Hello,

My son has shown a great interest in fly fishing and I would like to build him a rod. So far he has developed a pretty good roll cast using a Reddington form rod but we haven't done any overhand casting yet.

We would be fishing for panfish, small smallmouth and rock bass, as well as shiners and chubs - pretty well anything that will hit a indicator/nymph rig. It will be mostly short roll casts from shore.

Does anyone have any suggestions for suitable blank in the 3-4 weight, 6-7 foot range? I would like to get him a decent rod but at the same time would rather not break the bank at this point.

thanks,
Tom.

Tom,
I built a rod for a 5yr old and got my blank from Dan Craft for $20. Is was a sweet blank - 2pc. As you get into the lower weights the difference between the expensive stuff and the other dims. I only build on CTS blanks - but for something like that I would give dan a call. He had a number of these blanks in the corner. They are not his FT blanks - but suitable. I specified a #6 but it handled a #7 line better.
Herb
Distrib. For CTS Fly Blanks



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/2013 11:34AM by Herb Ladenheim.

May or may not be what you are looking for but a suggestion from my experience. I bought my daughter an Echo Gecko fly rod. I can not over state how impressed I am with the rod. It is a 7'6" 4wt 3pc rod and I over lined it with a WF-5- F line. It has small lower grip so they can spey cast with it also. For a child that small that is what I would teach him. The rod just casts great period and she can feel the rod load. The grips are small for little hands and in cool bright colors. If you have not cast one check it out first, at least look it over for some ideas to build a rod. Then when he is bigger and can appreciate having a rod dad built for him build him a nice one..

This kid starting this young
maybe another Loomis ??? LOL

Bill - willierods.com

I totally agree with Steve the Echo Geckos are great. when my boys were young I built a rod off of a tip section from a 9 1/2 2 pc fly rod I had kicking around. then later built them each a rod based on what we were going for at that time. now they each have several.

If you can find a a ultra-lite to lite fiberglass spinning blank, they make great fly rods for children. They will take a bit more abuse that children seem to offer, than a graphite blank.

Bob McKamey
Mud Hole Custom Tackle
bobm@mudhole.com

Thanks for all of the input and suggestions.

I'll check on the Echo Gecko and also noticed that Hook and Hackle has a special on their 6'6", 2 weight Xi which looks like a pretty good deal.

H&H has some nice blanks but a 2wt. might be to difficult for him to feel it load. What ever blank you decide on,unless you know the CCS, it would be a good idea to go with a higher weight line. JMTC.

Try one of Batson's SPG blanks. I built the SPG 601 (5 ft 1 pc)and 720 (6 fot, 2pc) into fly rods this winter. I've only fished the 720 so far, and only a little bit, but it seems to make a good 4wt. I probably had $40-50 in each build, no more. My 5yo son was getting interested in fly casting watching me with the 720 at the creek. Now when he pretends to fish he always false casts a few times. :)

Tom, I have made a number of rods for children, although none as young as 3 1/2 yrs. I would recommend a practice rod first made with a light tip section with a piece of brightly colored yarn attached so he can get used to casting. He will be able to see the loop form much better and have fun with it at the same time. Then I would make a rod of 6 - 7' in a 5 wt so that he can feel the rod load. Video tape his casting sessions so he can see what he is doing right and what doesn't work so well. I would put a 3" fighting butt on the rod because he might wish to use two hands on the rod. Kids that age will have difficulty in one hand casting. Hope this helps. Randy

Tom, I have made a number of rods for children, although none as young as 3 1/2 yrs. I would recommend a practice rod first made with a light tip section with a piece of brightly colored yarn attached so he can get used to casting. He will be able to see the loop form much better and have fun with it at the same time. Then I would make a rod of 6 - 7' in a 5 wt so that he can feel the rod load. Video tape his casting sessions so he can see what he is doing right and what doesn't work so well. I would put a 3" fighting butt on the rod because he might wish to use two hands on the rod. Kids that age will have difficulty in one hand casting. Hope this helps. Randy

Sorry for the double post, sometimes the Forum doesn't react very quick.
Don't know why.

I would look at building it like a "mini spey rod" much easier for kids to 2-hand cast. I built my son a 5 like that.

Eric, you are right on, that's why I said a 3' fighting butt, thinking about a switch rod I just finished for my self. Two handed is much easier for kids to master.

Thanks for the additional input. The two handed casting rod is a very good idea and I think I'll go that route.

Thanks again.

Tom.