Greys Streamlite 3/4

Last week I ordered a Greys Streamlite reel for my new bamboo rod. It arrived this morning and I am very pleased with it. I have read that the pawl was easily broken on these reels but I know that if I do have a problem that Greys will replace the part without much hassle. The reel seat of the Greys is a bit awkward on the REC CRNS reel fitting but it does stay on and hopefully will continue to do so when fishing. I am just waiting on my Barrio fly line and then I'll be tackled up for the new season.

Building Bamboo: Part Four

As I suspected, this was the most labour intense part of the build. After a few hours, I finally got the guide feet and ferrules wrapped neatly with white Pearsall's. I am happy with the result but some wraps had a turn or two too many. Hopefully this won't be that noticeable when they are covered with Flex Coat.

It's not long until the trout season starts here. I have a box load of flies to tie first!

Building Bamboo: Part Three

I had already done all the hard work of sanding the blank to allow the ferrules and reel seat to fit so it was just a mater of mixing the epoxy resin and hardner and fitting the components. It was a relatively painless affair and took a few minutes. The trickiest part was to align the reel seat with the direction the guides were to go on.

With the epoxy allowed to cure for a few days, I have already taped on the guides. I can see the next part being more difficult: whipping on the guides.

Building Bamboo: Part Two

I had to wait a few days for the Cascamite I ordered from eBay to turn up, but when it did, I got straight to gluing the cork rings onto the blank. It was a simple enough affair.

Today I shaped the handle using a simple drill set up. I have access to a workshop and I started by making a support for the blank to protect the rod when turning the handle. I have seen a few of these set-ups online and I thought it was they way to go. After creating the V shape stands I realized that I didn't need them. I put the blank into the drill chuck at high RPM, the blank balanced itself nicely and turned straight. I got to work with 120 grit sandpaper to give the rough cigar shape and finished it with 180 grit and a final rub of 360 grit to give a nice smooth finish. I am very happy with the outcome.

Next step: Glue on the reel seat and ferrules.

Bamboo Building: Part One

I know that it is a bit late to be starting a winter project with the trout season just a fortnight away but it was necessary. I don't have any small stream fly rods anymore, only my Orvis 8 weight sits in the tackle room. I sold all the others to free up some cash for a move, which has yet to happen. Last week I decided that I would finally build myself a small stream bamboo stick. This evening I spent the guts of three hours sanding the 6'6" 3-4 weight Fosters English taper blank, that I purchased from Chapmans, to make the ferrules and reel seat fit, which they do very nicely. Next step: glue the cork.