PAST BUILDS / WEST MICHIGAN STEELHEAD

BUILT FOR
BRYSON H.

A float rod shaped around long drifts, winter fishing, and the freedom to make something unmistakably his.

12′ FLOAT RODBAITCASTERONE OF ONE

Blue and silver four-axis wrap beside a guide on Bryson's custom steelhead rod — THE FOUR-AXIS WRAP

01 / THE ANGLER

Built around
his drift.

Bryson H. is an avid West Michigan steelhead angler who fishes a float with a baitcaster. He asked for a custom rod in blue and silver, with oversized guides to give line more room when winter ice begins to build. He left the rest of the design in my hands.

I chose the Stryker SCP1204-2: a 12-foot, medium-power, moderate-action blank made for float fishing. That length supports long, smooth drifts. Its 6–14 lb line rating spans the lighter and stronger presentations Bryson uses.

02 / THE BUILD

Function in
every detail.

The rear grip and foregrip are custom cork work using material from TackleZoom. Cobalt ALPS aluminum carries through the fighting butt, trigger casting reel seat, and winding checks. The metal hardware gives the handle a durable, deliberate finish that belongs with the blue-and-silver palette.

For Bryson’s winter request, I fitted larger ALPS XN guides. Batson specifies 316 stainless steel frames with a Ti Chrome PVD finish and blue PVD zirconia rings. The larger openings give ice more clearance than a small-guide layout; they are there for a fishing reason as well as the color.

The centerpiece is a four-axis decorative wrap in blue, silver, titanium, and black. It took more than eight hours of hand work. Bryson gave me creative freedom, and this is where I used it.

03 / THE FIRST FISH

From the bench
to the river.

The rod made its debut at the Bloop Bead Co. new-location grand opening. Bryson was speechless when he saw it, and the people gathered around it loved the finished work.

Then it had to fish. Bryson’s first catch on the rod was a Skamania-strain steelhead. He has kept fishing it and says he loves it. That is the part of the story that matters most to me: a one-of-one rod doing the job it was built to do.

THE FINISHED BUILD

The choices
behind it.

Blank: Stryker SCP1204-2 · 12′ · medium / moderate
Line rating: 6–14 lb (Stryker specification)
Float presentations: 7–21 g, field-tested on this finished setup
Grips: Custom cork rear grip and foregrip
Hardware: Cobalt ALPS aluminum fighting butt, trigger seat, and winding checks
Guides: Oversized ALPS XN, Ti Chrome frames with blue zirconia rings
Wrap: Four-axis · blue, silver, titanium, and black · over eight hours by hand

Stryker lists the blank’s lure rating as 3/16–1/2 oz. The float range above describes use of Bryson’s completed setup; it does not change the manufacturer’s blank rating.

FROM WRAP TO WATER