Hi All,
I have plans to build a spinning/Fly pack rod. I have a 4 piece boron 3-4wt. blank and I am
concidering using REC spinning guides for the stripper and 2nd guides with REC snake
guides for the remaining guides with of course a REC fly tip top. I have built many spinning
and casting rods but this will be my first fly rod so I'm looking for any suggestions or advise.
Thanks and tight lines!!

Raymond Adams
Eventually, all things merge, and a river runs through it..

sounds like you have a good Idea of what you want!! I have been building mostly these rods this spring. I have been using forecast blanks. with batson guides. there really isnt much difference from it and a normal spinning rod just more guides. I built a 9' 3# before the ise melted and the guy caught a 30" catfish on it yesterday. I thought it would have broke.

Raymond,

I think that in the long run you'd be much happier if you used low frame ceramic insert type guides for such a rod, rather than the wire snake guides and tip top. Something like the 'fly' type from Fuji (or it's equivalent ). They are available in a variety of ring and frame materials, and will last far longer than the wire guides. Much more efficient as well, as far as casting with both mono or fly lines. They will cost a bit more, but not that much when you consider the work that goes into such a rod.

I no longer use snake guides on any fly rod heavier than a 2 wt., and only single foot 'snakes' on those.

Good Luck!

Buddy

Thanks Buddy & Travis,
Will a fly reel seat accept an ultra-light spinning reel or would you recommend a #15 spinning seat?

Raymond_Adams Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks Buddy & Travis,
> Will a fly reel seat accept an ultra-light
> spinning reel or would you recommend a #15
> spinning seat?

Depends on the reel. Depends on the seat. I find that Shimano 1000 series reels have thinner feet than a comparable Daiwa. It's best to check the fit before you build, as the fit is tight and slight differeces could mean your reel won't fit.




Mark Janeck
Custom Rods, Campbellville, Ontario

Raymond,

Most normal reel seats used for light spinning rods will readily accept a fly reel. The other way 'round isn't as often the case. For a convertable rig like yours, I'd go with a spinning reel seat of your choice.

I use the graphite Fuji style seat, the one with the cushioned hoods, for any fly rod where corrosion resistance and a solid grip on the reel is more important than aesthetics. Darn ugly, but imensely functional.

Are you going to rig the grip so that it can be turned around somehow so that you have a 'typical' spinning handle when using the rod in that mode?

Good Luck!

Buddy

Buddy,
Don Burgess in Washington told me the same thing about the reel seats. Thanks for the comformation.
The handle will be a standard fly rod configuration with a short section of the blank exposed on the end
with a fighting butt. I believe this will enable the user to cast the rod with two hands when using as a
spinning rod and have something to rest against the forearm for leverage when fighting a fish and not
adversly effect the perfomance as a fly rod. What do you think?

I second the recommendation for ceramic guides. If weight is a factor, use titanium guides. A short fighting butt is all you need to correctly hold the spinning reel. Are you really going to cast two handed? If you are, I would consider a detachable fighting butt to convert to a spinning rod. Better yet, a Tennessee handle with rings can take either reel and allows you to re-configure the butt length.

Raymond,

When I've built these, I've always used a 'Tennessee' style grip with the sliding rings as Don mentioned. This allows you to position the reel where you choose. It also eliminates the reel seat question.

The only 'problem' I see with an extended fighting butt on such a rod has to do with the line management/casting skills of the user. I know that I'm constantly having to deal with the fly line looping around the butt of the rod if it protrudes any distance. Especially if there is any wind blowing. Otherwise, it will cast just fine.

Again, ceramic guides will make this a better rod all around.

Good Luck!

Buddy

Raymond I use Pac Bay skeleton seats. I misread your post in that I thought you were building a spinning rod with a fly rod blank. I also made a combo like you are now and hated it. Biggest mistake I made was I didnt use guides that were high enough and the line hit my hand on every cast since me hand was in front of the reel. I had one night out fishing with it and lots of casting and catching big Blue Gills. When I got to the truck my knuckles were bloody from the line hitting them all afternoon and night.
So I guess you could maybe get by with a higher frame guide like a M frame but that wouldnt work so well with a fly reel. or you could use a taller spinning reel. Its up to you!! I wont build another one but I build mostly spinning rods on fly rod blanks and they work well.

Raymond, I've built several and I and my friends and customers Like them. For the gripI used a spinning cork & rings grip extended in the center to make it 11 or 12in. long, depending on the rod. This is to be able to put a fly reel at the butt, or a spinning reel where it balances the rod. For the guides I use Fuji Alconite Concept guides with the running guides B or CLAG to the tip. In other words, Build the Fly/Spin combo as a spinning rod, then put a fly or spinning reel on as wanted. This works much better than the other way around. Ralph

If at first you don't succeed, go fishing, then try, try again.

I've built them like this and so far it has worked well for both endeavors. The guides are essentially set up as a spinning rod. This rod is 4 piece. It looks a bit quirky as a spinning rod with the long foregrip, but does the job. As a fly rod, it operates exactly as a dedicated fly rod and feels the same in hand.

[www.fishingphotos.net]

[www.fishingphotos.net]

Mark Janeck
Custom Rods, Campbellville, Ontario

Hey Mark,
Now thats what was I concerned about mostly. I have never fly fished or built a fly rod and because
fly rods are built so much different than a spinning rod, I assumed that if I built the rod more in a spinning
configueration it would not work well as a fly rod. Not so? Why then are the components so different?
Does fly line flow through a standerd tip top very well?
The handle I invisioned is exactly like the one in your photo except the removable part, I would have made
much shorter. I think I like your handle idea better. Where can I get the hardware for the removable end?

Thanks to all for the great ideas and input ! I wish I discovered this site long ago!

Hi Raymond,

I use ceramis guides on mostly all of the fly rods I build. I also use standard ceramic tip tops, and the line flows through them just fine. On my spinning rods, I use the smallest guides possible out to the tip, much like on a fly rod. There is very little difference between a #5 ceramic fly guide and a #5 single foot spinnng guide. The only difference really is the butt guide and the second and maybe third guide. These of course will be larger on the spin/fly rod to accomodate the line coming off the spinning reel.

The hardware I used to make the butt extension is from a standard cork fighting butt. I chipped the cork off. I'm going to upload a sketch to the photo board to help demonstrate how i did the extension, as I have been asked this numerous times. Hopefully it will make better sense than a verbal description.

Best fishes,
Mark

Mark Janeck
Custom Rods, Campbellville, Ontario