Hi Chaps

Been a long while and a lot of fishing since my last post. I've posted this on a few of our UK boards but no takers as yet so I thought I'd give you chaps a go at it as you will understand the 'why' of it better than most UK anglers.

Now I need your help with a 'project' for a new rod I want to create. I am wanting to build a glass/carbon hybrid not composite 7 foot ish light lure rod consisting of a carbon handle of about 2 feet and a fast taper a S' glass tip.
Why glass you might ask - several reasons -
1) I want to try out the action of glass which is slower and more forgiving compared to carbon.
2) I think this attribute might be a help with my light spinning for perch and other 'softer' mouthed species.
3) Being a total tackle tart ('ho) I really WANT a honey coloured glass tip / black parralell or preferably a slight reverse tapered stiff carbon butt. Aesthetics are important .
The honey coloured glass to be whipped up in a claret / black tippings with a modern Japenese domestic market style handle (google for pics). I saw a pic. online of a rod in this colour scheme based on a honey coloured 's' glass lamiglas blank and it totally blew me away.
The link (http://fishinglifestyle.net/2010/12/fiberglass-vs-graphite-fishing-rods/ ) Also the guy explains in more detail why I want to make this rod.
Does anyone have any ideas re. a supplier / blank or if a suitable actioned honey coloured glass rod exists that could be adapted (chopped) and refurnished. ?

Any help appreciated
thanks and regards
Jeremy

Action is independent of material - I'm guessing you mean "speed." The best way to achieve a softer or more forgiving tip is to choose a blank with a very fast albeit soft tip, such as a live bait or "crankbait" model.

The biggest problem you're going to have is the coloration. The blank you want is readily available, but not necessarily in that color combination. Seeker once made its CLB Live Bait series in a carbon butt/yellow tip, but I don't think they still offer that combination and even the lightest model, the 702, would be a tad heavy for perch.

I'd look at the many crankbait rods that have come on the market in recent years. You can almost surely find something suitable, but again, not necessarily in the particular color you want.

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

Jeremy,
Take any of the St. Croix, or Batson blanks that have this action, and there are several excellent candidates, and pait the part of the rod that you want honey colored.

Good luck
Roger

I think your perch are a bit larger than our US fish, try finding an honey colored S Glass Lamiglas SSP 843, 1/8 to 3/8 oz. 6 to 12 lb line. Light tip, decently heavy butt. I'd try Versitex.
Lamiglas built heavier powered blanks as you discribed, but the lightest line weight blank was 8 to 20 lb line, the CMB 841.

Personally I haven't used them, but I do know that quite a few guys in Poland use Phenix Elixer series blanks for perch rods. At least some of these blanks have a very fine, albeit carbon tip, which is apparently great for perch fishing (they say you can tie knots with it ;-)). Besides quite a few of these blanks are 2-piece, which can help with the painting (I guess this would be a must for your colour preference, unless you decide to go for a spliced solid glass tip - also painted actually).

Besides, the lighter XLS and EXT series from Composite Developments are also of the X-fast very fine and delicate tip variety.

Last option - spliced tip in solid glass - talk to rod builders about that. It is a matter of finding the right carbon blank, that has enough room in the tip, so that when it gets trimmed, a solid glass (or carbon) tip can be glued there.

Cheers,
Michal

Hi Chaps

Thank you for all the input .
Another question please - I spoke to a guy at Mudhole and hs recommended the Seeker SP glass series which certainly SEEMS on paper to tick some boxes :
Question does anybody know anything about these blanks ? I have a seeker rod which chef jim built for me but Seeker are not well known in the UK at all.

In addition to this quite by chance I was advised to 'phone a UK blank maker and chat with them and the upshot of that was it may be possible to get a 'one-off' ' blank made up that fits my specs - how cool is that and not as expensive as it sounds - all depends on if they can adapt a mandrel/blank they already have. You may have heard of the manufacturers - Conoflex :-).

Again many thanks for the advice and help please keep it coming - this board is great
regards
Jeremy

For Michal

"Last option - spliced tip in solid glass - talk to rod builders about that. It is a matter of finding the right carbon blank, that has enough room in the tip, so that when it gets trimmed, a solid glass (or carbon) tip can be glued there. "

Great minds think alike - I'm making an extreme ultralight at the moment with a glass butt, IM8 carbon middle and very fine solid glass top and it is a sweetie.
I 'needed, this because I wanted a rod that could really cast 1g and under lures and be OK with 2-4 lb line and although my other u/ls would sort of do it if pushed none really got down-on-it for real. Not as light as all carbon but it is very well balanced in the hand.

regards
Jeremy

What can I say? Wouldn't dream of disagreeing ;-)
And actually I will still say this: check out the Phenix blanks.
Cheers,
Michal