G'day everyone,
Very recently there has been quite a bit of interest in Fibreglass fly rods - at least in Australia there has.

There are a couple of blanks that are receiving quite a bit of marketing that and have attracted interest.
New generation fibreglass or something.
Epic and CTS are the 2 brands that are getting some publicity in fly circles down this part of the globe.
I have seen a Kabuto??? one as well.
And only the other day someone posted up a pic of a "Blue Halo" fibreglass fly rod blank they had built up which looked pretty neat.

What others are out there?

The Epic and the CTS were more $ than I was willing to invest in a fibreglass blank.
The Blue Halo was closer - but I'm not sure what freight to Australia would be.

Chris

The Angler's Roost to the left.

Don't forget Lamiglas

There are several 1000 fiberglass flyroders out there. Do a goggle for them.

You might want to check out 2 other websites, Fiberglass Fly Rodders and the Fiberglass Manifesto. Both have a load of info on glass and listings for blanks and finished rods.

You really cannot go wrong with a CTS or Epic, yes they are expensive, but they are some of the best out there. The Epic Blanks are made by CTS, if you didn't know that.

Thanks guys - really helpful.

Didn't know Epic was made by CTS. I had my suspicions as they are both NZ based as far as I'm aware.

I had found the Fibreglass Manifesto and had a really quick look at it but only read one of their articles. Was interesting and prompted a bit more interest in exploring fibreglass.
This article also had me wondering whether the real plus with the fibreglass blanks is the slower taper -(compared to the some of the wicked fast tapers of the the current carbon fly rods that need overlining to give them a bit more feel). I have a TFO finesse which is a lower modulus slower tapered rod that I love for trout fishing on little creeks.

I don't think I'm going to build a fibreglass rod - really need to fish the rods I have - but they are interesting. And new toys are always worth considering.

Chris Garrett

Fiberglass itself doesn't create the slower taper/action. Action is independent of material. You can make a super fast action blank from bamboo, and a super slow action blank from graphite.

Keep the mind the line ratings for any rod are subjective and based on the distance the manufacturer intends the rod to be fished at. A super fast action graphite rod, properly lined for the distance you want to cast and fish, will load just as easily as any glass rod.

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

Tom Kirkman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Fiberglass itself doesn't create the slower
> taper/action. Action is independent of material.
> You can make a super fast action blank from
> bamboo, and a super slow action blank from
> graphite.
>
> Keep the mind the line ratings for any rod are
> subjective and based on the distance the
> manufacturer intends the rod to be fished at. A
> super fast action graphite rod, properly lined for
> the distance you want to cast and fish, will load
> just as easily as any glass rod.
>
> ........

I was trying to get to this - you've just said it better.

There was very positive comments about the "feel" of fibreglass. That sort of interested & confused me.

To my mind, a modern lightweight graphite blank uses less material to acheive the same taper. With less material to absorb the vibrations (that comprise feel), the lightweight rod should provide more feel than a heavier glass or for that matter bamboo rod.
But since I haven't used fibreglass in a very long time (when I was a kid I had fibreglass rods) its hard to know whether I'm just overthinking things.

I will have to get hold of one of these new fibreglass rods to have a play. But part of me thinks that is a bad idea. If I like them my wallet wouldn't approve.
Chris

I might suggest you try the used route. No idea if it would make sense but it seems like it to me. It has been said if S glass was used more graphite wouldn't have taken such a hold.

So why not search and find out about the best of the S glass blanks from yesteryear? Maybe you will get lucky and find one at a garage sale or such. Pretty sure fenwick, scott, sage and lamiglass all made them in the 80's.

Might find something special at a bargain price. They make a lot of nice blanks today but I happen to think some from the past are hard to beat.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

If you not looking to spend a lot of money, try one of the Anglers Roost glass blanks. I have heard from some friends that do cast pretty well. The only thing that some of them have stated that maybe a drawback is that the ferrule (female end) may need to be trimmed back a bit for a better fit, thus reducing the overall length of the blank. In most cases it was only .25 to .50 of an inch, so not really a bit deal in the grand scheme of things. They have spigot style ferrules and remember they should have around a .25 gap between the two sections. They are really easy on the wallet too.

For short range work it is really tough to beat a glass rod. I think you should still go and check out the Fiberglass Fly Rodders Forum, you'll see that there are a bunch of your fellow countrymen on there. Australia is pretty well represented and you might have someone nearby that could let you cast some of their glass rods.

Not to contradict, but a graphite rod, properly lined for the distance, is equally adept at short range work. Fly fishermen, by and large, don't understand that as you move more or less line beyond the tip, you're changing the line weight on the rod. So at closer in distances, you need a heavier line. For further out, a lighter line.

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

Like Tom has said
Take your rod If A 5 wt
cast it with 3 and 4 wt line Then cast with 6 and 7 wt line You can make the rod act just like you want with different line weights
Plus
The rod being graphite will be NICER to cast because it is lighter then a Glass rod
take you rod you use now - Try different lines on it You can make it feel as you want
It is all about the weight Off The Tip Line weight

be careful Too much line Weight and it will snap

Bill - willierods.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/08/2014 08:23PM by bill boettcher.

Tom and Bill are both right. You can change the casting distance and flex point of any fly rod by changing the fly line. But as bill said Graphite will only take so much of this before it breaks. Fiberglass is alot stronger then Graphite and will take a larger range of fly lines. I would also argue that fiberglass is no where as stiff as Graphite which changes the feel of the cast. I actually have a fiberglass rod that performs well with anything from a 3wt line to a 9wt line.

If you think of graphite look at RX 6 They are generly softer then 7 or 8's At least i find them so
Another root may be a Composit blank Graphite and glass
You can also look at spin and cast blanks Just figure the lure weight to the line you want to use

Bill - willierods.com

Modern fiberglass fly blank offerings from US$30 to US$300. There's really no point in resisting... :)

eric
fresno, ca.

so many fiber glass blanks to choose from not to mention colors and then s-glass or some other combination of glass. any suggestions on good quality blanks without the high price tag.