Hello all.

I noticed that the Pac Bay Quickline fly rod blanks came out this year in some 10 foot models. Does anyone have experience with the new blanks yet and if so, are they similar to the 9 foot models (just longer)?

Thanks.

The last 10' 5wt that I built, did not really like a 5wt line. With a ERN of 6.49 customer ended up using a 6wt line on it, and said he felt it would even handle a 7. It would just not load very well with the 5wt unless you had a ton of line out, even with double hauling.

Ron Weber

I built the 10' 4wt for myself, bought it for high stick nymphing and Euro style nymphing, and bought partly based on the advertised blank weight. It was a bit over the listed weight on my gram scale, but the swing weight once built really soured me on it. Built, it was overall pretty light, but it did not "fish" light.
As Ron mentioned, the rod liked a heavier line for normal casting....I eventually settled on a Rio Grand 5wt (more like a 5 1/2 weight in grains). Eventually gave the rod to a friend, who likes it. Rod feel is subjective. On a more objective note, the finish scratched very easily, and it did arrive with a rather large finish blemish on the butt section. Luckily it sanded off and was under the butt wrap, but gave me second thoughts on the quality control. Blank was relatively straight in the bottom 2 sections, 3rd section had a bend, tip section had a dog-leg which took some time and effort to figure out how to find a straight axis when assembled.
I've had great experiences with the Tradition II line, and the spin blanks. But I'll be reluctant to try another QL fly blank.

I think the OP is referring to the new 6,7,8 wt 10' blanks. PacBay lists all CCS numbers including CCF so you have a ton of information.

For example, the 6wt 10' has ERN: 6.8, AA: 69, CCF:85 which means it has reasonable power for a 6wt but is very stiff. I prefer a CCF in the 80-81 range.
Overlining it with a 7wt line will reduce CCF to a more reasonable value but will likely overload it even with 40-50ft of line out.

Thanks for the input. And yes, I was referring to the 6,7,8 weights - sorry I should have been more specific.

But the feedback on the 4 and 5 weight was helpful. I had a 4 weight for a couple of months (before it had an accident in a doorway) and could never get it to cast well. I thought it was just me but now I figure I should have tried a heavier line.