I'll begin by saying I AM NOT a fly rod builder, but I have a close friend that wants a 3wt fly rod. I would appreciate some input on blank choice and correct set-up.

Many Thanks!

Walt Davenport
"Roadhouse Rods"

Walt,
I build mostly fly rods, and fish nearly exclusively with five weight and below fly lines. Most of my summer and fall fishing for trout is done with three weight double taper fly lines. To this point I have purposely referred to fly line weight and not fly rod weight. I’m doing this because if your friend wants to comfortably present flies with a three weight line you’ll want a blank that will do that for him.

Over the last 4-5 years I have found that more than half of the “three weight” blanks I’ve purchased were better suited for use with a four weight line. Use of the CCS confirmed that the power ratings were higher on those blanks. So I simply built on them in cases where I’d be planning to fish with a four weight line.

I believe the most important decision you’re going to make is selection of a blank that will result in a rod that your friend will enjoy fishing with a three weight line.

Jeff Shafer

Walt,

Need some questions answered.
Price range ?
Target species assume brook trout ?
Water conditions assume small stream ?
Preferred fishing techniques ?
Drys, Wets, Nymphs, Streamers, all the above.
Any desired length ?
Preferred action ?
Special grip ?
Wood reel seat ? Preferred wood ? Nickel silver fittings ?
Other special requirements ? special wraps, inlays


Gene

Gene,

A few answers for you.

Price- he's flexible
small steam fishing / trout
length 7' or less
action/ slow -moderate
half wells grip

I would like to do something nice with the grip/reel seat, maybe a cocobolo reel seat insert, and some nickel silver to give it some bling.

Walt Davenport
"Roadhouse Rods"

One of the most important questions will be:

At what distance will he be fishing?

A different blank would be selected based on close in fishing,10-20 feet, vs 40- 50 feet.

Chris Richer
Iroquois ON

Chris Richer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> One of the most important questions will be:
>
> At what distance will he be fishing?
>
> A different blank would be selected based on close
> in fishing,10-20 feet, vs 40- 50 feet.

Lets start with middle of the road; it will be a few days before I speak with him again

Walt Davenport
"Roadhouse Rods"

Walt,
Two blanks stand out immediately
Cabela's 7 foot 3 weight 2-piece PT+ for the low end $60
Sage TXL 7 foot 3 weight 3-piece for the high end $280
The exotic wood and nickle siver fittings make an attractive, classic fly rod.
Simple, light and elegant.
7 guides plus tip top
tip top H&H standard loop
Recoil #1 titanium double foot (3 reqd)
H&H #2 double foot (2 reqd)
H&H #3 double foot (1 reqd)
Pac Bay #10 stripper guide

If the Recoils are available in single foot in that size, change all guides to single foot except stripper. I've had conflicting reports on availability of single foots in size #1.

If this seems to fit the build requirements, let me know and I'll calculate guide spacing.

Gene

Any rod will cast any line at some distance.j If you take any of those "3-weight" blanks you have you'll find that they'll cast a 3-weight line nicely once you get enough line out past the tip. That's the crux of the matter - when you buy such a rod or blank, you have no idea of the distances the designer intended it to be used for.

The first thing you need to do is find out where and how he fishes. Close in on small streams? Long range on bigger waters?

Remember, 1/4 ounce of 3-weight line weighs exactly the same amount as 1/4 ounce of 4-weight line, but not at the same length.

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

Walt,
Sorry forgot to mention one other
Winston 7 foot 3-piece WT series @ $320
Very good casting rod

Gene

Close in on small steams according to his wife.

Walt Davenport
"Roadhouse Rods"

If he wants slow/moderate, I wouldn't rule out a fiberglass rod. Lamiglas makes some honey-colored blanks that make sweet casting small stream rods. Angler's Workshop carries them:
[www.anglersworkshop.com]

For the reel seat, I would recommend REC. Their PLRW flared butt slide ring seat is a classic:
[www.reelseats.com]

Or the LCRN cap and ring would also be a great choice:
[www.reelseats.com]

The one unique thing you would need to deal with is that the butt section of these blanks is so large, that you need to trim off the bottom and insert a length of smaller diameter blank as an extension in order to get the reel seat on. Otherwise the blank is too large for the inside diameter of the seat.

Walt

If he's going to be using a 3-weight line on the rod at close in distances then you need to select a blank that will load with a short length of 3-weight line. If you have access to CCS ERN power figures, look for something in the 2.0 to 2.5 range.

Otherwise he will almost certainly need to use a 4-weight line to load it easily, unless you know for a fact that the manufacturer intended it be used with a 3 at short distances.

.........

Walt -
Just looking at what you've learned. My guess is that he is fishing small streams (Pennsylvania / New York) for brookies and likely "dappling" rather than casting any significant distance. If that is the case you might want to look at American Tackle's 6'6"; 2 wt; 2 piece blank. Just going off the specs as given my bet is that this will perform better as a 3wt than a 2wt rod.

That's good advice. Remember, you don't have to tell him that the blank you bought is listed by the manufacturer as a 2-weight. Buy it, build it and tell him you built it to be used with a 3-weight line at short distances. He'll think you're the world's greatest rod builder.

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

Walt,
Your choice but if you build him a 2 weight tell him it's a 2 weight.
If he wants a 3 weight build him a 3.
If he's a proficient caster and puts a 3 weight line on a 2 weight blank when he tries to stroke a long cast he'll feel the difference and may be upset the rod folded at 40 feet.
Making short casts with a correctly lined rod is a matter of practice. When you find you do want a long cast you do not want the rod to be the limiting factor. I delibrately underline a rod one line size and fish whatever distance is required. When I need to make a long cast there's a reason the cast has to be made long. The stream and position of the trout dictate the playing field. A 3 weight rod should be optimum with 30 feet of 3 weight line past the rod tip that's why it's a three weight. Nothing is more upsetting than having a manufacturer rate the rod 2 or 3 line sizes off.

Gene

It is whatever you tell him it is. There is no standard for fly rod weights. Absolutely none. The number you put on the rod, is what it is.

What Eugene suggests is a nice notion - I wrote an article on the very same subject and recommended that rods be rated for the line that will load them at 30 feet past the rod tip. For fishing in closer, upline by one. For fishing out very far, underline by one. But the fly rod industry will never do this.

As it is, there is no standard for rating fly rods. The best thing you can do is ascertain what your customer intends to do and then accommodate him with the blank you know will do what he wants to do with the line he intends to use.

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

Certainly a lot of good information here; once I get the blank nailed down I'll be looking for a little help with the setup. Thanks for all the replies; any other info much appreciated as well.

Walt Davenport
"Roadhouse Rods"

You can also check out the CCS site and see what blanks are TRUE 3 weights. Upper left
[www.superbob.org]

Bill - willierods.com

There is no such thing as a "true 3-weight." The AFTMA standards are for lines, not rods.

.........

I have a TXL in a 4wt and it casts well both short and long with a 4wt line. Perhaps your friend can cast one in a shop and see if he likes the rod. Also you may try to find out what rods and types of rods he owns and prefers to cast. I like the TXL, but one FFers treasure is another FFers trash, LOL.

While I generally agree with all that's posted about over and under rated rods for the line weight, the tables never consider the casters abilities and preferences for a rod. I agree the CCS system is a very valuable tool as a comparison for rods, but until and unless you know the anglers casting abilitiy and preferences, it's tough to build a rod that he will trully enjoy fishing with.

I love building rods, but the one thing that is a downside for me is not being able to test cast the rod before I build it, unless I can cast the factory built equivlent before chosing a blank. The CCS is a big step forward, but doesn't always point me to a rod I really love to cast and fish wtih.