whats rods and why??

which rods do you use???
anybody build thier own???
do you have a favorite rod?

i build all my own rods i generally use a 12 foot 2lb test sportex blanks for general fishing, they are getting on a bit now being nearly 25 years old but i am reluctant to retire them cos they are like old friends!! and 12 foot 3lb harrison blanks for carping and piking, which are like old faithfull servants but i treat them like slaves really!!! i have a pair of fantastic 10 foot 2.5lb blanks that i use for barbel fishing - i have no idea what the blanks are, i bought them at a tackle auction and i have shown them to many rod makers and they havent been able to identify where the blanks are from, they are absolutely awesome thru action whopper stoppers, positively my favorite rods for many reasons-- i use an 11 foot 1.5 for float fishing which is a bit of an old dog and needs a good refresh this coming close season so hopefully it will serve me well for another few years to come!!

depends what species/type of fishing we're talking, but since this is a pike forum:
for small stillwaters/rivers i use 2 1/4lb tc daiwa whiskers, they have a nice and light tip which is perfect for fishing at close range (less likelihood of a hookpull) but they still pack loads of power in the butt section for handling the big girls.
for large stillwaters/gravel pits etc i use 2 3/4lb tc century armalites which i bought when i was 14 from a friends sister.... however these are not just straight-out-of-the-shop-armalites, she originally had them custom made for long distance carp fishing in france and holland. they have a really nice through action and under extremely heavy pressure they literally bend all the way through to the end of the butt, which means if you find you aren't putting enough pressure on a fish to get it moving then theres always more in reserve without locking the rod up. i personally have had pike to 37lbs on these rods and every fish but one has succumbed to the amount of pressure i can place on it (the one exception was a few weeks ago..... see other posts).
i've had both these sets of rods since my early teen years ( i'm now 28 ) and i cant foresee me using anything else in the near future because it just would not be the same.

if were talking bait fishing then its .......
two 3.25 pikers the mainstays
two 3.00 shimano ultegras for longer range venues with smaller baits
one 2.75 ultegra usually the pat/live rod
one 13 3.5 aero specimen uber long distance casting and drifter tool
one 2.00 century canon soft baits on bigger waters (the tc is not indicative of the power this thing has lower down)
two 9 ft 2.5 drennan esox spinflex for smaller waters, boat fishing, and wobbling

for lures
shimano beastmaster broom handle for all the hefty lures (cast up to 6 ounces oor so with it
nash 70 jerk for big bombers and other cranks, along with some smaller jerks
the drennans again for the occasion where awkward banks thwart using short rods and multis these only get used with smaller lures though in the 6 inch up to two ounce sort of size

rob you been in my shed mate? ad those brill rods,diawia whiskers,dream rods mate,would love to get my hands on some more,long story on them,skip.armalites,custom made 2.5 tc rods,still use them every now an then .ad them years.mates ad sportex blanks ,there a nice rod.now use berkley b1;s when fishing aboard.