I'm going to build a fly rod for pike. I'll want it relatively short (8'to 8'6) and quite fast, and able to cast a 9wt line with ease.
For various reasons including price and a compulsive tendency to experiment, I'm thinking a spinning blank would perhaps do the trick. I've seen references to such builds here and there on this forum, but more like a passing comment than an elaborate explanation.
Is there someone willing to share some experience on the subject? I'm especially interested in the casting behavior/performance of such a rod.

Out of a first check, I've selected the following as candidates
Batson RX7 IST993F 8'3 / ML / fast
Batson RX8 XST1024F 8'6 / M / fast
MHX ST1022-MHX 8'6 / ML / fast
MHX HS9600-2-MHX 8' / ML / fast

alas, I've never handled any of these blanks. any comment on their action would be welcome.
thanks!

_______________________________________________
If I'm not going to catch anything, then I'd rather not catch anything on flies.

Prostaff Rodhouse
[www.rodhouse.fr]

Laurent,
A spinning rod will definitely work as a fly rod.
The key, as you've observed, is finding the correct blank for the given line weight.
Based on a 9 weight rod of IM7 material at a length of 8'3" the butt dia should be approximately .395 with a blank weight of 1.9 ounces.
If any of the rods you've selected are close they may be viable candidates.
A mid blank dia would be more helpful if you can obtain one.

Eugene Moore

thanks Eugene.
all of them are a little on the heavy side (between 2.1 and 2.5 oz) with a fat butt.
I don't mind a big butt on such a blank, since conicity will be the usual way to get a fast blank without adding weight.

_______________________________________________
If I'm not going to catch anything, then I'd rather not catch anything on flies.

Prostaff Rodhouse
[www.rodhouse.fr]

All rods cast weight So I would suggest that the blank need to cast 9/16s lure weight to be in the ball park of a 9 wt line
If some one here has done one you should be able to find out what they used when they see this post

Bill - willierods.com

hi bill.
actually, I've read about the 1/16 conversion in one of your past posts, so I know I'm not far off with the blanks I've chosen.
having fished for long with light spinning built out of fly blanks, I'm a great believer in Tom's "a blank is a blank is a blank" principle.

now, what I'm really looking for is some input about how such a rod would cast. there's a video on youtube where a guy from NFC throws a 10wt line with a rod built on a bass blank (I think) so I know it sort of works, but I can't get what is the reference of the blank and the man makes some extravagant claims about distance...

Another thing you can do is call both Batson and Mudhole and find who may know They build and use there stuff
You should get more response later - Every one is probably fishing

Bill - willierods.com

Laurent,
If the blank is correctly sized it can throw a full 9 weight with a proficient caster.
If the butt dia is large and the weight is high it can mean either a lower grade of material is utilized or the rod will require a line weight heavier than your proposed 9 weight.
Does the rod you are referencing happen to be a 6'6" 10 weight. If so you can contact Gary Henderson who used to post frequently on this forum. Haven't heard from him in a while though.

Eugene Moore

I have no idea who is the person in the video, but you can watch it here (with some comments of mine) : [g0nefishin9.wordpress.com]

maybe someone with a better hear for English than mine will make out the reference of the blank.

_______________________________________________
If I'm not going to catch anything, then I'd rather not catch anything on flies.

Prostaff Rodhouse
[www.rodhouse.fr]

Seven or eight years ago I built a fly rod on an 8 1/2 foot hot shot spinning rod blank, the equivalent of the current RX7 HS1201. It resulted in a wicked fast rod which launches a 10 or 11 wt. fly line, and has enough power in the butt to handle really serious fish. I think casting accuracy suffers because of the extreme tip action, but it could be just me.

Not sure that blank butt diameter really is something you want to bank on. I have blanks with tiny butt diameters that are more powerful than other blanks with much larger butt diameters, even in similar material. There is more to it than just diameter.

If the bass blank you show works well why not contact the company ask them for a recommendation as to that blank? One thing for sure is that you know it will work.

James:
not a bad idea to call NFC (but always kind of complicated, I'm French and in France, but nevermind)
as for what you'll get from butt dia, I agree it's not a good indicator of *power* (ERN), but it 's more action (AA) i'm worried about here. at any rate, I just wanted to say that I'm looking for a very fast blank, and I expect its butt to be rather large. If it isn't, then it's even better, but I suspect that the price tag would suffer then.

_______________________________________________
If I'm not going to catch anything, then I'd rather not catch anything on flies.

Prostaff Rodhouse
[www.rodhouse.fr]

For action, the taper is what you want to consider. It's the ratio of butt to tip diameter that tells a great deal of that tale. Generally, the steeper the ratio, the faster the action.


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

Tom: that's exactly what I had in mind. everything being equal, higher butt/tip = tippier ("faster" but this is a misleading term) action

_______________________________________________
If I'm not going to catch anything, then I'd rather not catch anything on flies.

Prostaff Rodhouse
[www.rodhouse.fr]

I don't know about that, the Perigee fly rods I built have virtually identical butt diameters 1/2 inch at the butt. 1 is a 9 wt, the other two are 5 wts. tips are different, but nothing in a proportional manner as some seem to think.
Emory once said if you double the diameter of a blank using the same amount of material, the stiffness will go up 9 times.

The blanks you list aren't cheap. Given the risk I'd think you are better off buying a fly rod blank.

FWIW, I did put a fly reel on a hs1023f spinning rod I had. The rear grip was about a foot long so call it a 7 1/2 foot fly rod. It cast a six weight line nicely but I was using two hands and I dodn't really know how to cast a fly rod. My impression was it would be better if you needed to cast a lighter than normal fly line but needed to handle powerful fish.

If you just want to experiment you might try a live bait blank. Baston's rclb80xl is cheap enough. Might have to move up to a 12 weight line though. It would also give me confidence if I hooked a 40 pound pike. The blank feels lighter than its listed weight.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Laurent, real simple solution is to send an email to CTS and explain what you want. They have a line of fly rod blanks called the Prime Series, you pick the taper, length, line weight and number of pieces. They will build it. Its not going to be cheap, but you will get what you are looking for. I have had them make me up several blanks where I picked out what I wanted in a blank and they delivered it on each one of them. You will not see this series listed on their web site but a simple email to them explaining what you are looking for will get it done. You can also choose from a bunch of colors for a truly custom rod.

I built a fly rod on a Batson IP840 blank. It cast a six weight line fine, but I eventually stripped it and built it as a spinning rod just because the length being only 7'. That is a very light spinning blank and it was enough for a six weight and even an eight weight close in. I got some 8'6" 6/7 fly blanks from Utmost Enterprises that make a good eight weight rod for bass poppers.

Spencer: you're right, butt/tip ratio isn't the only way to control the action or the power of a blank. adding matter or using higher modulus carbon are other options, and I'm sure there's more.

Russell: knowing our French waters, I doubt I'll be fighting a 40 pounder any time soon (even a 20 pound fish is quite unusual). Alas. You're right about the price of the blanks, even though the MHX are reasonable even for experiment. But then, that's why I'm trying to gather as much info I can get from the experts here.

Bill: I'm aware that CTS will do that, and do it well. but they are way out of my budget for this project.

Greg: I wouldn't go under 8' for a pike rod. I'm not going to fish small streams, I need some distance (and that's the very reason of this discussion)

_______________________________________________
If I'm not going to catch anything, then I'd rather not catch anything on flies.

Prostaff Rodhouse
[www.rodhouse.fr]

The last one I built was on an American Tackle Co. Matrix AMSP843 blank rated for 1/8-3/8 oz. I figured it would throw a 6 wt line and it turned out to throw a 4-7 wt lin very well depending on the amount of line yop have in the air and the distances you are casting at. However I bought 3 different blanks rated 1/8-3/8 oz before I found just the right one. This rod went to a friend of mine down in Mississippi and he is using it for a bass rod in fresh water. He wanted a short but powerful rod to load very fast, he says he is delighted with the results.

So a blank rated for 1/2 - 5/8s oz may throw that 9 wt line ????

Bill - willierods.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/10/2012 02:08PM by bill boettcher.