I have an absolutely insane client request. Background first, I am a fiberglass fly rod fan & I rebuild old yard sale/flea market fly rods I stumble upon. I also convert ultra-lite spin rods, into fly rods, especially Colonon rods. Bringing theseold rods back from death, I took to calling them Zombie Rods. Once people give them a toss, they tend to really like them & the whole retro/zombie thing is a real draw. Anyway, I've got a guy who REALLY wants a fiberglass 8, 9 or 10 wt for Musky & REALLY wants it to be a zombie rebuild, not a new blank. Crazy, I know. Discovering an old fiberglass 8, 9 or 10wt will be a real quest that I frankly don't have too much time for; this is only a pocket change hobby for me after all. The real question...what if I was to use an old spinning rod? This should be relatively easy to find in fiberglass. I've never done a spin to fly conversion on anything but an ultra-lite. What lb test or lure wt rating should I look for to convert something in this range? I'm sure some of you folks can give sage advice (including telling me this is just too nuts to work) & maybe we can spark some good give & take.

Looking forward to some interesting posts...

Tim

Sounds like a fiberglass medium or Med Hvy steelhead/salmon rod would be a candidate. To bad they have to be old rods because Lamiglas has had some dandies they made recently at good prices. Still old glass steelhead or salmon rods aren't to hard to come by, depending on where you live.

Several years ago I built a fly rod on an 8.5 foot hot shot blank - I don't remember the brand. This turned out to be an 11wt. rod with a very fast action and a stump-pulling butt. I wouldn't advise it for an inexperienced fly-caster, but it casts well once you get used to its quirky timing, and it has enough power to yank muskies around. However, it sounds like your customer can't decide upon utility or nostalgia as the goal of this custom built rod. Good luck.