I've been reading a bit about the mechanics of fly casting (yes, my social life is that exciting), and one of the things that's piqued my interest is that some claim that most modern graphite fly blanks are a poor fit for most fly fishermen: they are too stiff and too fast, are too hard to cast well, and most fly-casters do not have good enough form to be able to take advantage of the benefits they offer. The analogy is to golf: a high-modulus graphite fly rod is like a stiff graphite golf club shaft: they might be the best tools for experts at their respective crafts, but they are lousy for Average Joe. And I most definitely, when it comes to fly casting, am Average Joe (I'm probably below-average Joe, but that's a story for another time).

To this way of thinking, Average Joe would be better off with a glass fly rod, because it will be more forgiving, easier to load, and easier to cast. You'e probably not going to cast 120 feet with it, but most guys, including me, can't get those kinds of distances on high-tech graphite rods anyway. If all you want to do is what I call chuck-and-duck fly fishing (throwing the fly out there 50 or 60 feet - and this is pretty much the only kind of fly fishing I do), then a fiberglass rod/blank is a better choice.

I've been kicking these thoughts around in my head, and because of them, I've been toying with the idea of building a glass fly rod, probably a 9-weight. But when I went looking for blanks, I discovered that there are very, very few fiberglass fly blank options, and the ones I've found are all freshwater (Lami, for example, makes glass fly blanks, but nothing larger than a 5-weight).

So does anyone out there know where glass fly blanks, in sizes 7-10 or 11-weight, can be had?

I would tend to believe that a glass 9 weight rod would absolutely kill your shoulder after a full day of fishing. In my opinion the rod would be down right heavy in the hand, and you would be battling the rods inertia all day making for a miserable on the water experience. I would look for the highest modulus medium action graphite composite (maybe even boron) I could find and then go from there. I think it would be much more managable. In fact I think even a low modulus graphite in a 9 weight can tax the shoulder muscles to the brink.

Note: this opinion is coming from a guy who likes the crispest fastest actions he can find...lol.

Just ran across this looking for heavy glass rods. Have a read:

[thefiberglassmanifesto.blogspot.com]

Hi Chris,

I happen to love fishing bamboo rods.

The slower action just feels much more pleasant to me.

A quality fiberglass blank has similar qualities.

There is a resurgence in high end custom fiberglass blanks.

Check out : [fiberglassflyrodders.yuku.com]

There are a number of excellent blank makers.

I am particularly impressed with the work of a Mr. Kabuto of Japan.

That said, fiberglass and bamboo are heavy materials. They work great in the lighter line weights but not for long heavy rods.

I have a Tom Morgan designed fiberglass blank which is truly wonderful. It's an 8'-4wt-2piece made by Fisher.

Anything longer or of higher line weight would be too heavy to be comfortable.

I want to fly fish from the surf. For that I have decided to build a switch rod.

It's much easier to cast an 11 foot rod with two hands than even a 9 foot rod with one hand.

I am convinced this is the way to go for fly fishing the surf.

I gather there are graphite switch blanks with fairly moderate actions.

I plan to get one of Bob Meiser's blanks for my build.

In addition, his shop has done a ton of testing to provide the right lines to mate with their rods/ blanks.

Proper line selection is a crucial component for successful switch rod fishing.

Tight lines.

DG



I know you're a surf fisherman. I would suggest building a switch rod for overhead casting into the surf.

Two handed casting is the way to go with heavy fly rods. It's so much easier on your arms.

Thanks for the tips, guys. Now I'm intrigued: it seems there aren't any saltwater fiberglass fly blanks anywhere, presumably because there's no market for them. I'm going to have to try to find some.

I am sure you can find a graphite blank in a Moderate action

Check the weights of any glass you find and then compare to graphite

getting in touch with one of the suppliers will help in the search

Bill - willierods.com

Try Steffen Brothers - S glass blanks up to #10/11 rolled to order
General info about them on fiberglassflyrodders. Not tried them myself but intend to.
Not a salter but I do use vintage #8-11 glass for pike eg SA system series (fisher/hardy e-glass). Not that heavy or tiring, not that slow. 100' cast is hard work, but 75' all day long no problem. Great with hi d streamer sink tips

Thanks, Mark. That is perfect - just the information I was hoping to find. Cheers.