Building some sword fishing rods! Lookin for some input

[swordfish123]

Well im FINALLY getting rid of my old Okuma 50's and the cheap rods i had them on and im gonna step into some real tackle. Im going to build the rods myself and im lookin for some input.

I know the reels are going to be (4) Shimano Tiagra 50WLRS-A.

This is what I plan on using for the rods:

Aftco or Chaos USCB2 Short Bent Butt Black/Gold
Aftco Wind-On Guides- Solid Gold OR
Winthrop Tool 50-130 Gold Ball Bearing Guides ($$ but awesome!)
Chaos Black Magic Tuna Buster 50-100 Fast Taper Blank
12'' Leather Grip with gold inlay - Biscayne Rods-- We dont fish often enough for wear and tear to be a problem with the leather.

I decided on this wrap..

Should look really good with Gold guides, especially if i go with the Winthops which are solid gold with black side caps.

I am going to triple wrap the guides and I finish the entire rod with 4 coats. I will add the boat name (Retreat) between the stripper and 2nd guide and put my name on the taper from the leather grip down to the blank in gold (Ian Miller style). Should look sharp.

I plan on building the rods to about 5'6''. 6' Rods in my opinion are too long for standup (im a pretty short guy). But I am also opposed to the really short 5' rods, i figure i'll split the difference. I am also thinking about trimming an inch off the tip to stiffen it just slightly for getting solid hookups when trolling larger marlin lures. -What do ya'll think?

I will be fishing with Braid Brute Buster belt and Stealth Harness. Just lookin for any suggestions anyone might have regarding these rods. These thigns are gonna cost me, I want to get it right the first time.
-Thanks
Captain Steve

[CaptKen]

Originally Posted by swordfish123

Well im FINALLY getting rid of my old Okuma 50's and the cheap rods i had them on and im gonna step into some real tackle. Im going to build the rods myself and im lookin for some input.

I know the reels are going to be (4) Shimano Tiagra 50WLRS-A.

This is what I plan on using for the rods:

Aftco or Chaos USCB2 Short Bent Butt Black/Gold
Aftco Wind-On Guides- Solid Gold OR
Winthrop Tool 50-130 Gold Ball Bearing Guides ($$ but awesome!)
Chaos Black Magic Tuna Buster 50-100 Fast Taper Blank
12'' Leather Grip with gold inlay - Biscayne Rods-- We dont fish often enough for wear and tear to be a problem with the leather.

I decided on this wrap..

Should look really good with Gold guides, especially if i go with the Winthops which are solid gold with black side caps.

I am going to triple wrap the guides and I finish the entire rod with 4 coats. I will add the boat name (Retreat) between the stripper and 2nd guide and put my name on the taper from the leather grip down to the blank in gold (Ian Miller style). Should look sharp.

I plan on building the rods to about 5'6''. 6' Rods in my opinion are too long for standup (im a pretty short guy). But I am also opposed to the really short 5' rods, i figure i'll split the difference. I am also thinking about trimming an inch off the tip to stiffen it just slightly for getting solid hookups when trolling larger marlin lures. -What do ya'll think?

I will be fishing with Braid Brute Buster belt and Stealth Harness. Just lookin for any suggestions anyone might have regarding these rods. These thigns are gonna cost me, I want to get it right the first time.
-Thanks
Captain Steve

I built my own very similar to your list,tiagras,had the short black gold bent, but hated them,sold them on e bay and went with the black gold short straight, never seen winthrops I went with stuart gold guides,50-80 fast taper gator glass 5' 6", haylapon hard grip,cant see your wrap pict but I went black rod,blue metalic under wrap ,black thread over the guides,with 1/8 gold gold rings to finish each guide.
I love mine,I wouldn't change a thing even if I could afford the high dollar componets.
Ken

[wahoo51]

Be carefull when cutting the tips because it will slow the action of the rod. For stand up fishing you want fast to Med-Fast. Otherwise the rod will kick your but on long fights. Another consideration is the stifness of the rod. If your going to do a lot of swordfishing you don't want a very stiff rod because you'll pull more hooks. :shock:
Good luck.

[swordfish123]

thanks for the replies guys...

CaptKen- I think what I might do is buy both straight and curved butts and see which one i like better in the harness once i get the rods built, then just return the ones i dont use. On your 5'6'' rod, how many guides did you use? The Stuart guides are great looking, how do you like them overall? I have heard from some people they are really noisy, but I dont know if that would really matter. The Wintrhops are the ultimate guides, if the rod will only need 4 guides plus a tip it will be around $300 just for the guides! :shock: go to www.winthroptool.com to check em out.

Wahoo51- Good point about the tip for swording, I'll definatly keep that in mind.

[Anonymous]

I have fished with Capt. Ken quite a few times and the rods he built are sweet and their action is great, Ken knows his chit and can build just about anything.

[CaptKen]

What I have learned about the short curved butts,Dont hold Me to it ,some is hear say.Someone told Me that 3 main ones aftco,stuart,pac bay basicly come out of the same mold.only differnce is 1 ring ,2 rings or 3 near the stamp, the prob is most rod holders mine being Lees ,they dont fit, they wear real bad right in the curve, over a long time they would wear a hole right through. Trolling they pop out from the gimbal and the rod swings around in the rod holder, I was afraid they would pop my $800.00 rod into the drink.
If I were you and and hell bent on the short curved I would look into Chaos,check TEK at reelproshop.com,They are supposed to be an inch longer in length so the curve dont end up on the edge of the rod holder.or another alternitive is a deal called a gimbal lifter,a deal you drop inside you rod holder that lifts it up an inch or 2, check meltons.
guides:I want to say I used 4 +tip ,and now that you menchoned noise your right,when letting out a bait and it goes a little slack they do make a little noise,if you put your thumb on it and let it get tight again,then continue letting it go again it will stop. never bothered Me though.
All the parts to build my rod {s} was like $200 each
I put 600 yards of Jerry Brown Hollow core #130 and 200 yard top shot of #80 mamoi diamond mono which tests out over a #100
So I have 800 yards of over #100 lb test on my 50 wides.{reelproshop.com}
I have used the in them Bahamas high speeding for wahoo pulling a 2 lb sinker at 15 knots and caught 50lbrs that you would think the reel is going to blow apart to 150lb swordfish,never a problem.
Ken

[swordfish123]

CaptKen- Im glad you listed those problems with the bent butts. I was actually just thinking about using the Chaos butts anyway becuase I like their anodizing color better than Aftco, plus they are cheaper. I dont think brand matters, If i was fighting a fish so big that butt failed, i'd call it a good day.

Again, I'll probably lean more towards the straight butt.
I also like the way you spooled up your 50w. Sounds like the way to go. We would be using them for bahamas high speed wahoo fishng and tuna/marlin/swords/shark etc.

My old rigs met their reserve on ebay today, so hopefully the selling price will start to jack up!! I got one day left, the more i get for these, the more i can put into these combos hehe.