This has been a project rod for over a year. I bought it from a friend here in Stockholm who inherited it from his father. It was originally made as a custom rod on a Sharpes 8', impregnated trout weight blank. A few guides were missing, but the rod was straight and felt promising. I sourced the missing guides of English snake type, and stripped it down completely. The original length gave the rod a slow and deep action, so I decided to shorten it from the butt and make a staggered configuration. I lawn casted it with a dummy grip, and finally decided to remove 8''. It is now a 7'4'', 5/6wt rod. To avoid unwanted movements in the blank, I decided to shorten a Bellinger cedar reel seat to get the reel closer to the hand. A long cigar grip with a continous taper allows the hand to move freely to find the perfect balance depending on reel weight. The impregnated blank was given two rounds of Tru-Oil followed by a slight buff to keep the non-reflecting surface. It was wrapped with Pearsall Gossamer Light Olive, finished with epoxy. I'm happy with the result, and this rod is now seeking a new master.
