Latest custom rod
I got Paul Herron to build my wife a heavy rod for chasing Reds in the rough stuff. Once again he's done an awesome job.
The blank is a Black Hole Cape Cod special 250 g. The carbon wrapping of this blank is beautiful so there is no need to get too fancy with the build.
The colour scheme was primarily purple and the finish has worked really well. Guides are American tackle HTLRS with Holographic rings. The main colour of the ring is purple so it fits the theme well.
Reel seat is a Project X seat from mudhole with a purple gimbal to match.
This is the first ever combo I've fitted out where the reel is cheaper than the rod. I picked the Cabo 70 up for just over 100 bucks at a recent sale and it will be interesting to see how it goes. The components cost more than the reel! 
I took a couple of loaded up shots with 10 kilos of weight. I doubt the missus will use any more than 8 kilos of drag so this outfit is pretty much unbreakable.
I must admit until recently I was not a huge fan of parabolic rods that bent all the way through the foregrip but for heavy outfits they are a good thing with the fulcrum/lever point being closer to the body for less hurt. The parabolic curve also transfers the load throughout the rod decreasing the breakage risk.
Blank weight was 143 grams and finished rod 394 g. Pretty good considering the heavy Gimbal and reel seat for a rod with so much power. Apparently it can deadlift to 60lbs. 
Gotta love the pics of the little one helping daddy with the bend pics. Maybe the weight was more like 9.8 kilos after she had a little play 
.thumbnail.JPG "Tough on the westside today")
Brucesta
Posts: 1721
Date Joined: 29/05/09
that decorative bind looks
that decorative bind looks mint! i can't wait to start doing that myself, loving the guides too
Las Vegas - Rolling the dice and trying your luck. 1M+ Barra summer target. 100kg Black Marlin winter target
adam87
Posts: 291
Date Joined: 16/05/11
that looks very nice
maybe if i buy one of them for my missus she might come fishing with me!
southcity104
Posts: 1659
Date Joined: 27/01/09
tidy work!
Looks great and even better loaded!
And a stella should balance the price combo!
"Its a life style job"
Markie
Posts: 2169
Date Joined: 06/08/10
absolute killer rod. As if
absolute killer rod. As if for the missus just another excuse hehehe
Hortzy
Posts: 110
Date Joined: 31/07/10
$$
wat was the total build cost mate???
Bunny
Posts: 678
Date Joined: 05/08/10
Haven't worked it all out
Haven't worked it all out exactly mate but it sneaks under 500 bucks including everything.
kyleh3110
Posts: 45
Date Joined: 07/06/11
niiice
that looks awesome mate love the colour of the guides haha