[Sandy Nelson]

Hi Guys

I've just finished the first of my winter projects, been sitting on the blanks for a while, but i finally got round to putting it together, forgot how much i enjoy building a rod , belive it or not it has been 18 months since the last one . I've another 3 to do so will have heaps more fun.

This is a Saltwater Spec 5wt, for fishing for the smaller fish around here, and perhaps for that trip to Christmas Island if i can find a window (2012 is looking good, i hope!)



I've got a nice 5wt Line for it so i can go play on the grass as well, to keep my distance hand in too.

Cool

Sandy

[stickleback]

Nice one Sandy    I see you've used your chequerboard tool near the top of the handle to give a very nice subtle effect.

Happy hunting !

[Mike Barrio]

Looking nice Sandy ..... very nice!

Cheers
Mike

[Hamish Young]

Not lost the knack Sandy, looks nice.... for a Sage 

H 

[Irvine Ross]

Aye,  nae bad min.
Nae sure aboot the colour o the blank though. A nice Winston blue wid be mair te my taste, ye ken.

Keep up the good work Sandy

Irvine

[Sandy Nelson]

Winston Blue

 

The kryponite green grows on you The Green Cork works well though
I've tried a few experimental handles now, varying degrees of subtlety but this one is the only one
that looks nice enough to fit to a rod, so i did. it will be interesting to see how the laminated section stands up to hard use, the theory is good and it should be extremely strong and won't compress, so we'll see

Sandy

[Matt Henderson]

Very Nice Sandy.  It reminds me I must get on with building one of the three blanks I've got hiding in the cupboard!

[Barry Robertson]

Nice looking bit of Kit Sandy, very tidy looking 
If your short of a project Iam always on the look out for a new sage 

[Rob Brownfield]

Get yaself to the beaches around Tutong with that rod. There are some interesting Mullet like fish that cruise around just at the back of the breakers. I have no idea what there natural food is but they will take breadflake. Maybe a "fly" dressed with 2/3rds white Marabou and 1/3 tan to look like crust??

They go to about 5 pounds (Have seen them to around 8 pounds in the fish market at KB) and would be amazing fun on the fly!!!

You get them around Panaga and Seria too but not in the same numbers.  Usually in pods of 4-10 fish and its normally their shadows that you spot.

[Sandy Nelson]

Something like this then



With a little bit of ground bait, its a lot of fun, but they are bloody hard to hook.

Funnily enough the Mullet are one of the reasons i wanted the 5wt, them and the Bass/Perch thing i keep catching (think short Barra with normal eyes)

Good stuff

Sandy

[Rob Brownfield]

So you found them already...I should have guessed..lol. I used to fish freelined crust for them on a light Avon rod I think I was lucky to get one fish for every 20 takes..lol

As for the "Bass/Perch" things, what size and colour are they? I used to take Siamese Tigers   that look like a cross between a Bass and a Perch and are olive/gold with black bars or there was the Target Bass which looks like a Perch in silver but when you look down on it from above it has three concentric black circles centered on its dorsal fin. Never had one above a couple of pounds. Could only find a poor picture of a very young one

[Sandy Nelson]

None of those Rob.

more like this, the Aussies call them Bream, the ones i've been getting look like this but with plain coloured fins

http://www.saltwaterflyfishing.com.au/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1239&stc=1&d=1198031169

Cheers

Sandy

[Sandy Nelson]

Had my new toys out on the grass this morning.

Well impressed with the 5wt TCX, this is the sweetest 5wt i've cast to date, i can do everything with it, from all the tricks to consistantly putting out 100ft +, all without much effort. Awesome piece of kit.
I love my 9wt one and the 7wt is growing on me all the time, but this 5 wt is a belter. Would throughly recommend building one, if you want a light fast 5wt that will do anything you ask of it.

I tried a few lines out on it too and that was very interesting indeed
I bought a couple of Sharkskin Magnums in 5 wt/4wt while in OZ as they are supposed to be good in the heat, even though they are not tropical spec. I can vouch for the fact that they do not wilt However despite being a great line it is very noisy although the taper gives you great control. I ran it back to back with my GT140 line and the GT140 also stood up to the heat as well as the Magnum (which i wasn't expecting ) but was a much nicer line to cast, smooth and quiet. Back to Back the GT140 was the better line, have to get the orange one when i'm home.
I also ran the Standard Mallard through in WF5 and although it softened a little it was still castable and all the usual attributes of being great at curves etc, shone through.
I did this experiment against my beloved S4 905 (which i think is an awesome 4wt ) and it confirmed to me that the TCX is a much better allround 5wt (Especially with a GT140 line.) Might have to build another one now in freshwater spec

However my next blank is going to be a TCX 4wt which i intend to build in Freshwater spec, so i'll have a good comparison test with the S4. It will be interesting to see the GT140 against the Magnum, in 4wt as well so watch this space.
If it is as accurate a 4wt as the 5wt is a 5wt then it should be a great match up against the S4 this is all of course just my opinion

Sandy

[Rob Brownfield]

How much are you paying for a blank over there? £331 is the cheapest I can find a 5 weight TCX here

As for the fish, could not see the image as I am not a forum member, but if its "Bream like" I know the things you mean. Used to see shoals of them when diving of the gas platforms and the old oil rig thats connected to the beach by the walkway at Seria (if its still there) used to be a hotspot for them. Also nice Coral Trout and Grouper if you fished directly under the platform, right inbetween the legs.

Have you tried any "freshwater" flyfishing yet? Some interesting fish to be taken on small dries and inch long fry patterns

[Sandy Nelson]

As for the fish, could not see the image as I am not a forum member, but if its "Bream like" I know the things you mean.

oops I'll have to find another image.
The old rig at seria is long gone as is the walkway.
You are not allowed within 500m of the rigs for fishing and it's enforced by several high speed police boats.
More than my jobs worth, unfortunatley

too make you sick I got the blanks at $405au and brought them back with me
so avoided the delivery

all the freshwater round here is either polluted with raw oil . Apparently it's not, but it takes me a several hours to clean it off whenever I try so I tend not to belive them or it has a healthy population of crocs, again they don't cut down the forest in Brunei but all the logging is dispacing the crocs and forcing them downstream. If you catch my drift

I imagine some things may have changed since you were here, the pace probably hasn't 

will try to get some pictures of the fish

sandy




 

[Sandy Nelson]

Something like this

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:z48PyjJqOxTIOM::fishwrecked.com/content/fishwreckapedia&t=1&usg=AFrqEzeNi3KnUDyaekTZU-fSQphszTe9rQ

they like little poppers

sandy

[Rob Brownfield]

Thats a real shame about the freshwater fishing. I must have spent hundreds of hours fishing off the road bridge on the main Panaga to Seria road. Lots of Channel Cats, Siamese Tigers, Gouramis, Climbing Perch and all manner of things I cannot name.

Another favourite place was at the Yacht Club on the KB river, fishing off the jetty.

Then there was the various Sungis that run around the back of the houses in Panaga. Dapping a fly using a Japanese "whip" was great fun! Tutong River was another fav as well as the river that cuts across the Labi Road.

Crocs were always seen just upriver of KB. Great fun when I was learning to waterski there..lol.

As for the picture of the fish, yip, thats the ones I was thinking of. We would tie up to the platform (AMPA field normally) and use a Jigging rod and small multiplier and fish small pirks with a couple of feathers/shrimps above them. The fish were great cooked on a BBQ on the beach .

Looks like Health and Safety may have finally caught up with BSP

[Rob Brownfield]

Oh, the blank...good price. Cass is off to the US an a few weeks so maybe she will be kind enough to bring one back, I have found them for $398 US from Mudhole, but the Orvis Helios is $311 so in a dilema..lol.

[Sandy Nelson]

Nice dilemma
having cast both, I'd go for the TCX if you want a 5 wt
it really is a cut above IMHO
once up to 6+ things get a little different
but the heavier TCX do feel a little bit more beefy and I like that
Helios can be a bit girly and the Sage is definatley faster
 pity you can't can't a try of one first

sandy

[Rob Brownfield]

I have tried the 5 weight Helios (mid flex and tip) and really liked it (mid more so). I have the 4 and 5 weight Zero Gravity (tip) so dont really need another 5 but you know what its like when you see nice new things

I have to say that the Helios does feel a bit "girly" in the 9 weight I have BUT, I have done a few silly things with it, such as casting an 11 weight WF sinking line all day, heavy leadcore shooting heads, played several good Pike very hard on Menteith etc and its done everything I have asked of it...so far..lol.

But I do like Sage I may go for an 8 weight as I have a few "salty" conquests on my list this year and a hard punching 8 weight is required for where I am planning to fish.