Well just got in from a days fishing with this rod and i absolutely love it..

I build this blank with a rope knurled REC winding check and lovely REC NSGXL seat with buckeye burl spacer, the snake guides are H&H, the tiptop is a recoil from REC and the stripping guide is a Fuji CLAG.











This rod is nothing like the three weight VXP i build before, this is way faster and more XP like. If i would have to compare it i would say it is smack dab inbetween the SLT and XP, either an SLT with power or a light xp.. Anyway i won't bore you guys with all the specifics but it is truly an amazing little stick..

I really enjoyed building this one, let me know what you think.

Thanks for looking,

Jerry

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When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.

Extremely nice quality build
Excellent choice of materials


Well done looks the buisness

Gary

Thanks Gary, coming from you that means a lot..

Jerry

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When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.

Nice job - slick trim wraps, cork and (I assume) epoxy work. I do get fed up waiting for varnish to dry ... what epoxy do you prefer?

Hi Taniwha, yes it is epoxy. Well i prefer a couple but lately i'm into the more rounded shapes of epoxy so i use threadmaster regular for that. A great finish with medium potlife but very easy to level. If i want a slightly less bulky finish i use the light version of the TM. I used to like my wraps as flat as possible, if i still wanted to use epoxy i got the best results using Trondaks U-40 LS supreme or a spar varnish of course.

Lately i'm playing arround with the new longer potlife epoxy's like ProKote and i must say i'm impressed with the stuff extra long pot life is always a pleasure. And if you want a finish that you can build up the way you like this is the one. If you start straight after mixing it goes on like a light build, wait 10 minutes or so and you have a medium to high build finish.. The on;ly two downsides of the ProKote are the smell (can't stand that stuff) and the drying time which is about double the time of threadmaster..

Thanks for looking and the kind words,

Jerry

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When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.

Fantastic, what a talent.

A couple of questions, simply becasue i know nothing about rod building albeit threads like this and others whet my appitite?

In your opinion how much difference does the hard wear make to the action of the rod and with experience the rings etc you add can you make the rod stiffer, softer etc?

The stripper ring, how do you chose that (how big do they make them) and the other rings, is it based on durability, performance, aesthetics?

One last one, the rod handle, do you have your own personal preference for size and width or do you change it to suit individual rods? The reason i ask is i have one handle on a Winston i own that fits my hand perfectly but fear its a combination of the rod and handle and it might be too skinny for other rods?

Nice, very very nice
Thanks for taking the time to post.

Thanks for the kind words Buzz..

I do think you can make a rod stiffer or slower/softer with different guides. The RECoils are almost weightless if you compare them to normal snakes. But on the other hand they bend more with the rod then regular snakes so it depends on what kind of action the rod has. In most cases the tiptop seems to have the most effect on the rod. But i think the differences are very small and hardly noticable when you just fish with the rod.. I once casted a Z axis 5 weight with lined titanium sics on it and it was horrible compared to mine, the recovery was totally distroyed on that one.

Stripper guides are a pretty standard thing, except when you have loops that go through it (like on shooting heads) i will oversize them. I almost always use Fuji, simply because they make the best and best looking guides IMO.. For the running guides i like to use the better quality brands, i really like Snakebrand guides those are probably the best i know H&H also makes a quality product. For me it would be a pleasure if i groove a guide, that means i have spend some time fishing but that haven't happened to me yet. From the aesthetics point, i like american style better then the english (sorry guys) and prefer snakes over singles.

I always test cast the rods i build with a little oversized handle and see how the rod performs before i make the fianal ajustments, so yes each rod has a different style for me...

Hope to have answered your questions..

Greetings from flatland

Jerry

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When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.

Hello big ears, what a fantastic build, a credit to you as always.
Love the cork, pretty as a picture, hope I get to see one or two of your builds in the flesh this year.
Keep them coming.
S.

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"A glint of sun has warmed the air,The flies will soon hatch out, To lure and tempt from their deep lair, The bonnie speckled trout." SKB tackle supporter. I love Furled Leaders.

very very nice indeed ,love the spacer wood and reel seat as if they were made for each other ,the cork is superb

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WHEN YOU LEAVE THE RIVER, TAKE NOTHING, AND LEAVE ONLY FOOTPRINT'S!!!

THA CAN TELL A YORKSHIREMAN ,BUT THA CAN'T TELL HIM MUCH !!

Hey Jerry

Looks horrible and you should sell it on the forum for peanuts! In fact, I'll take it off your hands as postage to Luxembourg will be cheaper!

That is one gorgeous piece of work and if it fishes as good as it looks you are going to be educating all the fish in the rivers, lakes and canals of Holland. You've managed to do a beautiful job of combining functionality with good looks and that is not the easiest of thing to do.

Take care

Terry

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"He either fears his fate too much,
Or his desserts are small,
Who dares not put it to the touch,
To win or lose it all!"