I've been using a 50's vintage Shakespeare Wonderod, 6'6" for a 6 wt. I fish several small streams where this rod is ideal. It's small enough to cast easily in the brush and the 6wt. line lets me use larger streamers. (There are big trout in these streams)

This rod has a lot of sentimental value in that it was my brother's who was killed in an auto accident when he was just 18. I suppose it has some dollar value but either way, I think I should put this rod up and quit using it. It'll be nice to hand down to my son or grandson if nothing else.

So, I'd like to build a rod similar to the Shakespeare. The only problem is that once you get into the shorter length blanks, the line weight goes down with the length of the rod. I've never tried it, but I just don't see a 2,3 or even a 4 wt. line throwing a size 6 tungsten head wooly bugger.

Now that you've got the background, here are my questions: First of all, are there any reasonably priced blanks out there that are 6'6" and rated for a 6wt. I haven't been able to find any.

The second part of my question is that I'm looking at buying a 7'6" blank that's rated for a 4wt and then cutting 6 inches off the butt and the tip to give me a 6'6" rod. I would think that cropping off the ends of the blank would up the line class somewhat. What do you think? Do you think cropping a smaller blank would work?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

You could use an ultralight glass spinning blank. I think you'll find if you CC your Wonderod that it doesn't spec out as a rated 6 wt, I've yet to see one of the older rods that do. That doesn't mean it isn't a 6 wt rod just that measuring it using an accepted measuring method puts it someplace else on the scale powerwise.

George,

Some people use a conversion factor of 1/16 oz.lure for per weight of fly rod so a 6wt rod would equal approximately a blank rated for probably 5/16 -3/8 in spinning or casting lures. A better method would be to go the CCS route and measure the values of the wonder rod and then try to find a blank to duplicate that.

Dave

Cutting that much of a fly blank would IMO destroy it. You would end up with a slow, low powered blank.

i have a lamiglas GF784 fly rod blank,it says on the package its a 7/8 wt. i thaught that was wrong, i thaught 784 was 61/2 4wt. but this blank is way to stiff for a 4wt. i compaired it 4wt and its stiffer. so i tried a 7 wt its about the same. may be todd would know.

I'd use a spinning rod, most likely in glass to have that slower action. A light spinning rod in graphite would also give you the same weighting, but faster action. Cutting an already short fly blank would drastically affect its performance.

You wouldn't want to cut the tip section as that would eliminate the ferrule unless your going to use a metal ferrule.

Here is a beauty,, don't know if it is in your price range,,,

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/07/2007 06:35AM by Fred Halfheimers.

Sencer, The line weight designation on the Shakespeare is FBM. I've looked in the literature for that designation and tried to contact Shakespeare but I was never able to find anything and Shakespeare never got back to me. A long time ago, like 40 years......I took the rod to a local tackle shop where I was living at that time to see what line would be suitable for this little rod. They had a large graph hanging on a wall. They put the grip of the rod in a fixture against the wall so that the tip was over the graph. Then they attached a weight to the tip top so that the tip of the rod would be pulled down over the graduated graph. This must have been shortly after the AFTMA standards came out. Anyway, according to that test, the rod's a 7 weight. I've kept the rod in storage for all these years but this Spring I decided to get it out and fish it. I was a little skeptical about the rod being a 7wt so I went to a shop where I'm living now to see what they thought. They gave me a bag full of reels with different size lines and told me to go try them. (Not very scientific but very practical) It was through trying the different lines that I found a 6 wt. works best.

Thanks, everyone for the comments on the new blank. Looks like an ultra light spinner blank would be the way to go.

I'd also like to thank this board for being so willing to help. I appreciate it that you guys take the time to answer my questions. About the only time I come here is when I have a problem or a question but maybe someday I'll be knowledgeable enough to answer a few questions instead of just asking them!

Thanks again!

Try the 6ft 5wt diamondback diamondglass. That will be the closest modern blank you can get.

I have also had success dropping butt sections. Expect the weight of the rod to go down by 1-2 wts and it to be fuller flexing. So taking a 7 or 8wt rod and dropping the butt section might work.

George, I too usually fish spots that have large, (2-6 lb), trout and all I use is a 4wt. Big heavy streamers are a bit cumbersome but manageable. Actually I do most of my damage with small nymphs anyway.