One of the nice things about building cane rods is the variety of styles and actions available to choose from. Fast taper or slow, dark-flamed or blonde - grip shapes, swelled butts... All these things can have an enormous impact on the feel of the finished rod. And that's before the cosmetic decisions of colour and hardware.

But left to my own devices one of my own rods would turn out something like this:

A light progressive taper that will let me feel the rod working and suit my languid (some might say lazy) casting action, although on longer rods a slightly stiffer blank is nice to give the impression of a bit more control. I would certainly make two tips. The extra tip gives a real feeling of luxury and tradition to a rod and although I have complete confidence in cane rods, car doors do exist and with a spare tip they won't ruin your day.

TH6642

This week I like dark cane, so would probably flame it. Some people say that flaming gives a slightly crisper action, I'm yet to be convinced but it is quite possible.

Grip shape is determined by length and weight - normally a cigar grip, slim on short light rods and getting a little fatter on longer rods. But on long or heavy rods, more than say an 8'6” 6wt, it is nice to have an up-slope for the thumb to work on.

The reel seat would be a down-locking cap and ring, perhaps over cork on a shorter rod. I like the simple uncluttered look, and when correctly fitted to the intended reel they are perfectly secure.

An agate stripping ring and English-twist snake rings would be whipped on with the finest silk and then treated to give transparent wraps tipped with a contrasting colour. I try to select an agate and thread that will complement each other and the shade of the blank. All the hardware would be bright polished.

So that's how a rod for me might look. Of course, there are plenty of other options I can do for you. Fast tapers, slow tapers, classic tapers or my own tapers. Blued hardware, mortised swells, bamboo ferrules (coming soon), one piece rods, three piece rods, colour preserved whippings, lots of things. Some might cost more, some less, let me know what you want.