[An unsolicited pitch on Swift’s Epic 376 Ready to Wrap kit.]
Wanna Build That First Rod at Home?
Within two years of throwing my first painfully awkward attempt at a fly cast in a SLC school yard, my fly fishing mentor and I scrounged up enough cash to buy a couple of blem blanks (Sage RPL 9’ 6wts) from our local dealer’s bargain bucket (yep, a literal bucket).
That rod was fished hard and served me well until bounced out of the boat by an SOB on the Snake in GTNP. You always miss your first when they’re gone…
Recently I’ve had a chance to cast one of Swift’s Epic 376 rods (a factory build) – a delicate 7’6” 3 weight with such a nice soft touch it almost brought tears. Two casts with it and I was instantly transported up to a magical place, high on Fan Creek’s headwaters, throwing little bitty hoppers to cutties so naive there should be a law against even fishing ‘em.
Swift puts together a pretty nice kit with all you need to wrap and finish one of these bad boys at home – if you’re new to the rod building game and bewildered by the array of component options, consider giving one of these a spin.
Looks like the perfect Christmas gift to me if a rod’s on somebody’s wish list.
