The rod I built for my dads Christmas present.

[carolina-rig-01]

I just thought the other day about how I haven't been posting pictures of the last few rods I have built. I don't know why other than I just keep forgetting. This rod here is the one I am most proud of out of all the rods I have built so far. There were a lot of things I did for the first time on this rod. It is the first rod I have used micro guides on, the first time I actually static tested for guide placement rather than just using a recipe or chart, the first time I have used cork of any kind much less burnt cork, and it's the first grip that I actually made rather than just buying a pre-made grip. I learned more on this rod build than any other rod I have built. Bubba was out of the country so he didn't get kept up to date on this one like he usually is, but Jrob got a lot of pictures of the progress and was a huge help when I ran into problems. I will readily admit that it isn't anywhere near as eye appealing as some of the rods that the other guys crank out. I love looking at the thread work those boys put down but there are two reasons I make my rods a lot more plain looking. For one thing, I haven't spent any time learning how to do the fancy wraps so my talent level isn't there to do the decorative thread work. The second reason is because I prefer my rods to weigh as little as possible as long as they still balance well. One day I might try my hand at decorative wraps but for the time being, I am really happy with simple wraps and pimping out the grips a little bit.

This rod was built on a 7' MH St. Croix SCIII blank with a moderate tip. This is a cranking stick that will be used to throw mainly squarebills. I used Fuji alconite size 4 micro guides. To dress it up a little I made the grip out of bunt cork rings which I think looked awesome! I didn't put a fore grip on this rod to further reduce weight. I did do a few trim bands in the split grip just to help balance the rod a little bit and as you can see in the picture with the reel on the rod, it balanced pretty dang perfect. The final weight of this rod is right at 4 oz. which is actually a touch heavier than I expected but it's balanced well enough that it feels much lighter than that with a reel on it. We took her out side Christmas morning and man this thing will cast a mile with very little effort and it's crazy smooth.

I am sorry for the poor quality of the pictures. I just took these on my phone to send to Jrob while it was turning after I applied the finish. I fully intended to take some good pictures with Britneys camera yesterday morning but I totally forgot and now it's at dads house.

[Bassboss]

Well by golly kory! Looks great! Love the simplicity behind it.. something I think allot of new rods lack!

[bcklash]

Sweeeeettt!!!!!!!!

[keithdog]

Man Kory, thats a really nice looking rod. I'd be happy with it for sure.

[rrw4258]

Good work Kory, the handle looks bad@ss. Looks like the balance is dead on.

Ryan

[Bryan]

Somebody alert the Feds...

carolina-rig-01 has manufactured a weapon of bass destruction.

[WaffleJaw]

Man that came out sweeeeet!..Nice job Kory!
Im very glad to see you keeping at it.....You and your Dad should be extremely proud of that!

[carolina-rig-01]

Thanks fellas, I can't wait for dad to catch a few big fish on it. I told him that I hope it wins him several second place checks next year, as long as I get the first place checks lol.

[woody]

Originally Posted by Bryan

Somebody alert the Feds...

carolina-rig-01 has manufactured a weapon of bass destruction.

A comment like this shouldn't go unnoticed. Good one, Bryan.




Looks like a killer cranking stick, well done, Kory.


-Mark

[Jrob78]

It turned out great Kory! I'm sure your dad loved it. My old man was pretty happy with the one I built for him too, thanks for the inspiration. I promise this is the last time I will say this to you, I love those grips!!

[AnglersChannel.com]

Originally Posted by Bryan

Somebody alert the Feds...

carolina-rig-01 has manufactured a weapon of bass destruction.

Nice! And what a rod!

[bamabassman]

kory....not only do you make killer jigs. but you are WELL on your way to making some absolutly awesum rods buddy. simple wraps, yes. but it looks fantastic. i too like bryan's post,lol. and like jrob said, LOVE the cork design. never seen the different colored cork like that. awesum pal. match it up with a THUNDERSTRUCK jig and the bass ain't got a chance man. congrats kory.

[F16 1UB]

Usually it's the dad doing something for the son. In this roll reversal I'm sure your dad will be very proud to accept this gift and he's more proud to have a son that thinks enough of him to make it. He'll treasure it always.

[aikenyounggun]

Sweet rod. A man of many talents you are

[BigBassin144]

Looks great Kory!

BB

[nofearengineer]

Looks great but you put the wrong sized guides on it!

Just kidding, I am very impressed...it balances really well with that reel. It should be very comfortable to fish.

[carolina-rig-01]

Thanks for the compliments everybody. Like I said I am more proud of this rod than any of the other rods I have built. Partly because it turned out so well but also because I talked so many things for the first time on this rod. This is also the first rod that I ordered all the parts for in enough time that I could take my time working on it rather than feeling rushed. It's nice being able to work on it when I want and stay away from it for a few days if I needed to.

Originally Posted by bamabassman

kory....not only do you make killer jigs. but you are WELL on your way to making some absolutly awesum rods buddy. simple wraps, yes. but it looks fantastic. i too like bryan's post,lol. and like jrob said, LOVE the cork design. never seen the different colored cork like that. awesum pal. match it up with a THUNDERSTRUCK jig and the bass ain't got a chance man. congrats kory.

Thanks John. I don't want to sound like I am against the fancy wraps that are on some of the other rods we see. I like the nice decorative wraps as much as the next guy. But they just aren't my cup of tea when it comes to what I want in a rod.

Originally Posted by nofearengineer

Looks great but you put the wrong sized guides on it!

Just kidding, I am very impressed...it balances really well with that reel. It should be very comfortable to fish.

Thanks Bryce. I really wish that you would give a rod with micro guides a fair shot, I think you would really be impressed. I know you will argue the physics of them adding distance to a cast, but you wouldn't believe how smooth they are to cast and how light they make a rod.