I do a lot of trout fishing in tight areas. Rivers, brooks, streams. Lots of cover. I have a 10 year old Fenwick HMG 4’6” ultra light with a saros 1000f reel. 4lb test. Awesome getup. Love it. Started with a 4’6” ugly stick, upgraded to a St. Croix 4’6” UL, then to this a while back. No looking back. Rods is damn near perfect. Couple cracks in the Tennessee handle in the cork, but I have filler and u40 sealer on the way to preserve it for long time use.
Shiners and a set of waders, I can clean a river out with ease as others come and go saying there’s nothing here as I’m catching natives.

10 years ago, this 4’6” UL was the best rod on the shelf and had $150 price tag. they don’t make it anymore, and HMG’s are now cheaper priced. Not sure of the changes. But at the time, this was the best rod I felt at Cabelas or any tackle shop in it’s size, hands down.

I also have the same rod and reel but in medium action, 3000 saros, 6’6” hmg rod for lakes ponds, bass, smaller pike, walleye etc. good general use rig.
I love shimano reels and Fenwick rods. I’ve beat mine up, and they take it no issues.

I’m going out west. Wyoming, Colorado, next year to fish trout in rivers. I was thinking of either a similar store bought setup, not a combo package.  I LOVE the reaction, action, feel, balance, of the hmg’s and saros reels (even that saros is discontinued I’d find the model that replaced it or get a Stradic as I keep my stuff for a long time). Thinking a 6’ UL or a light rod with a 2500 sized open face shimano reel.

When I recently looked into how to preserve cork and repair, I found a lot of cool cork rings and pieces to make a unique rod.
I know making a rod takes pure skill and talent something that should be taught first hand in person. How many of you guys started making rods without guidance? How did it go? Am I wasting my time thinking about it, and instead should I get my soldering iron out to custom design my cork handles to make it “mine”?

How are the gloomis rods compared to the HMG Fenwick? What is comparable? Should I just stick with an HMG and stop over thinking it? Since I’m getting a 6’ rod, or 6’6” rod, would it be better for trout in that length with a UL or just a light? Also is a 2500 sized shimano spinner too big for large width river trout fishing in that sized rod?

I have built one rod, I'm trying hard not to build more.  It was fun and easier than I expected.   I bought a Lamiglass kit off of ebay, and went from there.  
I watched a lot of videos on how to do each step - http://www.mudhole.com/How-To-Build-A-Fishing-Rod has a lot of good videos, as does YouTube.  I bought no special tools, just the parts and epoxy.   I put my thread in a cup and put it through a book to add tension. If I breakdown and build another one, I probably will buy a rod dryer/wrapper motor, and a wrapper.  Turning it every 15 minutes when it was drying was kind of a PITA.

Good luck!

ETA: My rod turned out great, I do fish with it from time to time, but it is really my 8wt backup run.  But it casts great, and brings a smile to my face because I built it.