Complete Saltwater Kit

I was recently commissioned to do a complete Saltwater Kit for Simon Fairhurst.

The Kit Includes the following:

1 x "Plano Type" Rod Tube
1 x Big Pit Reel Carry Case
2 x Shimano Stella 20 000 Reels loaded with 80lb Tuffline Braid
1 x Calstar GF770XH 6'6" Jigging Stick
1 x 10' Purglass Popping Stick in 3-4oz
2 x Sage Xi3 12wt 9' Fly Rods
1 x Shilton SL7 Reel loaded with Airflo Tropical Di7 Fast Sink Line
1 x Shilton SL7 Spare Spool loaded with Airflo Tropical Intermediate
2 x Custom Rod Tubes for the Sages



Purglas Surf Popper

Candy Apple Red Purglas 10' 3-4oz
Fuji K Series Guides in Gunsmoke with SiC Rings
Fuji Deluxe Spinning Seat
Quick Clip Hook Keeper

Calstar Jigging Stick 

Calstar GF770XXH Blank
Fuji K Series Guides with Titanium frame and SiC Rings
Aftco Aluminium Reel Seat
Nylon Butt with Dual Slot Aluminium Gimball

Apologies if you see some dust on the rods. I cleaned it, but going in and out of the rod bags, they tend to pick up dust.


Sage Xi3 12wt 9'0 Fly Rod in Blue

Sage Xi3 12wt 4 piece blank
Alps Triangular Reelseat in Gunsmoke
American Tackle DCRLS Typhoon Spin/Cast Guides as Strippers
Pac Bay Chrome Snake Guides
Popeye Blue with Metallic Blue Trim Wraps
Fullwells Cork Grip
Cork Fighting Butt and Fighting Handle

Sage Xi3 12wt 9'0 Fly Rod in Black

Sage Xi3 12wt 4 piece blank
Alps Triangular Reelseat in Black
American Tackle BTRLS Typhoon Spin/Cast Guides as Strippers
Pac Bay TiCh Snake Guides
Black with Metallic Blue Trim Wraps
Fullwells Cork Grip
Cork Fighting Butt and Fighting Handle

And last but not least a close up of the rod tube

Thanks for looking.

Test Run On Modified Tenkara

I recently built a 13ft Modified Tenkara to be able to fish on the Vaal river. The main objective was to target Yellowfish, our Indigenous Carp on a fixed line. I wanted to see if it would be possible to land them on only 18ft of line. I had friends tell me beforehand that it's impossible. What would you do if it decided to go downstream? What would you do if you foul hook one? Would the rod thats slightly heavier than a fly rod not wear you out? Would you be able to land the fish on 6lb tippet? Won't the rod break?

Well all those questions got answered. I did land fish on a fixed line of only 18ft. What I did realise is that I could go lighter and I am now working on a lighter model. Now I am not happy that I foul hooked the two Yellows, but I am pleased that I was able to land them.

Here is a video clip that I shot of the outing. Apologies for the poor quality but I am still trying to figure out the conversions to upload to Youtube.

Thanks for watching.

2 x Orvis Superfine Touch 1wts - Part 1

I just completed 2 x Superfine Touch 1wt 7'6" rods.

This post will be photo heavy so I will try and split it up.

Specs:
Orvis Superfine Touch 1wt 7'6" 4 piece blanks
Grey and Blue Grey Thread
Fuji BMNAG Strippers
Pacbay Lite Wire Snakes in Black
Palmgrip with anodized aluminium sliding ring and concealed hood
Rod finished off with matte clear coat.
Aluminium Rod Tubes Powdercoated and fitted with my Signature Series Endcaps in black with Lazer Etched Engraving

Well here is the Blue Grey One I did for Gordon Van Der Spuy.

2 x Orvis Superfine Touch 1wts - Part 2

Here is the one I did in grey for Phil Martin

2 x Orvis Superfine Touch 1wts - Part 3

This is the final part of this build.

I decided to take some close ups of the rod tubes.

I am very pleased with the finish on these two tubes. I like the colour and the black endcaps really does compliment this build very well.

Thanks for looking

Old School Rod Tube

I was recently commissioned to do a custom rod tube.
The brief was simple.
A pink tube, with some type of flowers and a purple Beetle.

So after some emails finalizing the artwork and deciding on the pink, we decided to go with the following:

2" Aluminium Tube Painted 1957 Oldsmobile Pink
Beetle, Sage and Flowers graphics done with vinyl
Tube finished off with a matte/satin clear coat
My Signature Series Endcaps Lazer Engraved as per client's specification.

Well this is how it turned out....

Scott G Series 6'6" 3wt

Scott Rods has always been one of my favorite brands out there. This little 3wt is a delight to fish and casting out a small dry with this rod is almost poetic. It still gets plenty of time out on the water and it will continue to be one of those rods, I just have to fish when I am in the Berg.

World's Only 9' 1-3wt Scott

Here we have a limited edition Scott thats actually an 8'. Stephen Boshoff turned it into an 9' by adding the butt extension. This rod is able to handle anything from a 1-3wt line with ease. The remarkable thing about this rod is the fact that it has the first ever Palmgrip on it. Another classic from yesteryear and it will remain classic and timeless for years to come.

Ed Herbst's Cable Tie Grip Scott

This rod, designed and built by Cape Town split-cane rod builder Stephen Boshoff is, by any standards, an innovative solution to the perennial small stream fly fishing requirement of light weight and no fish-scaring flash. It is characterized by its unusual cable tie grip, the exposure at the rod butt of the blank and its matte khaki finish. It was built for Ed Herbst and was described by him in an article on Tom Sutcliffe’s website:
http://www.tomsutcliffe.co.za/fly-fishing/friend-s-articles/item/144-ed-herbst-in-search-of-the-ultimate-small-stream-fly-rod.html

Uncle Ed believes that by minimising rod flash you will most certainly improve your catch rate on our shallow and clear mountain streams
The finish has come off here and there but it certainly adds that timeless feel to this classic.

Stephen Boshoff, who was the custodian of this rod, has with Ed’s permission, given it to me. I will fish it once and then I will retire it to a permanent exhibition on my study wall along with a few of Ed’s innovative fly patterns.

http://www.tomsutcliffe.co.za/fly-fishing/fly-tying/item/244-ed-herbsts-six-pack-of-flies.html

Below Ed Herbst, the original owner poses with a beautiful Rainbow Trout caught on this Gem of a rod.

Note the cable ties keeping the reel in place. Adds a new dimension to the term minimalist.

Not So Silent Assassin

Just after Christmas Tony from Ultimate Angling brought me his Assassin for a revamp.He was not sure what exactly he wanted, but he wanted something in the line of a bling rod. We went through a catalog filled with components and I made some suggestions, we also discussed a theme for the rod and we both concluded that the Gospel Fish Symbol would point the way.

This is what the rod looked like before I stripped it.

Specs of the new rod build

Blank : Assassin 5-6oz Medium HMG

Paint : Three stage paint, Candy Apple red.

Guides : Flip Down as the first in a size 25, the rest is Fuji HBSG with SiC inserts in Gunsmoke finish from #20 down to #12 with a matching Tip Top and a ring size of 16.

Thread : Gudebrod Scarlet in D with a red metallic spiral trim

Grip: Standard EVA sanded down a bit

Hook Keeper: 2mm Natural Anodized Aluminium Fish Head and Gospel Fish Symbol lazer cut. Note the keeper is secured between the grip and the Fuji Trigger Seat.

Decal : Digital Printed on Clear Vinyl and applied onto Coarse Silver base of Candy Apple.

Reel Seat : Fuji Deluxe Trigger Seat

Wooden Butt and Stainless Ring : This was the original I just sanded down and treated with a Standox Clear Coat.

Warning this post is photo heavy, I mean how am I supposed to choose between these pics?

After Pics...

I don't believe that you can capture the brilliance of the colour on a photo, this is one of those that you just have to see with your own eyes, but I sure tried getting the best of angles on the camera.


Thanx for looking