Bummer guys, guess my original message is gone because I didn't post under my full name or something.

What I'm looking for is information on how to make a spinning rod out of a fly blank. What kind of specs. should I be looking for in a fly blank if I want to do this?

A guy wants me to make him a bass/all-around spinning rod specifically with a Fenwick blank, but I can only find Fenwick fly blanks available.

I missed all of the previous responses, so if you can post them again that would be great! I have no idea if this message will remain on the board, but we'll give it another go.

Jackie,

Can't quite remember what I wrote before so we'll just play this one again.

Something I know I forgot to say the first time is that if you are concerned about manufacturer warranties on the blank, you may want to nix the idea. Many will only honor the blank warranty if it is used for the purpose intended, ex: fly blank into a fly rod only. This is what they say, not sure if anyone has tried returning one though. I have built many fly blanks into spinning rods and put them to the test with no troubles so far so it is not a concern for me.

For bass fishing, I like 6wt blanks the best but I am planning on making a 7 or 8wt shortly.

Another reccomendation is to use braided line with a flourocarbon leader of 6 to 10 feet in length. On the maiden voyage for my first fly/spin rod I must have missed the first 10 hooksets. It wasn't until I almost threw my back out on the hookset did I stick one. It seemed that with the combination of the rod flex and the stretch of mono, it prohibited a solid hookset. I went home, reloaded w/ stren superbraid and a topshot of flouro and went back to my honeyhole. The bass didn't stand a chance. I've continued using this line choice for rainbows as well, just downsizing both the braid and leader strengths. 10# braid has the diameter of 3# mono so it is easily tied to 2,4,or 6# flouro leader.

I have used several different manufacturers of blanks, mostly St. Croix, rainshadow, and H&H depending on the color of blank I wanted.

Also, for a spinning rod, I truely believe you can get away w/ a lower quaility of a blank than if you were going to make a flyrod. For example, I would use a St. Croix SCII or SCIII, not a SCV. I think the higher end rods would make more of a difference only in a fly rod.

Just my opinion though, good luck!

So, should I layout the guides just as I would if I had purchased a spinning blank? Is 10# braid what you use for trout or is that for bass? I just want to make sure I get the right setup! Spine on top as usual, right?

Do you prefer making/using spinning rods from fly blanks, or is there some special reason you've done this on occasion? In my case it would be because I'm trying to accomodate the preference for a particular brand.

Thanks for the info!
Jackie

I'd keep in mind that the majority of spinning rods are built on a fast action and the majority of fly rods aren't a fast action. The fly blanks do make nice spinning and casting rods, but the slower actions normally used in these is not for the average guy used to that faster action.

Putter

That is correct just lay the blank out as you would for a spinning rod. Just remember a fly rod is much slower rod. As for a finwick , you can no longer buy Finwick blanks. Those that you found must be old stock. Fenwick has been made over seas for a least 8 years now
Good Wraps Bob

So if I can find a 6wt fast-action fly rod I'd be OK? Do you think the fast action would take care of the problem Andrew ran into with setting the hook, or do you think I need a heavier rod than a 6 wt? Just kicking around some ideas...

Jackie

Jackie,

Remember, this is just how I do things which, if you ask my wife, leaves a lot to be desired!

I set them up the same way I do my spinning rods but due to the additional length, you will most likely have a couple extra guides.

I start with a 25, and work my way down to an 8 or 7 before the tip. The last one I finished had something like a 25,20,16,12,10,10,8,8,tip. I'd have to count them to be exact but that should be pretty close. For spacing I just laid them on w/ masking tape, put a reel on and ran the line through and made marks with a china pen to where they needed to go. There are several, probably much easier ways to figure out placement, that you can find on this board that I'd reccomend doing. Once I get a particular blank set with guides I take measurements and put them in a book for future reference. Position the Spine as you would on your spinning rods.

I had read a long time ago on a fishing board about fishing mini (1/32) jigs for trout. The problem was getting decent casting distance with a regular spinning rod. The person that posted the thread said he fixed that problem by wrapping a flyrod blank into a spinning rod. I have always fished on the light side so I really liked the idea of a 8 foot rod w/ the characteristics of a 5 foot ultralight. I wrapped my first 5wt 8'6" St. Croix soon after moving to Montana and have been sold ever since. During the spawn here we throw large wooly buggers for bow's up to 8+pounds. Some of the places we fish have very limited room for a backcast so the idea came back to me as I was untangleing my fly from a tree. With that 5wt, I can throw a #8 wooly bugger 30-40 feet.

the 6wt's I've made for friends have been used for bass pushing 6#'s. We use them drop shotting, for small topwater pop-r's, etc from our float tubes.

The 6wt's are also great for throwing Marabu Jigs in the Missouri River. They seem to give you a much better casting distance w/ the 1/8 ounce jigs we use and have stood up to some huge bows and browns.

Necessary? Heck, I don't know. They are unique and a blast to fish with. if you make them with float tubing in mind, keep the rear grip on the short side, less than 6", with 4" being ideal.

I use the 10# braid for both, the trout here are bigger than the bass, it's nothing like what I had in So Cal! If you do not want to deal with tying leaders you can get away with straight Flouro or anything else with less stretch than plain ol mono. I like the braid but a friend that has several of my rods hates tying leaders so he runs Stren Flouro with no hookset problems.

Finally, I do agree with Putter about the action. The faster the better but I've done well with the Moderate-fast blanks.

I think the combination of a 6wt, and flouro solves the problem. H&H (a sponsor) has both American made and Imports that are fast action. If you don't mind the imports they are very inexpensive and I have built a couple on the Forecast line H&H sells and they were fine.

I am anxious to build a 7,8, maybe even a 9 wt to see how they work but the 6 wt has been dependable for me so far.

Great information! I was doing some research looking for Fenwick blanks and like I said, Cabela's had only the Fenwick fly rod blanks. I did find that Neal's Fishing Products (sponsor at left) did offer Fenwick second-quality spinning blanks. Obviously they're going to be a few years old, but they might be something I can work with.

Neal said they were sanded, but not finished, and that I could dip them in a 50/50 Urethane/Mineral Spirits combo to finish them. I was wondering if it would be possible to finish them with a spray-on varnish or urethane... does anyone know if that would that be easier, or completely useless?

I totally think I'm going to try making a fly rod into a spinning rod for myself at some point if I don't end up doing it for this guy. I love the idea of being able to really toss tiny tackle a good distance.

Jackie

I have done business w/ Neal and he has been extremely helpful! If you are going to make one for yourself, try it out on a fast action Import like the Forecast. For an "experiment" a $30 blank is reasonable. Ask Neal what else he has, he may have a "tiger eye" fast action blank you can use.

Careful though, they are addictive!

Andrew - So far I've bought every rod I've made from Neal except for two. He's very helpful and goes the extra mile to make sure you get what you're looking for. I made a 5 1/2 ft. 1 piece, 98% graphite spinning rod with cork grips and a graphite reel seat for $10 from him. It's a perfectly good rod too. His closeouts and specials are awesome. He's got some really good deals on 2003 model forecast fly blanks this month... worth checking out if you're into it. Drop him a line!

Jackie

I just recently started using him for all my AMTAK supplies and bought a TigerEye 7'6" ultralight blank for a rod I was making for a kid as an X-mas present. I was planning on using a St. Croix SCII flyrod blank but this worked perfectly. Watched the kid catch two 2-3# rainbows on it yesterday. That rod was BENDO! Kid loves it, it filled the bill, everyones happy. I still use a wide array of blanks, from top to bottom, depending on what I need. I was pleasantly surprised with the Tiger Eye line and will use them again. It's all about what the customer wants (or needs) though and personally I am a St. Croix fan.

I just made a Tiger Eye 10 ft. 8/9 wt fly rod for my uncle for Xmas. He wants it for steelhead and tarpon fishing. Looks great and feels great, but we'll see how it handles. That's a lot of rod!

Sounds like fun. I have an order for a 7 or 8wt but I haven't decided on the blank yet (it's one of those "just build it and I'll pay for it" deals with a friend so I'll probably go high end on the blank. These are the kind of jobs I like!

What about the length? Do you usually buy a 9 or 10 foot four piece and use the top three sections or do you just buy the 8 foot 2 piece fly rod blanks?

I have used both 2 piece and 4 piece blanks. I have only orderd up to 9' blanks so I have not had to worry about leaving out a section. I initially thought I liked the two piece the best but that leaves them tough for storage at 54" or so long. The 4 piece breaks down great for travel. I do need to look at getting some REC brushed aluminum tubes though for protection. Also, aligning the guides is a lot more forgiving when you have four sections....

Jackie, do consider the purpose of the blank and what it is going to be used for. A 5 or 6 wt is a fun blank for smaller fish and lighter presentations, but you mention bass fishing. What exactly is going on the end of that line, be it fluoro , mono, or braid? Light slider? Small hooks & dropshot? Jerks? S-Baits?

Reason I mention this is because flyrod blanks are a bit "tippy" for some presentations, this can make one work much harder on some retrieves. Case in point, an 8 wt has enough tip there to twitch and work, say a 4-5" Senko or Super Fluke type bait. It's efficient and easy, especially with braids like 2/10 PP. Put that on a 5 wt and you're really just bending the tip and not putting that much into the bait for the effort expended. Same with heavier T-rigs and jigs, gotta be able to transfer the effort into action, lighter flyrod blanks absorb ALOT of effort there and essentially steal it from the terminal end/lure.

Also consider the type of hook (wire guage) that your bud may be using and what type of rod can bury that in a fish. It's a long sweep for hooksets and braid helps alot there and with sensitivity, but lighter guage (but strong) hooks with great points like some gammies are in order there.

Don't get stuck on brands and do look at blank weights, longer blanks can be heavy after a few hours. Scrap the finish idea, it'll just add weight in front of you. Not a bad idea to get familiar with the Split-T handle and the idea of moving any weight to the butt end with additional weights, doesn't seem like the leverage would make a huge difference, but it does help. The different distribution of weight behind the hand/reel does help balance and avoid the tip-heavy syndrome with longer flyrod blanks.

Be warned, once you get used to the long blank advantages, ya kinda get hooked. Normal 6 footers start looking like little toys:).

Point well made Joe. It does depend on the potential size of the bass he will be going after. There's no way I'd take my 5wt out in So. Cal where I caught my 17 pound LMB but here, in Montana, the state record is only 8 pounds so fine wire hooks have been appropriate. I have fished up to 6" Senkos wacky rigged on my 8' 5wt with no problem. I use the Yami crooked hooks and haven't had a problem burying them once I switched to braided line. I think that weight of a lure may be pushing it a little but most of my bass fishing is done from a float tube so I have less than 40 feet of line out, usually less than 25. I fish flukes weightless with it and it's perfect for that ... just the slightest twitch of the wrist gives it great action.

The 6wt does all of the above much better for sure. Whenever I go to crank baits or heavy jigs/creature baits I do go back to a baitcaster/conventional reel.

Oh, and Joe .... a 6' rod looks like someone forgot the top half a a two piece rod to me these days! Whenever I go to my 6' jig stick I feel like I can reach out and touch the tip. Maybe it's time to make a 9' ice fishing rod! ha ha ha

I must be missing something here. You make a fly rod blank into a spinning rod the same way you make a spinning blank into a spinning rod. Once you add the grips and seat and set it up with the correct spinning type guides, you will have a spinning rod.

Check the faqs page for info on rod spine. I'd never put it on top.

This is not a difficult task. You should have few problems with this if you eliminate the obvious hurdles. First off, like someone said above, most fly rods are not fast action. Also, they tend to be more whippy. Therefore, they will require a slightly different casting technique and some practice, but it is worth the effort. First off, find the spines in all the different sections(I know you already have done this.) Build your handle up and then prepare to mark your guides. this si the hard part. Remember that because it is more whippy than a regular spinning blank you will need to rethink your line dynamics jsut a bit for both fighting and casting. For fighting this means more guides to remove unnecessary stress points along the rod. You'll need ot place the rod under load for this. For casting, you'll really appreciate seeing someone wave the rod back and forth in a flase cast motion to see and judge the softer action of the rod along with the increased forward shooting. I've found that if properly set up, a fly blank casts much farther than a regular spinning blank of the same length. However, I've also found shock leaders very necessary as the velocity of the lure is higher from these blanks. Good luck!