Building The Rodfather 4A [7'9" 4pc 3wt] 02Dec21-15Dec21

I wanted a gift for Andy Holley to thank him for taking me to Rainbow Falls this year. I haven't seen him wield a 3 wt yet so I built the 7'9" Rodfather 4A for him. This is the first Rodfather to leave my own quiver. The RF4A is drc #13, a righteously fast (AA 77°) and strong (ERN 3.9) matte green 3 weight weapon that I hope he enjoys. I based it on a Chinese graphite blank so it's not a very expensive build, except of course if you consider my time and mad skills. It'd mate well with an inexpensive reel like the Piscifun Sword 3/4 (in balance pic) loaded with a "heavy" 3 wt line like the SA Mastery MPX or Amplitude Infinity. One keen aspect of the 4A is that, because Andy is a fly tyer, I dyed and embedded two grizzly hackle feathers onto the rod near the handle and signage. I used inexpensive and light single foot guides mostly, and chose a light aluminum reel seat with maple insert. The handle is a simple cigar of decent cork rings with a mayfly burned into the top. The whole thing is wrapped with electric green thread which kind of disappears under the epoxy. No fighting butt this time ~ I've never seen Andy use one. Rod balance is good (with the Sword reel) and casting is powerful and very smooth for a smaller rod... it'll be perfect for anything from SPlatte in 11 Mile Canyon to Gore Ck in Vail to the Ark headwaters below Fremont Pass.