I have been quietly developing a few details...
The reel seat hardware (nickel silver) will be made by me and of my own design. The wood inserts will be unique, a couple a really nice woods are in the shop now... Karelian birch, koa, and black walnut.
The rod appointments will also change a little, the winding check (nickel silver) will be made by me and of my own design. The stripping guide is handmade in the USA, they are pure class. There will be a couple of guide wrap options to chose from, and there will be more color in the whole package!
This all comes at a price... a price increase will be necessary and justified. Production will be very limited, there will be a lot more steps (from my hands) to the process. I'm waiting for a few items to be made for me (tooling) and I'm in the process of making a few tools myself... once all that gets together, I'll share a little more. I plan to debut the changes at Michiglass this June.
Here's a color change to the blanks. The tapers remain the same, perfect actions and balance. Each model was developed for its intended use, but they do share at least one similar trait... they talk to you on the first cast.
It is little more than a month until Fred unveils his lineup of exquisitely casting rods with his new components and blank color changes in Michigan at our Michi-Glass-N-Grass gathering being held June 24th and 25th. I hope to see some of you who have expressed interest in his rods as well as all of the other makers rods usually represented here. This is a great opportunity to cast and review many rod models from all of the current makers and builders from throughout the world without having to "pull the trigger" on a lot of them to see what they're like.
Hope to see you there.
Mark.