This winters builds
 

I have 2 cts blanks on order, 11’ VT 3-6 & 4-8. I’m already thinking about guide layouts for those. I might try the RVs.

2 cts flyrods 9 & 10wts will be some.

And finally, a few conventional boat rods that have been half done for 2 years. Maybe I will get to finish them this year.

I loved my cts vt 4-8, rod threw loaded redfins to 6oz and whole 18” eel while shark fishing.

Heard the 3-6 is a great rod as well, couple buddies have it and love it
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Those RV guides worked well on a couple 9 & 10' rods with VS & VR150. See no reason with the 25 pushed out 34-36" a 2.5 - 2.75" spool wouldn't work. I have a CTS 903-1 to build and. 10' 1003-1. Not for me but a friend. I think he's using ZB22.
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Only have a few rods planned

Lami honey 136, cut to 10’6” going to build it for a drilled out custom penn I scored, will be a nice beach/back bay pencil rod/metal lip/soft plastics

Looking at the ODM nex1 11’ 2-6 as a possible build for the surf

Need to build some designated canal rods, century 1329 and ODM jigster
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I have an old 40+ 1363m cut to 10'6". Was my first rod wrap redo. It's a beast. Use it now very sparingly for chunking. No reel seat and 6 guide cone of flight. Started out as my plugging but no longer as these arms age.
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I have the odm nex1 3/4-4 and it is a very nice rod.

The rod that I’ve been using most of the fall was a ~11’6” 2-4 VT. It was formerly 12’ that I absolutely hated. Way too light at the tip. I ended up taking about 6” off the tip and luckily that worked.
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Drew what size tip tube did u end up using after the cut? I cut back a members 4-8 which snapped the tip off. Once I got back to a non shredded spot then proportioned the second guide distance , I ended up using a #9 tube tip. I feels beefier but not like a telephone pole. I feel this may be an improvement over the stock dimention , especially with heavier loads. The length decreased by approximately 5".

I think it was a 7 to start and then an 8 after trimming.
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i just oredered the components for this. both blanks will have rv set-ups (rv25-16) then kw10-kw/kt8 for runners. the 3-6 will have the kt, the 4-8 the kw.

Interested how the big spools cast thru the 25. I have an extra kw10m for the third reduction guide.
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the 10 above is actually a 'm'.

the one that i did for a vs200 last year is fine, that was 25-12-8m-8 runners.

some of the guides are on backorder. i'm hoping that the blanks ship before the holidays so i can start right after teh new year.

ps - when i was thinking about using the the kl's on the build i did last year the ring size was a concern. deep down i still think about the old cof rods, ~5 guides - 40-30-25-20-16-tip... going with the smaller guides does still seem foreign to me. a few things were 'comforting' tho. if i were using kw's i'd be starting with a 30, the kl/rv 25 is only 3.7mm shorter in overall height but the bottom of the ring is slightly higher with the kl/rv vs the kw. so, the ring size is small and the guide slightly shorter but it does keep the line a bit more off the blank.

i will play around with the builds but i think in the end casting will be at best equal and maybe better than the kw.

but it still doesn't seem right to me. old habits die hard.

some of the components are here, still waiting on the blanks. if the blanks don't ship in ~the next week it will be after the holidays.

Should be a sweet build. I did a FiberStar for Rob with the titanium RV 's.
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I have 2, maybe 3 builds that I would like to get to this year. I have a CTS VT 4-8 blank that JLH wants as a back-up. For myself I am still considering an ODM Jigster for big stuff. I fished a factory build a few times this fall and liked the range it could throw but was not very happy with the build itself so I am hoping that building it "my way" will fix my concerns. Also been wanting to build a Lami BT 108 3M for several years but haven't been able to find one to actually put in my hands to verify that it is in fact what I want.

Toby, is the VT old 1 piece or the spigot style ?

got all the guides for the 4-8 (pics below). the remaining guides for the 3-6 have shipped. now all i need are the blanks... i'm guessing it will be january at this point since cts is supposed to close for the holidays.

The 1-piece blank.

1 piece. Nice. I sold my last one. Have a spigot here. I'll install spigot inside reel seat dimensions. It s the first design split at 24". Now CTS ships no lengths over 3 meters and places spigot @28". For the most parts, that should work for majority of people . Should place reel stem in the 26"range.
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Should have picked one (more) of the 1pc blanks along the wAy.
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Drew, all ti frames?

yes

That is going to feel light air. If it was a 2 piece VT,, the tip section would weigh under 3oz. Using a 200 for reel?

i'm going to try a few different reels on the 3-6: vs200, saltiga 4500 & 5500. i'm hoping to find a compromise that will work with all three reels.

from last year, for wt comparison - kw30-25-20-12-8*4-tip, torzite.

Amazing 23 gr difference. 3/4 oz.
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The handle on the 10wt is done. I'm going to do the 9wt handle next, then wrap. The cork work makes too much of a mess to have to clean up twice.

Very nice contours. I also have to make a blind to keep dust going into vac.
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I should probably do that. It makes a hell of a mess without own.

A hell of a mess...
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the handle for the 9wt is glued up. the butt and reelseat went on tonight. slowly making progress.

Still need to do a little more work but they're good enough for now.

Epoxied the 2 pieces on the VT 4-8. Used Roddancer 2 part. Solid like 1 piece. I spined the tip section and the imprint rod name seems to be on the spine. One thing I advise, remove rubber tip protector. Exhausts trapped air in blank to keeps both pieces together . I didn't realize there was a plug on tip and the 2 halves didn't like each other. LOL. Repelling like two a like magnetic poles.

I am still waiting on my vt's. I was hoping to have them by now. I should finish the first flyrod tomorrow I hope. The 9wt is up first, then the 10.

the 9wt is wrapped. the single foot snakes are a beotch to get on.

last 2

Being so thin i could see it being a bitch. How bout guide adhesive?
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My VTs are finally in. They're at the distributor, I should have them in a few days. These have the 'new' ferrules.

Still making very slow progress on the flyrods. Dragging arse this winter.

:claps:

pics of the 9wt section prior to finish. the rod is about 1oz heavier than a comparable 9wt. the cts is lighter for the tip and mid section but heavier in the butt section. that is somewhat on purpose. first, i may take the handle down a little more so the weight may change. i purposely left the handle a bit larger to better accommodate my hand. the grips on commercially available rods are a little smaller than i would like (i think).

last two. the bottom grip in the one photo compares my grip to my current favorite 9wt (CF Burkheimer).

ps - the vt's should arrive wed or thurs. i might start on one of those this weekend.

Two maybe three more builds added to my list for the winter. First up is a GSB 1321 MH for a Canal friend as he found a local source for it. Depending on how it feels I might build one for myself. Then I added the new ODM NEX1 3-8 to my builds after checking one out of the weekend at the CT Surfcasters show. It looks like the Lami BT 108 3M will be put off for another year unless I find one locally and really like how it feels as I still want to put my hands on one before buying the blank.