This is one of the most special fishing rods I have build and was also built for an Special person too.
Keith contacted me on late February to ask me to build a fishing rod for his son, he gave me the colors of preference, specs of the rod and was very specific that the only other lettering he wanted on the rod was the name of his Son and a message he wanted to be on the fishing rod, then he stopped answering my texts and calls and we all know the reason :'(
anyway, I had all the information I needed to build the fishing rod so, the order had to continue as it was required.
he just told me to use a blank that could be used for 3000 sized Shimano spinning reels and something around those sizes, he let me choose the blank brand and the rest of the components as well as the color combination to use between the colors he gave me as the options that his Son might like the most on a fishing rod.
the blank is an American tackle travel rod MagBass AT843-3 7ft 10-17lb 1/4-3/4oz lure, guides are Fuji KL and fuji LDB as running guides and tiptop
the reelseat is AT APex G2 and I build the "insert"/color that show on the reeleseat vents to match perfectly with the rest of the color on the guide wraps.
the fishing rod is right now on its way to Keith's son Lucas, I wish Keith could have seen it.
hopefully his son will like it and use it
it was an honor to be part of this special gift from Keith to his son, he told me how much he loved him, that's why he was very specific on the message on the rod.
as normally I will post lots pictures of the fishing rod, at.com ohana members will see it before Lucas, hopefully no one show it to him before having it on his hands and ruin the surprise :D
few more pics
last ones.
it might not sound good coming from me but I liked a lot that blank and also the finished rod :-X
I might build something similar for my personal arsenal to carry on my car, it should be fun to fight angry triggerfish or spotted bay Bass from the shore with that rod and 2500-3000 sizes reels.
this fishing rod carry its own rod sox by the house brand of the builder ::) 8)
Nice job Alex.
Tight lines, Brendan.
Nice to finally get to see it. Great work.
Beautiful rod and tribute to Ohana —-
Thanks, Alex!
Best, Fred
A gift from the heart with beautiful craftsmanship!
Mike
"I ain't no new-age sensitive type a guy!" Or, at least I don't consider myself so..., but I'm touched by this. Great job Alex.
Awesome Work Amigo! :al
Wow. On many levels.
:D :D glad you guys liked it
What a story, literally the stuff movies are made of.
Thank you for taking care of our family.
FTC (SS) Jones, Ronald L (Ret)
Beautiful, although slightly heartbreaking work there Alex.
Very nicelyand clean Alex, the red under the skeleton seat is a nice touch. Clean finish too!
Great job !!
Very nice work Alex! I particularly like the contrast of the black matt graphite finish against the red of the bidings.
Beautiful travel rod Alex. Thank you for doing this.
Alex your custom threadwork and building skills are outstanding! Keep em coming Amigo
Well Alex Keith wisely choose you to build a tribute rod to his son . You have done a outstanding job as usual . The rod sock is a nice touch also ...
Quote from: oldmanjoe on April 19, 2023, 12:39:52 PMWell Alex Keith wisely choose you to build a tribute rod to his son .
:D :D
thanks Joe.
from the many options of rod builders he might have meet on all these years working on reels and fishing in many places, it was an honor to me to be chosen to help him with that special gift.
:d :d :d :d
It was a moving and very heartfelt service. The family was amazed at how important we were to Keith, and how important he was to us. Alex, your rod was the final gift from Keith to his son.
Quote from: alantani on April 23, 2023, 02:25:03 AMAlex, your rod was the final gift from Keith to his son.
thanks Alan for all the help to make it happen.