Rod Components
Reel Seats
Reel seats are available in up and down-locking screw winch and sliding bands. I normally use screw winch reel seats on rods #5 weight and above and sliding band reel seats on lighter rods.
Depending on client preference reel seats are sourced from Snake Brand, Bellinger, Joel Lemke or REC in nickel-silver for freshwater use. If a rod is to be used in salt or brackish water (great bream and flathead rods) I use aluminium reel seats from Snake Brand, Lemke or REC.
Unless otherwise requested all reel seats use Australian native wood inserts. Our native woods are available in a range of beautiful figured and coloured forms and I hand-turn the inserts from resin-stabilized blanks and finish them with multiple coats of Tru-Oil gunstock finish, hand-rubbed between each coat with a final application of gunstock wax. A little time consuming but the final product is totally impervious to water with a deep lustre.
A range of the wood inserts is shown here and I can quickly obtain other woods as required.
My favourites are:
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Blackheart Sassafras and Spalted Myrtle from Tasmania,
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Coolibah and Bimble Box from Queensland,
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York Gum and Salmon Gum from WA,
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Red and Brown Mallee from South Australia, and
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Black Mulga and Ringed Gidgee from Central Australia.
Many of the figured blanks are cut from burls on the trees, a non-destructive harvesting technique, while others are cut from the lignotubers of the mallee species. Exotic woods can be supplied on request.
Grips
All grips are turned in-house from the finest Portuguese flor-grade cork I can find. Rods up to #4 are usually fitted with a half-wells grip while rods #5 and above have a modified full-wells grip. A cigar shaped grip can be supplied on request as can other shapes you may like.
Winding check
All rods are fitted with a nickel silver winding check in either dark or bright nickel silver. Aluminium is substituted for salty conditions.
Rings
Good quality, correctly sized and placed rings are fundamental to good casting performance. I use the best rings I can obtain and use the sizing and spacing chart developed by Tom Morgan from extensive testing.
Rings available are:
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Snake Brand Universal snake guides in chrome or black nickel finish, or
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single or double foot REC Recoil rings in chrome or black finish.
Stripper rings
I usually fit the low profile, traditionally styled Mildrum rings with a tungsten carbide centre but these can be replaced with Snake Brand or REC Cercoil strippers . Agate strippers with rings coloured to match the rod are available at extra cost (about $35).
Whippings
Unless requested, all rods are whipped with high quality silk thread, plain or tipped with contrasting colour. I keep an extensive range of colours so the choice is yours.
Finish
Whippings are usually finished with multiple layers of low-bulk two-part epoxy but can also be finished using high-quality spar varnish for those who prefer a more traditional look.
Hook keepers
Hook-keepers are available upon request at no additional charge
Particular requirements
My objective is to provide clients with the rod they want so I am happy to mix and match to meet your needs. If there is a particular blank you want, I will do my best to obtain it though sometimes this will add to the wait.
