I have a customer that wants a minnow rod built on a fly rod blank. He wants the rod to be 8’-8 ½’ and use 4lb.to 6lb. line. My question is what weight rod blank do I use and has anyone ever done this. The rod will be used on Pennsylvania’s small steams for trout.

Hi Russ :
i used a 9 foot 3 piece 5/6 wt that i got from neals fishing products,
i built it into a spinning rod using the fuji concept guide system
it works great with 4-6 lb line in it, especially in the wind i was able to cast a lot farther when the wind was blowing.
if i were to use live minnows for bait on this rod i would use little or no weight
good luck in whatever you build him

sante morrone

Sante Morrone
the fisherman

russ
i built one awile back for a guy to fish pa streams i used a 8ft. 5wt.
he is happy with the rod.
joe.

Line weight over 16 as a fraction will get you in the ball park on the lure weight.

Batson has some steelhead blanks rated at 4-8 lb you might look at. I built a 9' version on a Forecast steelhead blank, and it is a wonderful crappie stick. I might have to make another one. Utmost ( a sponsor here) has some RX7's in the 4-8 lb range on clearance in both 9' and 11'6" for around $20. A great deal if you can use a 9' or longer rod.

I finally fished w/ minnows for the first time in my life last week in Texas for Crappie. I was using a 9' 6wt Hook&Hackle blank I wrapped as a spinning rod for a friend and it worked great. I'd go with a 5 or a 6 wt blank for 4-6# test.

For crappy or bluegill you can even go lighter, depending on the lure you will throw
A 5 WT would be about 5/16 lure weight. A 3 WT will be about 3/16 lure weight.
If it is a moderate action blank you may get wobble in the tip, I would say a fast will be better.
Just my 1 1/2 Cents

Thanks for all the input you guys are very helpful.