So far I have only built traditional fly rods. I was thinking about building a spinning rod to use on my anual backpacking trip into the cascades, to be used for lake rainbow trout 8-13inches. how would the Rainshadow RX6 (4 or 5 peice) fly blanks be for this. Also, should I go with the 2 or 4 weight? Just casting small spoons and spinners.Thanks for any input or other rod suggestions.

The short answer is yes. Use the wt. of the fly rod blanks as a numerator over 16 to get the lure wt rating.
For example a 4 wt fly rod would throw 4/16 oz (1/4) oz spinners or spoons. Not exact but close enough.



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

I think you'd have a better rod by using one of Rainshadows spin travel blanks if your throwing lures. Faster actions built for that sort of thing. Fly blanks have a tendency to lob lures.

RAINBOW TROUT TRAVEL SPINNING RODS – RAINSHADOW RX-6-7

Below is a list of the MODEL #’s for various RainShadow Rod Blanks that should have a crisper action than any of the multi-piece travel fly rods.

Material: RX-6 or RX-7 Graphite
Length: 5’6”(66”) – 7’0”(84”)
Line, lbs.: (2-4), (2-6), (4-8), (6-12) lbs.
Lures, oz.: Lower-end – 1/16th. Upper-end – 5/8th oz. Various ranges
TAPER-Actions: “Fast” to “Moderate-Fast” to “Moderate”
POWER: Various classes. “Xtra-Lite” (XL) all the way up to “Medium”. Slightly arbitrary. Designations are less valid across different Model Series. Refer to the 2nd to last position of the Model # Code for a numerical value for Power
Prices: Not researched. At www.FISHSTICKS4U.com, selected models (in Olive Green) may still be on 30% Discount.
Specification Details for each Model #: Go to either of these links for ALL the detailed specifications for any of these rod blanks by Model # :

Spin Bass Multi-Purpose Blanks (ISB/SB)
[www.fishsticks4u.com]

Spin Multi-Purpose Blanks (IS/SP/ISP)
[www.fishsticks4u.com]


RAINSHADOW Model #’s: [SeriesCode-Inches-Power-Pieces]

SB-72-0-4-pc ***

SB-78-1-3-pc

SB-84-1-3-pc

IS-66-1-F(2-pc)

IS-72-1-F(2-pc)

SP-66-1-2-pc

SP-72-1-2-pc

SP-78-1-2-pc

ISP-84-3-3pc

These IS-600’s are all 5’0”(60”) ONE-PIECE Blanks. Sweet, but probably too long for a real travel situation (like hike-in fishing in the Cascade Mountains?).
IS-60-0: (1-4#)
IS-60-1: (2-4#)
IS-60-2: (2-8#)

FIRST CHOICE: *** SB-72-0-4-pc *** IF I HAD TO CHOOSE JUST ONE of THESE BLANKS for you, it would be the SB-72-0-4-pc. It seems to have the best blend of performance, design parameters, and your travel & quarry requirements. Sections are ~20” long, making it, by far, the shortest of these rods for packing. That’s ~8 inches shorter than the next shortest multi-piece RainShadow listed above. It also has a very nice combination of specs for light rainbow trout fishing:

RS-RX6: SB-72-0-4-pc Spin Bass Travel Rods, RX-6 Graphite
Clear Gloss … 6'0" … 4-PIECE … 4-8lb. … 1/16-5/16oz.
0.440” … 4.5-64ths … FAST … LITE … 1.60 oz.
The RX6 is a 33 million modulus Graphite. Less brittle, more rugged for a 3-ferrule (4-piece) pack rod.

SB-72-0-4-pc On page 15 of the RainShadow / Forecast Catalog. This is a NEW ITEM which is in the Batson RS/FC CATALOG, but has not yet been updated at www.FISHSTICKS4U.com. Call Robert Tignor – he can get it for you. This blank should be the cats’ meow, if a short trout travel spinning rod is what you need.

The SP-66-1-2-pc would also be nice for such trout, but again, it’s probably too long at ~36” for your travel purposes.

Call & talk to ROBERT TIGNOR at www.FISHSTICKS4U.com for more information on getting any of these RainShadow Rod Blanks.
Robert Tignor (804) 746-0053 ...
Best Bet / Home Office: (804) 746-9711 ...

-Cliff Hall+++, Gainesville, FL-USA*****

I have made many spinning rods from multi piece fly rod blanks for the sole purpose of backpacking and fishing the high lakes here in Colorado. The three piece spinning blanks from Baston are great but will be longer when placing them on your pack. I usually use a 5 or 7 piece 5 or 6 wt 9'-0" RX6 for this (I think Hook and Hackle carries some 7 piece RX6 blanks). I simply leave off the butt end section so I can match the length I want and convert those to reamers. I find that these rods cast fast when used as a spinning rod and equate to UL to L action on a standard spinning blank. I often wondered if any one else did this to accomodate backpacking. It is a good idea and I know it works just fine.