Guys,

I have a friend that is looking for a 6 wt blank that is 6'6" to 7' long. Can anyone make a recommendation?

Thanks.
Joe

Sevier Mfg.

Joe,

I just built a rod on the St. Croix 3S70ULM2, which is a 2pc. ultra-light spinning blank. It CC's at 5.35/67. Considering that you won't probably be casting for distance with such a short rod, this blank makes a terrific 5/6wt. fly rod. In fact, I build mine with a Tennessee handle so I can use it as either a spin or fly rod.

Steve

this subject comes up from time to time. it is hard to find fly specific blanks in the shorter lengths in a 6 wt. back in the fiberglass era this configuration was normal. phillipson, silaflex, wright & mcgill and many others had short rods in 6wt. today you just don't find them so guys very often use spinning blanks to create fly rods in this length. the other alternative is to find an old glass rod in great shape, strip it down and re-do it. i am working on a 7'6" 7wt right now. for short heavy line (i call 6wt heavy) graphite may not be the best material because it would tend to be pretty stiff and would not load close in which is the realm of short rods. of course you could always upline a 4wt which may be your solution. i know there are some glass spinning blanks that some guys are using for rods just like what you talk about. glass may be the right material for this. it is really a matter of design rather than material but i think you are more likely to find something in glass than in graphite for this purpose. i will make an inquirey among some folks who have built some of these and get back with some blanks you might try.

ok, check out this link. the fellow to talk to is Lou. (loudog). [p099.ezboard.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/19/2007 02:43PM by LARRY PIRRONE.

here is another link to a thread you might be interested in. [p099.ezboard.com]

Larry is right about the older fiberglas rods being common in short 5 and 6wt. options. If you measure the ERN on most of those old "6wts" they are typically in the 3-4 range so, again like Larry suggests, just take a modern graphite blank with an ERN of about 4 and fish it with a 6wt. line. That assumes that you like that low amount of power and deep flexing. If you want a crisp 5/6wt., then use the something in the 5-6 ERN range, like the blank I mentioned. Bottom line is that you should consider how much power you need, check the ERN, and order accordingly. Don't get hung up on material or whether the blank is designated spinning or fly.

The material won't have anything to do with how well it loads, that's a function of the rod's power. Two rods, a graphite and a glass, both with the same ERN will load equally at the same distance with the same line.

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

Netcraft has a dandy blank that is their brand. It's a 6 1/2 ft spinning blank and makes into a 5 - 6 wt fly rod. Check out their site on the left of this page.

Check out the CCS Data Site.Something like a 4pc 9ft 4wt or 5wt Dan Craft FT with the bottom dropped could work well.

Steve Kartalia was kind enough to measure many of the Dan Craft blanks both as a complete blank and with the butt end dropped,and put the info there.The 4pc 9ft 4wt or 5wt FT with the butt dropped gives you a 3pc 6ft10 blank with a ERN that would be right in the range you are looking for.