D.L. Specialist Tackle - Custom Builds

If you can't see the rod you are after listed on this site, or are not too sure what a particular rod is capable of, I am just a phone call away. I am always willing to offer advice on rod choice, and can often suggest a rod that is not listed as a standard item. You can also have your name (or something daft) written on your rod for no extra charge. Most rods which I have offered in the past, but which are no longer listed, can still be made to order if required. I am also happy to quote you on custom builds - such as alternative whipping colour, Silicone Carbide rings, non-standard handle specifications and so on. Rebuilds, and many repairs, can also be undertaken.

Rover Ringing
First introduced on the P-5 and then the specialist rods Rover Ringing allows two piece rods to be easily 'folded' in two while remaining tackled up. Simply place the hook in the ring on the tip section nearest the joint, separate the two rod sections and wind the line in. The rod will now fold in two so that the tip ring lies just above the butt cap. The rod can now be banded together at the butt, or popped into a pocket of a rod holdall or quiver. I can now provide this system in a wider range of configurations as shown in the table below.

Blank Colours
Many blanks can be ordered smooth ground and painted. Colours available are brown (shown below), burgundy, green or blue. All colours are available in gloss and a clear matt finish is also possible. There is also an Ultra Matt option - which is a smooth ground blank with no finish applied, which does not compromise the blank in any way, but provides a low flash finish that is scratch resistant. A personal favourite. Ultra Matt and coloured finishes incur an additional cost on all rods except Chimera and Torrix models.

NB The blank painting process is carried out at the factory and I have noticed that blank colours can vary slightly from batch to batch. For this reason I cannot guarantee perfect colour matching of rods ordered at different times. Coloured matt finishes are no longer available.

Isotubes

After impressing a customer who saw them on my own rods, and following on from a thread on the Barbel Fishing World website where they gained some approval I am now offering shrink wrapped isotopes as an option on barbel rods for a small additional charge of £10 - which includes the price of the Solar isotope. The isotope and tip of the rod are sleeved in clear shrink tube which is over-whipped and varnished at each end. The blank under the tube is now sleeved with white shrink tube before fitting the isotope.

I can also supply clear 6.4mm shrink tube, and 3.2mm white shrink tube for anyone wishing to shrink wrap isotopes to their own rods. Price of each size of shrink tubing is £1.00 per foot.

Other Options

To find out the majority of rod fittings which I can make available check out the Hopkins and Holloway website. H&H are the UK distributors for Fuji products and also have their own brands of top quality rod furniture.

Japanese shrink tube, full Duplon handles, stainless steel butt buttons and collars are also available. I can also lay my hands on unusual fittings from the 'States, but don't usually hold stocks of these, so a baitcaster built with a 'blank exposed' Dynawood reel seat might take some time to complete!

In recent years I have built a fourteen foot drift float rod, eight foot heavy trolling rods for pike, twelve foot ferox trout trolling rods, and many variations on my standard builds from the sublime to the ridiculous. Custom builds might well take eight weeks (or even longer) to complete, depending on what fittings are required and where they have to be sourced from, and will require a deposit to be paid.

Please note that I cannot specify completion times for custom builds, rebuilds or repairs.