Hello Everybody, I'm in search of some suggestions the components to build about a 12' crappie rod, such as blank suggestions, reel seat type, guides etc.., any help would greatly be appreciated because I'd like to build one for my Father in Florida on Lake Okeechobee as they were just hit by WILMA and lost the boat and everything in it, so I'm just trying to ease the pain a little bit, Thank You, Brian

I know that many crappie fishermen will use long fly rod blanks and configure them to hold a spinning reel. I'd take a look at any of a number of say, 6 to 8 weight fly rod blanks. 12' is getting out there, and to reach that length you might have to extend a 10 footer. Or, you can look at some of the lighter steelhead blanks or even the lightest two-handed fly rod blanks, but at that point I'm afraid you're going to be looking at spending considerable money.

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Brian,
Take a look at the Forecast fly rod blanks. I will take a 9-10 foot blank and put an extension on it. Since most anglers will use these rods by watching the tip or the line it isn't a problem with cutting down the sensitivity by adding the grip extension. In the blanks that I use a 5 wt is too light for dead sticking. The 6 and 7 wt seem to work better for me. If he is going to drop lures in brush piles, maybe go with the 7 wt.
Good luck
Buzz

Thanks for the helpful suggestions Buzz And Tom, I'll take a look at those blanks and see what I can find out about an extension( I've got no clue who even handles them, But I'll do my best). Brian
P.S. Talked to my Father in FL. and they pretty much lost everything from the boat to the marina docks, so now I really want to get this rod going for him so that when time allows GO FISH"N

Thanks again, Brian