Ultimate Kayak Fishing: My Rod Rebuild Project. - Ultimate Kayak Fishing

I have a number of large surf rods, fly rods and lighter spinning rods. My problem was I didn’t have a rod that “fit” the kayak.

I have a 7’ 10” spinning rod, factory made, with a factory installed reel seat. I like the action of this rod and use it for fishing for school bass. The problem with this rod was that the reel seat places the reel 19” from the butt. Nice length for fighting fish from the beach but to long for the yak.

My other “shorter” spinning rod is just to light for turning fish when needed. I lost a snook because I didn’t have the “backbone” to pull it out of the mangroves. The other fish that broke off was a red fish that decided to run under the yak. My rod was too short to “steer it” around the front of the yak and again not enough backbone to stop it from running under the yak.

After having two fish break off I knew I needed to do something. I have (now had) an 11’ 6” surf rod that I have never used, I am not even sure when I got it. It must have been a yard sale “steal” because it was missing guides and the tip top. Since I have never used this rod I figured it was a good candidate for a make over.



First I measured out and marked the rod at 7 feet, 7.5 feet and 8 feet.






I wasn’t sure what length I would want the rod and it is easier to cut more off, if wanted, then trying to glue it back together . Also I wasn’t sure what the result would be cutting the rod so I started at the 8 foot length. I wrapped tape around the blank and cut through the tape and rod with a hacksaw, going slow and taking my time. Thankfully it cut cleanly.

Right after the cut



And with the tape and dust removed



I now have an 8 foot rod with a couple of old guides on it and a nice 3.5 foot fiberglass handle. I am looking at this section as a possible gaff handle – another project for another day.



My plans right now are to save money and for this rod to be a “working rod”, not a show rod. Based on this the handle is going to be wrapped with cork tape. A call to Mudhole Custom Tackle answered my questions and gave me the info to start putting together an order for the parts for the rebuild. I figure I can purchase all of the necessary components for under $40.00. Also since I need to be in Somerset, NJ for the fly fishing show it will be a while before this rod is completed. My plan is to post updates as the project progresses.

mac,

The hacksaw worked much better than I thought it would

While I do agree that another rod is a VERY important addition to your arsenal you may want to consider a table to put between the chairs you're using for sawhorses.

Don - a table?? - I'm a bachelor what use would I have for a table??

When I got back from the Fly Fishing Show in Somerset my rebuild supplies from Mudhole were waiting for me. Unfortunately work has been busy so it has taken me a while to find some time to work on the rod.

Started out by marking the location of the few eyes left on the rod. I did this mostly to mark the "correct" side to install the new guides on.



Once I got the locations marked I stripped off the old eyes. To expedite the process I chucked a toothpick into my drill and used that to unwind the thread.



Once the old eyes were removed I cleaned the rod and taped the new eyes into their temporary location. The reason I say temporary is that this will be trail and error to see if I like the length of the rod.



I tried the rod the other day with the reel just taped to the blank without any type of reel seat. The eyes seem to be placed correctly and the the length worked okay. The only problem was that I didn't catch any fish with it. So I am not sure guide spacing is correct and since there wasn't anything for the reel to sit on it moved around on the rod.

So for now the guides are still "temporarily taped" in place but I add cork tape for the handle.



On Friday, if the weather cooperates, IusetoRockFish, myself and GoldFishGoddess are going to met a friend of hers and do some fishing. Hopefully I will get a chance to give the rod a real test. If I have a chance to test it on fish then it will help me to decide if the length is what I want and if the guides are really spaced correctly.

What are you going to use for a reel seat?

If you use a plate type you can temporarily attach it to the rod with hose clamps while testing for the reel location that pleases you.