Upon returning from my recent trip to Papua New Guinea for monster GT, I decided it was time to replace a few rod tips. The bobbin, PR knot, puts a tremendous amount of pressure of the rod tips and guides along with the drag burning runs put on my these brutes! Upon looking at options, I contacted Randy "Buzz" Butters who owns B & B Custom Fishing Rods located in Ripon, Wisconsin.
Also, I decided to replace the tips and all the guides on some quality TFO TFD Big Fish spinning rods which were designed by friend, Larry Dahlberg. The spinning rod models were never set into production but friend, Jim Shulin, of TFO put me onto a few of these blanks. Buzz is a rod building instructor for Mud Hole Custom Tackle. After numerous discussions with the staff at Mud Hole and myself we decided to replace the guides with high quality FUJI Titanium SIC (Silicone Carbide) guides. The other option would be high quality FUJI Torzite guides. The main difference between these guides is the Torzite is about 30% lighter than the SIC guides and about $100 higher in price.
To replace all the guides and tip on a 7 1/2 foot spinning rod will cost over $250 without labor for the SIC parts whereas the Torzite will run over $350. So, when guys notice that high quality GT rods like Ripple Fisher cost in excess of $900, the Torzite guides are the main part of the cost. Also if you notice one of your favorite GT rod is lighter than other, odds are it is the guides.
Buzz Butters can handle all custom fishing rod building and repair. You can find him on Facebook at BbCustomRods or give him a shout at 920-896-3132 or email rodmaker@dotnet.com
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