Hello all, I had a friend ask me to build a ultra light for his father today. One of my friends children broke his dad's favorite rod about 7" down from the tip. The rod is a Penn Powerstick Ultra Light 4'9" rated for 1/16 to 1/4oz. lures. I have looked and can't find a rod to replace let alone a blank and that is when we decided to build him a new one.

Now the questions, I am almost exclusively a fly fisherman and thus the rods I have built with the exception of a spinning rod for my dad have been fly rods. Construction is not an issue but what blank would fit best is.
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He uses the rod to jig for crappie. I asked if a longer rod would be acceptable and was told he already had longer rods but this was his favorite. From his son's description he prefers to detect strikes by watching the line and rod tip as opposed to vibration detection. Sounds like a little slower action rod to me.

He also wants something strong to hold up to abuse but wants graphite. So I would figure the ultra premium blanks need not apply.

In summary, I am looking for a short UL blank that is slower actioned with decent power. I want something tough but graphite to hold up to abuse and maybe make it 15yrs as the last one did. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Jamie Midgley

If you can get the numbers on the rod and then Call Todd at MudHole or the Batsons they should be able to recommend a very close match.

Bill - willierods.com

Any chance you can get the broken pieces and temporarily repair the rod just well enough to get a measurement? If you can get an AA and ERN out of it, there are a number of folks on here who can point you to the right blank. The manufacturer's lure rating doesn't tell nearly as much as ERN would. Especially in the ultra light and light arena, a small deviation will make a huge difference.

Jason Cosby
Cos Rods