Cashion icon chatterbait rod good and bad

[kandybass]

If recommended putting on a good tip. Even a Fuji Alconites only cost $5 for a tip top.. I’d also recommend taking a Q-tip and going through each guide to see if there’s any more burrs you need to be aware of. The 8lb line test is ok, but may not pick up on some stuff that loose cotton would.

Cashion is what got me started into rod building. Their blanks are great, but quality control is fairly poor..

I figured I could build a better rod with the blanks, handles, and guides that I wanted and have control over the epoxy, for cheaper than what it would cost for the same priced factory rod.

how many rods did you have to build to offset the initial costs? Curious as I’ve been looking at building my own.

[ECobb91]

how many rods did you have to build to offset the initial costs? Curious as I’ve been looking at building my own.

Short answer: it depends on the quality of the rod components you use.. I started with a turn key kit from Mudhole that came with all basic materials/equipment and a rod kit (blank, guides, handle, etc). A similar kit is about $200.

As an example, I’ve built quite a few rods on St Croix SCII blanks with upgraded components of what a premier uses. My cost was about $120 (including tax and shipping).. only about $40 savings..

ive built on a couple SCIV blanks which are the same as the previous gen Legend Tournaments, with better guides for about $90 less than a current model Legend Tournament.

then theres NFC, which is Gary Loomis’ company. I built a casting rod with an NFC Xray blank with SiC guides for $185. Essentially a copy of a Loomis GLX with the same guides and equivalent (or better) blank for $365 less than what GLXs retail for.

I’ve also built a fly rod using an NFC F904-2 Classic, for about $150. A comparable rod is an older Loomis IMX that was around $500 retail. So another $350 less..

now that said, i do it because i like it. I enjoy it as a hobby and its just cool to fish with something you built. You can make it as simplistic, or intricate, as you want. If you consider the time as money, and warranties play a big part in choosing a rod, then I’d say stick with factory rods. There’s almost no warranties on blanks that even are comparable to factory builds.