Hi Everyone,

I am new to rodbuilding, but I want to build a new rod that can be converted between a fly rod and a casting rod. I looked on Cabelas and on Mudhole, but I can't find anything that will allow me to do this. I got this idea from a cheap rod I have that can be converted from a spinning rod to a fly rod. It is a 4 piece rod made by Eagle Claw. The Eagle Claw rod is yellow and fiberglass. It has a black hypalon handle. I would like to build a graphite version that I can convert between a fly rod and a casting rod. I would like this one to have a cork handle and look a lot better. Anybody have any ideas?

I've already thought about buying another Eagle Claw rod and taking the components off of that one, but I don't want Hypalon and I don't like the reel seat either.

Thanks in advance,

Charles

Charles,
Ralph O'quinn builds a pretty cool spin/fly rod. He purchases a 9' 5wt blank in 4 pc. and orders a 2nd mid 2 section. He builds the fly out of the 9' then builds the spinning handle on the 2nd mid section which gives him a 6'6" spinning rod. He told me that he has been doing this for some time and has gotten a really good response from the people he has built them for.

Todd

Regards,
Todd Vivian
Mud Hole Custom Tackle

todd@mudhole.com

Between Fly and spinning is often done. I don't know if fly/casting would be feasible as the guide size/spacing is vastky different wheras fly/spinning guide setup is very similar. I'm not much of a fly fisherman and could well be wrong, but I don't think that it would work very well.

Mike

Todd Vivian Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Charles,
> Ralph O'quinn builds a pretty cool spin/fly rod.
> He purchases a 9' 5wt blank in 4 pc. and orders a
> 2nd mid 2 section. He builds the fly out of the 9'
> then builds the spinning handle on the 2nd mid
> section which gives him a 6'6" spinning rod. He
> told me that he has been doing this for some time
> and has gotten a really good response from the
> people he has built them for.
>
> Todd
>
> Todd R. Vivian
> Lamiglas, Inc.
>
> todd@lamiglas.com

Darn, that is a really good idea! I think I will consider making one of these. I remember when I sold tackle (long ago, in the late '60s/early '70s) those Eagle Claw combos. If I remember correctly, the handle was reversible. Insert the first section one way, a fly rod, and the other way, a spinning rod. But, I like the idea of an extra section. That would adjust the length properly, too.
Question, though (I'm pretty new to this). Will mfgs. sell the extra section readily? I guess if they make each section separately, it wouldn't be too costly. Might mess up inventory, though.
Steve Broadwell
bcrods.com

If your making a multi piece steelhead drift rod of something like that it's completely feasible to just build two butt sections, one casting, one fly. The Dan Craft FTs would be a good choose.

Thanks for the responses everyone. It looks like Todd's idea sounds like the best route to take. I saw on Cabelas that they are selling a Stowaway 4-piece rod for about $30 ea. It won't be too expensive to buy two and I'll even have an extra tip if that breaks. Something really bothers me though, about buying two rods and only having one rod built (even at such a low price)! I am new to all this so I wasn't even sure if the resulting rod would be any good since it had to do double duty as fly and casting rods. I also looked for the Dan Craft FTs, but I didn't find any info on these rods on the Dan Craft website. Can someone tell me about them? Thanks!

Charles

This was the reply I made to a builder that inquired about this after reading this post.


"your cost of one of our 4 pc. blanks would be about 25% more than you would pay normally. You could purchase this through one of our regular distributors like Mud Hole, Anglers Workshop, Merrick Tackle or Custom Tackle.
Now depending on how much you want to invest you might just want to consider purchasing two whole less expensive import blanks and just use the mid 2 from the 2nd one. You would end up with a few extra pieces you could use for reamers or something."


Todd


Regards,
Todd Vivian
Mud Hole Custom Tackle

todd@mudhole.com

Dan sells extra sections for $18, and I'm sure an FT would make a sweet spinning rod. Do a search on them and you'll find many reviews (all good from what I remember). There is also good info on the CCS site w/ data for dropped sections on various FTs (top of column on left).

Ray,
Juneau, AK