A Special Build

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There is a program that has been going on in Texas for the past three years started by a gentleman named Pat Helton and a few of his friends. The idea behind it was to build a custom fishing rod and present it to honor a wounded soldier and help thank them for the service they provided by protecting our country. The first rod built for the program was an accumulation of many custom builders who each took part in the design and build of that one rod. It has since grown into a program where hopefully 150 rods will be presented in 2011. The program is not limited to Texas and it has builders from all over the US that contribute.

I sent in a request to be part of this program this year and was accepted. I did my build on a 7′ medium/heavy blank which was fitted with eva handles and a split grip. The decision was made to do this build based on a USA theme and I wanted it to be unique and special at the same time. Obviously for my theme the thread choice would be red,white, and blue. The split grip handle at the bottom of the rod is wrapped in this color theme and a custom decal that was made for it applied. The guides are American Tackle Micros in a size 3.5 wrapped in white thread so they won’t take away from the special design that I would do on the wrap above the Minima reel seat.

I do a lot of Tiger wraps on my builds, when they are finished the characteristics of a tiger’s stripe comes out in the wrap. If I did this wrap right it would have a different effect and look like an American Flag waving in the wind. I used metallic red and white thread on the bottom. After wrapping a tool was used to burnish the thread and put some movement in it. A layer of rod finish is then applied and left to dry overnight. The next evening I wrapped a blue thread along with a black thread in the opposite direction over the previous wrap and using the same tool, burnished the thread in the same direction that it was wrapped in. The next step was to take the black thread and remove it from the wrap which then creates space, then a layer of rod finish is applied and left to dry. As you do each of these steps you can actually see the flag start to come to life. I am very pleased with the way this build turned out and I hope that the person recieving it enjoys it as much as I did building it.

Thank you to all of the people who have fought for our freedom and to the other rod builders who have been a part of this program for inspiring me to get involved.

See you on the water,

Robert