I got to wondering about what was doable in the realm of shorter fly rods for heavier line weights - bass fishing in south GA was the impetus. I have really enjoyed fishing with smaller 3 and 4 weight rods because the length seems to help me not get hung up in the trees etc. On a whim I ran some 8wt line through one of my baitcasters (!) (didn't attach the reel...) and it seemed to cast it fine. So then I put together a 6 1/2 foot fly rod using an all-star 2 pc spinning blank and guides set up pretty close to concept - alconite BYAG 12, 10, BLAG 8, then 6s to the tip. Although the rod CC's off the chart (actually, I ran out of pennies at 88) it'll cast/shoot the heck out of 8 or esp 9 wt line.
I think this might be a good thing - short, heavier weight, casts well, balances well with a Battenkill large arbor reel, and wouldn't be a problem horsing a bass out of the cover. I'm just surprised at the result (and I haven't actually fished it yet). It just seems a little strange, and I'm wondering if a) I should have been surprised b) there's some drawback I haven't thought of c) this could be a new marketing ploy to get bass fisherman into fly rodding? d) other thoughts?

==dave==

It will work very well, I rarely am casting over 30 ft away while fishing bass bugs or sliders. I usually pole into the slop and have at it.
There are also some mangrove anglers out the using some of the lighter mag bass and the short hot shot blanks.

SHouldn't be a surprise. Blanks bend, blanks straighten. Whatever is attached to teh tip will go away from teh tip once it straightens.

David, I have noticed that one of my most efficient and easy rods to cast is a 6'10" spin/fly rod that I've made. It has a straight Tennessee cork and the guides are sized and spaced according to the new concept system for a size 20 Quantum spin reel. Mine CC's at 7.2/65 and really fires off a 30-50 ft. cast with my 7wt. line almost effortlessly. Plus, by fly rod standards it's so short it feels like a feather. Great for streamers and poppers when you don't need to mend any line.

Line weight over 16 will get you in the ball park on lure weight Don't tell that spin blank it is now a fly rod, it may get upset LOL

Fly blanks are no different than spinning or casting blanks. Anything that meets your criteria and is properly matched to the line will do the job. Because there are few shorter, heavier line weight blanks made, there is nothing at all wrong with adapting a spinning or casting blank for this purpose. They'll work fine.

............

I share your passion for fishing short rods for bass and have 2 rods that I built from fiberglass 1 pc spinning blanks that work very well. I used the Forecast E-glass trout UL spinning blanks in the 5' model and the 6' model and fish a wf6f line on both rods. They are a real joy to use out of the kayak as they load nicely and can really shoot a nice 40ft cast with ease. The 6' sports all BLAG single foot alconites in size 10, 8, and 6s to tip. The shorter, 5' rod sports an all cork slide band seat an Amtak Holo spin guide in size 10 for a stripper, wire single foot running guides in size 3, 3, and 2s to tip, and a Holo ceramic tip top. I would highly recommend that you try these blanks for short, fun rods to fish for bluegills and bass. The best part is that they are a very nice blank that retails for less than $8.

I could definitely see how a 6ft medium action spinner could make a nice short 8wt for horsing those bass out of the pads.

Have fun.

Lou

Lou, Steve, Spencer - I'm glad to hear that there are other "closet" short rod (sts) people out there. I wasn't at all surprised about using a blank that's not specifically a fly blank - I understand that a rod "doesn't know what it is." What did surprise me was this blank CC'd at over a ten weight (more than 88 pennies) yet works well with 8 or 9 wt fly line. It casts with only 10- 20 feet of line past the tip and shoots an additional 10-20 feet, and it casts with 40 feet of line past the tip and manages another 10-15 feet on the shoot, and I consider myself an average caster. I guess I was wondering if I would notice the same effect by taking a 5 or 6 wt (I should probably say a rod with that ERN) and used 3 wt line on it. I also suppose you could take a broom handle with two guides on it and manage to cast fly line with it, but I wouldn't expect this kind of performance. I really like the CC system and use it regularly, it's just that this seemed to fall out of bounds a little - which is not logical, so there must be something I don't understand that allows this to work...that's what I've been bamboozled by. Maybe I need to do some more experimenting. Thanks for the inputs.

==dave==