Interview with Rodbuilder : André, exotic fishing specialist

Dédé, talented fisherman and rodbuilder!

Hello Dédé, why did you make the choice to build your own rods? As good rods are very expensive and not always satisfactory in terms of action or assembly, I was hoping to do better by creating my own rods from scratch. In the 80s, I used to do a lot of fly fishing and I found a store in Paris (no internet at the time) specialized in fly fishing and big game fishing that sold English carbon blanks. That's how I became a rodbuilder. So I bought my first two-strand 8'6" Silk 5 blank with a reel seat, rings and a champagne cork handle. I had a lot of Pleasure with it and the rodbuilding virus was in me. I followed it up with a three-strand 10'6" Silk 4 blank to fish small rivers in the "tenkara" mode of the time. 3 m of line, a 1 m tip and only spot fishing without false casting. When I started EXO fishing, particularly in Guinea Bissau, I was quickly confronted with overpriced equipment that wasn't always suitable. That's when I decided to build my own rods, almost 20 years ago. You regularly travel abroad to practice exotic fishing. What does rodbuilding bring to the table? First of all, it's a great Pleasure to fish with your own creations. The choice of assembly materials - Eva, cork, rings, reel seat... allow you to personalize your rod and obtain a unique object. Beyond that, EXO fishing is all about casting heavy and far, and fighting hard and long. The rodbuilding allows you to fish with a rod adapted to the angler's morphology in terms of action, length and power. This is a definite advantage if you don't want your trip to turn into a permanent suffering. Finally, another significant advantage of being a rodbuilder is the price. There are blanks at every price point, and even when you opt for the "very top of the range", you'll hardly ever exceed €300. Your last trip to the Amazon made me dream... which blank did you use the most there? For the Amazon, I only use multi-strand rods, 3 or 4 strands which avoids taking along the ever cumbersome rod case. Having gained a bit of experience on my previous trips to the Amazon, I've made the choice to go down in power for my casting rods. For this trip to the Kamayuras Indians in the Upper Xingu Reserve, I mounted a 6'6"" three-strand blank, the SB 781- 3CG from Rainshadow. https://www.rodhouse.fr/fr/2-34-brins/2787-sb-781-3cg-3290000005120.html This 6/12lb blank (5/25 gr found) gave me a lot of Pleasure. I used it mainly with surface lures from 9 to 28 gr. It's a good caster, responsive, not a boner at all, with a nice progressive action and above all very powerful in combat! I've fished peacock bass, aimara and bicuda up to 7/8 kg max: a Pleasure in a fight, and so light! I sometimes pulled very hard to prevent the fish from going into the vegetation. This little rod will be on the next trip, that's for sure. By the way, did I mention that the blank is only 60€? More generally, if you had to choose just two, which blanks would you keep? Can you tell us about them? If I had to choose just two blanks... it's not easy to answer this question, so many good blanks I use. But if I had to, without hesitation : for popping, the TITAN TPX 760H from PHENIX. https://www.rodhouse.fr/fr/titan-popping/2865-tpx-760h-b.html Assembly and photos: https://www.rodhouse.fr/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=4490 Everything is said in this post, I love this blank, and having tried quite a few of the big brands, I can say that it really is a must-have. for jigging the from CRB https://www.rodhouse.fr/fr/vertical-jigging-series/1580-cbvj6060-3290000015808.html Assembly and some photos: https://www.rodhouse.fr/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=2252&hilit=vj+6060 With this blank fitted with a stella 8000 you can jig for hours without getting too tired. It animates very easily with the right amplitude a 200 gr jig, which corresponds to the majority of jigs used in Mada. I've been using it for several years and never tire of it.

What are your Assembly plans for the future?

I'm planning to ride the 781 3CG's big sister, the 783 3CG, a little more powerful, same length of 6'6" in three strands. I could use it for surface propeller lures that pull a lot on the rod. It's not currently listed on the Rodhouse store, so order by special order directly with Goulven.

If like the 781 this rod is undervalued then I think 40 gr is within its range, I'll tell you more when I get back from the Negro.