I'm building a fly rod for a co-worker but he has a requirement which I'm not sure how to handle. He wants a travel rod suitable for a suitcase and he wants an 8' 5wt rod. The tube for an 8' 4piece would be about 27" which is likely to be too long for a suitcase. So the most likely candidate would be an 8' 5wt 5piece. Does anybody make such a rod? I did try to talk him into the DanCraft 9' 6piece FTL but no luck ... darn.
Suggestions anybody?
Steve

i think the first thing you should do is confirm what's the maximum length his suitcase can accomodate.

didn't go for the dan craft? 3 wt too light ? as you probably know, kind of hard to find a 5 pc (or more) 8 ft 5 wt blank... several choices in the 8'-6" and 7'-6" lengths like the batson RX6 which comes in a 8'6 5wt 5 pc or a 9 ft 5wt in 7 piece according to hook and hackles site though batson's site doesn't show it. there's also cabelas stowaway in the 5 and 7 piece setup. more expensive, you could try a winston LT 5 pc, but none are the exact measurements he requests. keep in mind a 5 wt line can be used on a 4wt blank... i guess you could always cut down an 8'-6" 5wt but that's affecting the rod's design.

contact CTS too. and i think elkhorn fly rods offers a few close matches.

you could also try contacting steffen brothers fly rod company and see if they can accomodate you. i hear they can be willing to create what you want in either graphite or fiberglass but check with them for confirmation.

eric
fresno, ca.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/2007 03:00AM by eric zamora.

I am a new guy on the block here.

I have on my desk at the moment a Cabelas Stowaway 7 piece, 5 wt, 8 ft, medium-fast blank. The longest piece in the set is 15 inches.

They also have a 5 piece blank in the Stowaway series.

Though a bit off topic, L.L. Bean has a 9 piece 9ft, 5wt, medium-fast rod in their catalog. The add says it collapses down to 13 inches. have no idea of where they get their blanks.

Bill

Steven,
I have a Dan Craft FTL 906-6 for sale on this site with REC bushing epoxied to butt. Take a look. I will ship to your client for a look-see. If not happy ship back.
Herb

oops, stand corrected. the cabelas 7 in the 8 foot would work. i guess i need more sleep, not sure how i missed that.

eric
fresno, ca.

I would consider also that it could be put in the suite case at a diagonal which would allow for longer sections