Well, we went “live” on the CCR website and in good Navy fashion … I ended up deploying for a month on short notice due to the earthquake and relief efforts in Haiti. You see, on top of being a CCR rod-builder and running the business end of CCR, I fly a SH-60B helicopter for the Navy.
Needless to say, we don’t live “idle” lives in the Yerger family. Shortly before I left, I finally got around to building a matched set of rods for myself. With all the business preparations and building of other folks rods, I just wasn’t able to piece together any time for “extra curricular” rod-building. That said, I finished the first of the pair shortly before deploying and have the second rod prepped and ready for final epoxy – which I’ll be doing tomorrow evening.
I did have a few minutes late this afternoon and tried out rod #1 on the water. All I can say is, “Wow! There’s nothing like a fine-tuned, custom-fit fishing rod … 100% matched for the individual. Talk about smooth and comfortable casting! I can’t wait to get the second rod finished and out on the water as well.” Once I finish the second rod, I’ll post pictures for all to see.
Both rods are built on 7 foot G Loomis P-8400 popping rod blanks and use American Tackle solid titanium “Ring-Lock” guides. The difference between the two rods is that rod #1 is built with double-foot guides and rod #2 has a combination of both double-foot and micro rod guides. I purposely built the two rods exactly the same except for the micro guides so that I could do some “in-house” comparison testing … I want to see for myself if the “hype” regarding micro guides is fact or fiction.
Do micro guides improve rod performance? They are smaller, lighter, and have a whole heap of performance claims backing them … but I’m going to put ‘em to the test. If they are as good as folks say they are, and the CCR tests prove it … well, you’ll be the first to know and we’ll get them on the “Build-A-Rod” page as a guide set option. But let’s not count our chickens just yet … Rod #2 will be finished in a day and cured … just in time to get out on the water this upcoming weekend. So stand by and we’ll pass the results of our “field tests” ASAP. Fish safe and have fun!
Tags: American Tackle guides, Double-foot guides, field testing rods, G Loomis, Micro Guides