Hi guys
Have a time locating a trout rod 5 1/2 ft. Seems most are 6' plus Lure weight 1/16 - 3/8 Unless i trim one or talk him into a 6'

Any ideas Thanks

Bill - willierods.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2010 12:17PM by bill boettcher.

Chop 6 inches from the butt of the rod, build it up and go catch a bunch of trout.
We trim from the butt section on blanks all of the time to meet the needs of the client. The key thing to remember, that for light, and ultra light action rods, the tip is the key. The top 6 inches of these light action rods are the key to the rods performance.
Yes, you change the overall action a bit by trimming the butt, but the rod is still very sensitive and will be a very good rod, because you have NOT trimmed any of the soft tip - which is necessary for both bite detection as well as to keep these soft mouthed fish from throwing the hook.

Enjoy.

Roger

I what I was thinking also. Thanks, now to decide on which one of the blanks on my list

Bill - willierods.com

Bill

Trout rods are all I build and 5 1/2 ft is the most common length. My favorite blank is a St. Croix 3s60ULF, their 6 foot ultra-light with 6" trimmed off the butt. In my opinion the best ultra-light blank on the planet was the St. Croix 5s59ULF, but they quit making it.

Jim Reinhardt

I just built a rainshadow (RX7 IS661F+, 5'6", 2pc) for a guy. It is a pretty nice little blank. Janns shows them in stock, but I bought mine from Utmost. Hope that helps.

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Bill,
I fish brush choked trout streams here in lower Mi. all summer long. My favorite rod is a Steelhead tip section from Batson. Extend it and hide the extension under the handle. Makes it more like a moderate fast ultralight. I didn't write the number down and it has been a few years ago but I think it is an IST1141. If you have access to the blanks you should be able to bend a few and see for yourself.

The problem with alot of UL's in my opinion is they are almost like a buggy whip. I need enough backbone to keep a 24" brown out of the brush but still light enough to throw a #4 or smaller Panther Martin. Use the butt section to make a wading staff. Sell it as a package and go-fish.

Vic

We have a 561 in IM and SM. I had my hands on them both last Thursday so I know they are still in inventory.

FW 561-1(SM)
2-6 lbs
1/32-3/16 ounces
5 ft. 6 in.
Moderate Action
Ultra Light Power
4.00 Tip
0.274 Butt
0.85 Weight
$83.00

FW 561-1(IM)
2-6 lbs
1/32-3/16 ounces
5 ft. 6 in.
Moderate Power
Ultra Light Action
3.80 Tip
0.265 Butt
0.74 Weight
4.5 ERN
60 Action Angle
$119.00

The HM version is not quite ready and I don't have it to ship yet, probably a couple of weeks.

Jon



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2010 06:44PM by Jon Bial.

Victor,

I fish the same kind of waters here in PA that you do in Michigan- small, burshy streams with some LARGE browns. I found some St. Croix fly rod tops that are from heavy weight fly rods and I've used them with great success. I just used my new one the other day and it throws some really small lures very well. It also has the backbone to rip the big boys out from under tree roots. It's a 4'6" rod. I have some of the smaller UL St. Croix blanks and while they are nice, they don't have the same power that the fly rod tops do.


Bill,

Fly rod tops may be a good idea for you as well. They are easy to extend. I'm not a fan of cutting blanks, especially as much as 6". I much prefer to extend blanks because I prefer the faster action. It just depends on what your client is looking for.

jeremy

Bill I have used the St. Croix 5s66mlf and cut off the butt section for guys going into lakes deep in the woods. If you cut from the butt as others have said you still have a very good responsive and sensative rod. Just make sure when cutting you use something like a dremel cut off wheel and you shouldn't have a problem. This is one of my favorite blanks and at 4 to 10 pound test its nice and lite. I keep 4 or 5 in my shop at all times and recomend them to all my ultra light customers. Just keep in mind that cutting off a blank can void the manufactorers warrenty.

At Jann's the Rainshadow RX 7 261261 fast may fit the 3/8 lure he wants to though with the 6" off the butt

Bill - willierods.com

Bill,

[rodbuilding.org]

If you don't mind an eglass blank, works great. 2.0 ounces. I much prefer it to graphite on soft mouths and it'll handle healthy sized fish.

Jason Cosby
Cos Rods

That is an idea Jason
The last St Croix I had was a fast UL. I had to add split shot to get it to load well for better casting.
Trying to keep the warranty on the blank.

Thanks guys

Bill - willierods.com

If you can talk him into a 2 piece rod, I have built a few 3s56ulf-2 rod from stcroix and I love them. Already the correct length so no warranty issues as you stated that was a factor

Bill,

I am not sure how light of an ultra light you are looking for but check out Rogue and also Lamiglass... If neither of those work, I have a ATC that I picked up at the show from FishSticks that fits the bill for exactly what you are looking for. I am sure that if you gave Scott a call he could find you a couple more...


Tom