I just build another longer ultralight (my third attempt), this one from a 8' 4 wt cabelas traditional fly blank. It casts very well, but, I am a bit dissapointed with it overall. It feels poor in the hand (tip heavy and not very sensitive). I think part of the problem is the fuji guideset a friend gave me (he bought it and never used it). But I think most of it is the blank and design. I know an eight foot rod is never going to feel quite like a 5 foot rod, but I think I can do better.

So I want to design and build a 6'6"-8' foot ultralight spinning rod that knocks my own socks off.
Any suggestions are welcome. I am thinking of using jann's flexlite guides in 20-10-6 all the way to the tip.

Requirements: multi piece, as it lives in the trunk of my car: I am willing to try to cut a 1 piece blank into 2-3 pieces

Crisp feel, light and balanced in hand.

works well with 2 to 4 lb test, and casts 1/8 to 3/16th ounce lures well. Also can work with a small float that I often use for stream trout. I do not need it to be extra fast, I just am looking for a rod that is fun to fish with and has that special feel,

Tim O'Neill
Albany

The article on Ultra-Light rods in RodMaker will help you a great deal. If you want a long UL rod, you'll do better to extend a spinning blank than to employ a fly rod. Few fly rods have a very fast action, at least compared to fast action spinning rods. With an extended spinning blank, you'll have better balance and a rod that just feels better. Small low frame guides on the upper half are recommended. Check the New Guide Concept article on the library page if you haven't already.

...........

2S70ULF2 - St Croix SCII, 7'0", 2-6#, 1.1 oz blank weight, 2-piece construction. Travel case is available as well ... RC45. Pair that blank with Fuji SiC guides and you will have a winner. The Fuji LSG SiC Fly guides are available down to a 3.5 ring size.

I am in the process of building a 10' UL casting rod for my Abu Garcia Black Maxx 1600 reel from a 10' 2-piece 5/6wt fly rod blank. Casting handle, minimal eva grips with a split rear grip configuration. and Fuji green shock ring guides. The running guides will be sz 6 and will be heavy for the blank but they are what I have available right now. The only reason I am proceeding with the build is that I taped up the rod fully before committing to the build and it will give me the result I am looking for. In my particular case....fishing for saltwater perch in Bays and local beaches....A softer action to help prevent pulled hooks from soft mouths is not such a bad thing, especially when using braid.

Tom is dead on with his recommendation of extending a spinning blanks though. It is the way to go for most applications.



Derek L. McMaster
Rohnert Park, CA

Born to Fish, FORCED to Work

I use the 2S70LF for my bluegill rod. 7' is about as long as I can see going to L or UL use

Rainshadow SP781-2 extended to 7', or you could leave it at 6'-6". Batson match "M" guides. Loads of UL fun!

Rogue, Loomis, CTS and others make blanks that easily throw your weights. You find them in the kokanee rod/blank section in some catalogs/sites. Rogues are 7 ft 6 in. Others are usually in the 7 ft range. A lot more options in a 1 piece. My favorites are some old Talons, but I don't know if they are still available.

I like the Batson IP 840. I'm getting ready to build one on the SC 3S70ULF.for a direct comparison. I know Steve Kartalia has built an IP 840 and a SC 3S70ULF-2 for comparison. (Used a Tennessee Grip-no extension) Tim your email address is hidden. I would provide you with the imput he gave me.

Ed Smith

my email is twmoneill@hotmail.com,

Thank you,

Tim

Well here is the result, I broke down and bought two batson travel blanks. They are outstanding. I may move some guides around, but the sb720-4 is a great blank for small fish, it is not super ultralight, but for stream trout and small bass is fun. The other blank, that I am even more impressed with, is the batson 781-3 from the same series. I built it gripless, and tested it out in a catch and release trout tailwater river last weekend, swinging spoons and spinners of about a quarter ounce, it has a good balance of power and lightness. The strikes were fairly soft and at a good distance and it was very easy to tell the difference between rocks on the bottom and fish mouthing my lure. I actually plan on trying for steelhead with it this spring on some small great lakes tribs.


Tim O'Neill

Albany