Occasionally, I find the time to build a new rod for myself.  I recently completed an 8′  0″  5 wt medium progressive action rod for me, and Mary Ann and I got out on the Metolius River for 2 hours for some casting…and possibly catching!  I took my new rod, and she took our her new 7′  9″  4 wt that she just finished building. Her rod was a mate to mine, just a little shorter and lighter.
Winter fishing on the Metolius River can be slow sometimes, and although there were a few mayflies coming off, we only managed a couple of smaller rainbows. But the rods were amazing to cast, perfect actions for the Metolius River and small dry flies.  Here are a few photos:

Getting ready to hit the Metolius River with our new rods.

A nice tight loop for Mary Ann.

A colorful little 9″ rainbow that took my #18 Purple Comparadun dry fly.