Colt Johnson Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Having built and sold quite a few ultralight fly rods over the past 2 years, I've owned several TXL rods. Now the 0wt, 1wt., 2wt. and 4wt. I have regretfully let go the 1wt and 4wt months ago so I could keep building and learning about new rods. Upon reflection, my TXL rods were some of my favorites. I stumbled upon this TXL 0wt. blank on clearance for $149, so I snatched up the opportunity to build another one. Here's what I used: Seat: Spalted Big Leaf Maple Burl turned to the same dimensions as the cork seat on an Orvis Superfine (with dual sliding rings). I got the dual sliding rings from Jim West at Orvis Grip: Struble Ultrafine that I modified by turning down in thickness (generally) and tapering the rear to blend into the seat Thread: YLI Silk Chestnut colored Guides: Fuji MNSG Smoke Colored w/SiC Insert size 8j. Pac Bay Light Wire TiCh snakes sizes, 2/0 (5), 1/0 (1), 1 (1), 2 (1). Size 3.5 tip top. I did not use a hook keeper and I did a little epoxy ramp instead of a winding check. This will be my new bluegill rod and will hopefully get a chance to catch some trout in the driftless area next year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mannym Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Man what a fine looking rod. Well done, Sir Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonn Graham Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Something that pretty would be tough to let get dirty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colt Johnson Posted December 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Thanks guys. John: I can assure you that the rod gets even prettier when it is bent double! : ) I'll try to get some fish on photos to prove it! Catching bluegill on an ultralight is one of my favorite ways to fish....especially when you get a bass every now and again to really make things interesting. I need to weigh this rod, but it is very LIGHT. If you compare the weights of the TXL blanks to the newer TXL-F blanks you will find that the older TXL blanks are lighter (physically) than the newer TXL-F blanks since there is one less ferrule. The "33% lighter" claim for the TXL-F series was wholly accomplished through lighter hardware (i.e. getting rid of the nickel silver seat). So I anticipate that this rod will be lighter than the factory TXL or the factory TXL-F counterparts due to the minimum reel seat hardware, no winding check, light wire guides, and minimum wraps. I put my Sage Click on it the other night and I'm guessing the entire outfit (reel, line, leader, rod) weighed under 4.0 oz. which is lighter than my Lamson Konic 1.5 weighed (empty) by itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom L Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 What a fine looking stick. I bet it will cast beautifully too. I have a st croix avid 3wt 7' 9" that I use for trout in the driftless areas and blue gill. But it has not seen much action this year, I've been using a lot of the 6wt and 7wt for smallie on the Fox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colt Johnson Posted December 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 TOM L: Do you live by the fox? My wife's family live in Montgomery and her brother lives right on the river. I've caught some smallies out of the fox near his house, but I must say that the carp fishing can be really good during the mulberry blooms! It is a pretty river. I'd like to relocate from central illinois and find a cozy spot along the fox some day..... What a fine looking stick. I bet it will cast beautifully too. I have a st croix avid 3wt 7' 9" that I use for trout in the driftless areas and blue gill. But it has not seen much action this year, I've been using a lot of the 6wt and 7wt for smallie on the Fox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest airbornemike Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Sweet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom L Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 I live in Hoffman Est. It is a short drive to the Fox, 10-15 minutes. The southern part of the Fox, where you mentioned, is much prettier than the northern part of the river which where I normal fish from South Elgin to Algonquin. The southern Fox probable got more fish too. Maybe, that is why Eric has been catching lots of them, not to discount his skills and knowledge. I'll have to get myself down to the Montgomery areas and explore a little this coming year. Yes, we have a lot of carps in the Fox. I have hooked into many of them while fishing for smallmouth. They are good fighting fish, especially with a 6wt or 7wt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Gillio Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Awesome rod colt. You do some fine work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike G Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Great work! The X Factor is catching fish on gear you built yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryne Posted December 3, 2011 Report Share Posted December 3, 2011 beautiful, if you want to build a new rod and dont want that anymore. Ill take it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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