Hello, my name is Rick and I am a new builder in Harrisburg PA. I have built 2 rods already and am looking forward to the future, but am having a hard time finding what I need, as it has a specefic application.
I want an ultra light rod, the shorter the better, which has the ability to break down into sections less that 20 inches long. I have not been able to find any blanks that fit the description and do not know if cutting a 1 piece rod and installing ferrules is a realistic idea or not.
The application for this oddball rod is pretty cool. I do alot of off road bicycling is some of the beautiful woods that surround my home town. Often when I am out I pass small streams, some of which have a strong native trout population. I really want a piece of that action but am not willing to sacrafice my ability to ride hard off road. I have a really nice system figured out in my head about how the rod, reel, and a small plastic box of bait would attach to the top tube of my bike in a really nice bag I would also make, the only problem I am having is finding a blank that would be sensitive enough for native trout and break down into sections less than 20 inches. If anybody knows of a blank, or wants to convice me that I can cut a 1 piece blank down and put it back together without it feeling like trash I would be very interested in any advice I could come across.

Rick,
I may have exactly what you need. Your email is "hidden" so I can't email you.
Click my name in the header of my post and email me. I should be home
shortly and can reply then.

BTW, If you know how to find my gallery in the photo section on this board you will find
a "spin/Fly combo" rod built on a blank like you discribe. I have another one of those
blanks.

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

Also, if you dig a little into the catalogs you will find some 7 piece blanks in 9'0" length where each section is about 17" long. You can drop one or two sections and have the length you want in a packable size. By the way, I used to do the same thing when I rode along the Snake River years ago. I would ride until I saw a likely spot or got tired or just wanted to fish for a while and then stop. It is a great way to exercise and have fun.

Joe Douglas

Rick,

Look at Batson's Forecast line. They have a 6'6" 2wt in four pieces (19.5 ") a 7'6" 4 wt in five pieces (18"), and a 8'6" 5 wt in five pieces (20.4 " ) that might meet your needs. They also have a Rainsdhadow 7'6" 4 wt in four pieces (22.5"). You might also look at St Croix or Pac Bay for similar rods.

Mike Blomme

To add to the options already mentioned I measured the sections on a Cabela's "Stowaway" seven piece 4wt 8' fly blank I have and the sections are quite short at 15" long. I have not built up a rod on this blank yet so can't speak to its performance.

If you don't find something via one of the sponsors that tickles your
fancy (kind of hard not to) email me. I love to horse trade!

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

I'm with Bazlu. Instead of pursuing multipiece, you really should take a look at some of these advanced TELESCOPIC rods. I could not find them easily so when I found a source, I picked up a nice little bunch of them. They really are incredible. ( These are good enough that I got a bunch to resell although not on this board.) All pack down to about 12.5 inches. My 9 footer can handle 4lb to 20lb line and casts 1/4 oz weight a great distance. Most versatile. The 6'7" has a lighter tip. Probably handle something like 2lb -14lb test. With 2lb, you'll need an excellent drag. While they are not cheap, they are superb performers. I'm stripping some down and rebuilding them. The 6' 9" can be built to sub 3 ounces pretty easily if you have the desire to strip the handle. Sub 2.5 oz is possible. The 6'7" comes at a hair under 3.5 ounces from the factory with really heavy wrap/finish/handle. Tough blanks too. I smashed one full speed on a steel table corner doing an imaginary cast and it cracked a hairline bit off but still full functional.

Anyways, my point is that for your application, I would go with some of the decentJapanese telescopics and you'll be amazed by the performance. I think Europeans sometimes spend $4000 to $5000 on one telescopic rod for Carp fishing so you get an idea that telescopics can be really nice rods.

UL

You did not say if it is to be a fly rod or a spinning rod? Lamiglas makes some nice, soft, light multipiece fiberglas fly blanks. St. Croix makes a couple of 4 or 5 piece spinning blanks.

I've used ice fishing rods as compact spin rods while hiking. They aren't the best casting rods but for small streams they are useful and have enough backbone for most trout. St. Croix has a couple of decent travel blanks and you can always build a spinning rod on a multipiece fly blank. Thorne Brothers makes some very nice ice fishing rod blanks (call them as they aren't on their web site) and many of them can be built to around 20".