS Series 10′ 2 PC Spin Rod

The flagship of the ESS (Egg Specific Steelhead) Series rod.  Built on a 10′ 2 PC moderate action blank, this rod is the true cross between the traditional noodle without the super slow action to tire you out.  There is no substitute between power and sensitivity when fishing eggs with this rod.  Sensitive enough to detect a strike when bottom bouncing the handle design lends itself enough power in the butt section to turn a fish around in a hurry.

Handle is natural Red block cork with Burnt Mix end caps, Forecast Spinning Seat and Fuji BYAG Alconite guides.  Thread is Gudebrod dark red with copper and red trim bands, decal by Decal Connection.

Custom Rod Building, Spinning Rods

Rainshadow XST1141-2

This blank is probably my favorite of all time, unfortunately it has been discontinued by the manufacturer.  The silver glossy finish along with a tremendous power to weight ratio this blank not only looks good it performs to well exceeded standard.

Starting with some blue burl cork from Custom Fly Grips along with natural rings to keep the weight light, an ALPS TRI size 12 reel seat sits in between making a solid platform for a reel that will get a workout.  Pro Wrap stormcloud along with NCP white make for a classic yet elegant guide wrap that looks phenomenal  in the sun.

The FUJI K guide system transitions down to a size 8 choker and finishes out with size 7 running guides spaced properly to use the entire blank.  This gives the user of this rod an advantage while jigging, being able to transfer any hand motion directly to the jig and not wear out ones shoulder.   Overall a pleasure to build and has already been responsible for some serious damage this year.

Custom Rod Building, Spinning Rods

Laurel Ridge Rods ESS-966-2

This rod might look very different from any spinning rod you have encountered, and there are many reasons for it’s particular design.  Fishing in Pennsylvania is a little unique in steelhead alley, you are usually fishing around a large amount of people, and the relatively small nature of some tributaries make it very burdensome to cast long distances for a long drift.  You will see more experienced anglers in a crowd of people underhand flipping egg sacks and single salmon eggs to steelhead, while maintaining a short drift in respect to proximity of other anglers.  This rod was developed around those parameters.  The short fighting butt and longer fore grip are reminiscent of the Michigan style handle design.

This particular rod utilized dalmatian rubberized cork on the rear grip, met by a Big Leaf Maple burl butt cap, inletted into the rear grip.  Reel seat hardware is the Fuji Cobra size 17 spinning seat, with matching Big Leaf maple burl insert.  Thread is Pro Wrap Banana Split NCP with Burgundy NCP to give a thread a flare, but retro look.  The guide wraps utilize an off-angle inlay.  Guides are Fuji YSG.

Custom Rod Building, Spinning Rods

DSS1141-2-Steelhead Spinning Rods

These two Steelhead Spinning Rods will belong to a Father and Daughter pair looking to do some steelheading around Pennsylvania and elsewhere.  Custom built on Batson Enterprises blanks, the DSS1141-2 is a 9’6” 2 pc Moderate Action spinning rod perfectly suited for this area.  The handles are made from Burnt Burl Block and some composite and dark mix,  fighting butt has a reinforced cap, reel seats are size 17 Graphite Spin and Mudhole Green and Red GNRG’s.  The green rod is wrapped with metallic and black NCP, while the black and red is wrapped with Black NCP and Red Metallic.  Overall a great pair of rods for a variety of fishing styles for steelhead.  These make excellent egg sack and float rods as well.

Custom Rod Building, Spinning Rods

Rainshadow IF1082-2 Spin Rod

This rod is rather simple, and can hardly be considered a “true” custom job, however, I feel as if it is important to be able to fit all needs in a rod for someone, and any rod builder that is in it for customer satisfaction will do their fair share of simple assembly rods, rods that perform, however do not break the bank or give a misgiving feeling about getting it dirty.  This rod features a Rainshadow RX7 Salmon Steelhead spin rod blank, with a 12 inch natural rear cork handle, EVA butt cap, size 17 Spin Seat, and 3.5 inch natural cork foregrip.  Thread is Pro-Wrap Steel Forged with silver trim, guides are ALPS BYAG spin guides.  I crafted this rod after a special friend who is a delegate of the Pennsylvania Fish Commission, and with my assistance was able to catch his first steelhead in Erie.  His equipment was out-dated and not suited for the rigors of steelhead fishing, so I was employed to help him out with a simple piece of equipment simply meant to get the job done.  My favorite kind of rod.

Custom Rod Building, Spinning Rods

XST1263-F Steelhead Rod

Video

This is a Rainshadow XST1263-F 10’6” 8-12 lb Steelhead/Salmon rod for fishing all around the great lakes.  Able to put the brakes on a strong steelhead and on the same token able to man handle a king salmon, this high-caliber rod is an all time favorite here.  When fishing around people or streams with a lot of cover, it makes it impossible to be able to land fish on a softer action rod.  This particular customer does not waste time fighting fish for long periods, and needed something able to take a beating and still perform.  The XST1263 meets that bill accordingly.  The thread is Gudebrod Nylon Gunmetal with Black and Silver Trim, Guides are ALPS XTCYTCG finishing out with the single foot fly guides, Handle is a mixture of light burnt mix, burnt, Natural, and gray and black EVA sheets creating a very unique appearance.  If you are looking for the ultimate fish stopper, look no further.

To see the power capability of this rod check out this video!!