Just dropped off by UPS! Build performed by
@FlyHunt of ProLite Rods in Olympia.
The last couple of years, I've been wanting a very specific 12wt rod to have on-hand on my tuna trips I take in my boat. The vast majority of my fishing on stops is with Shimano Trevala jigging rods, which in all honesty may be my favorite type of fishing, period. But... there are times and situations where getting the 12wt to them is what myself or someone with me craves.
One thing I've learned over the last few years is that trolling a fly back in the prop wash may be the single most effective way to catch fish on the troll. Something about the way a sinking fly line gives action to a fly behind the boat just gets the job done. So that is how these get used a lot of the time. But once a school is found and we stop on them, tossing those flies out to blitzing schools is quite a rush.
So... what I've been wanting is a GLASS rod, and one that's shorter than I've seen on the market. There just plain aren't a lot of 12wt glass rods out there, and even less that are 8' and shorter. I was finally tipped off to the Caterpillar 23 blanks, which come in an 8' 12wt. With no further research beyond "glass blank in the size I want," I hit the order button and it was on the way from Germany.
(While we're on the topic, you can expect a generous tarriff bill when you order one of these)
I immediately hit up
@FlyHunt after seeing some of his work previously to see if he'd do the work, and he enthusiastically agreed. So we picked out some components, I sent him the blank and carbon grip I'd picked out, and left him to do his thing with minimal input from me beyond letting him know my color scheme ideas. Oh, I also asked him if he could chop the 8' blank down to 7'6" - and he did! Thus the label saying both "1280" and "7'6" - it's a 1280 blank chopped down.
Sidebar discussion: I meant to order the black/dark gray colored blank but accidentally ordered the ivory. Goal was to have a color scheme inspired by an albacore.
Without further ado, here is the new toy. Any further questions about the build can go to the guy who built it
(photographing rods is hard)
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