Anyone tried these type blanks for fly rods? Thinking about some 8'6" rods for 6 to 10 wt. lines.

Thanks - Marc

Keep it simple - that's all I can handle!

I have a 9' 6" North Fork steelhead blank, (slow action, ultra-light according to NF description) and it tests with CCS to have the same action angle (therefore same "action") as a Forecast RX^ F866-4 fly blank. The power of the North Fork is about 9% lower than the Forecast. Therefore is looks just like a 5 wt fly blank, in my opinion. It feels like a fly blank in the hand).

Having verified that they are likely to work if you're after a traditional fly action, I don't know why you don't just buy fly blanks that meet your requirements. I don't understand what advantage the steelhead blanks have. Unless you already own them and are trying to use them up.

If you cannot run CCS numbers on them, you will just have to experiment to find the right line weights out of a selection of steelhead blanks. Probably would have to do that anyway, but it would be nice to have some way of estimating fairly accurately what line weight you would be getting out of them. One way to do that would be to measure the deflection from horizontal to a point 1/3 the length of the rod lower than the butt using a weight that gives about 2-3 feet of vertical deflection. Build that rod and fit a line to it. Make that your baseline. With rods of other power, consider that there is about a 10% deflection difference between line weights of fly rods. Therefore a blank that deflected about 10% less than your base would likely be one line weight rating heavier. And one that deflected about 10% more would be about 1 line weight lighter.

OK, back to the simple answer. Most likely they will work fine.

Easy way that will get into the ball park but still have to be tested with the line is to take the line wt say 8 wt line and put it over 16 8 / 16 about 1/2 oz lure weight You will as said try the line on the blank with several guides and see how it cases

Bill - willierods.com

Most gear blanks are very fast action with very fast recovery compared to even fast fly blanks. You could look for a blank targeted for centerpinning for a more fly-like taper.

Make it easier on your self Get a fly blank rated for the line you want to use -- And then you may have to try several lines to see how it loads with each and how it casts for YOU

Bill - willierods.com

Bill,

The problem is that in the 8'6" length, the selection of fly rod blanks is somewhat limited. Sometimes you have to outside the norm and use your ability as a custom rod builder to get what is desired.

...........

FWIW, I had a 8'6" hot shot blank built as a spinning rod. Was fly casting one day and decided to put the fly reel on the hot shot blank just to see (6 wt line). First time I cast into the backing.

I came away thinking that hot shot blank would certainly toss a fly.....and had the power in the butt to handle a way more serious fish than any normal 6 wt rod. Rod was rated 12-25# and I'd say it was on the level of a 9+ wt power wise......but the soft extra fast tip allowed it to cast lower weights very well.

I think the idea has merit. Maybe Phil will join in. Pretty sure he has built a few.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Rick, the numbers do not lie. Steelhead rods and fly rods are very close to each other.

What was the lure rating on that hot shot blank That will tell the story must be about 3/8

Bill - willierods.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/05/2016 09:32PM by bill boettcher.

Kind of what I am thinking. First - not a lot of 8'6" blanks around, a few in 6 wt., pretty rare in 7, 8, or 9 wt. Was also considering more power in the lower section would be interesting to cast. May be fun to try!

Thanks - Marc

Keep it simple - that's all I can handle!

I built a 8 1/2 foot hot-shot steelhead blank into a fly rod. It made a powerful and extremely fast fly rod - too fast for inexperienced fly casters.

Michael Danek Wrote:
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> Rick, the numbers do not lie. Steelhead rods and
> fly rods are very close to each other.
You're right - the numbers do not lie.
As I said, the trick is to find a slow action steelhead rod.

Here are my Steelhead rods.
Rainshadow XST1263F: ERN = 12.55, AA = 78. This is built for levelwind float fishing.
Mudhole ST1022-MHX: ERN 10.4, AA=75. This is build for casting spoons.
These characteristics are great for casting floats or spoons, but would be terrible for casting flies.

Rainshadow XST1383F: ERN = 10, AA = 66. This one is a centerpin blank and would make a great 9wt fly rod, for example.

Noodle rods are "steelhead rods" also, are available in 9 and 10 foot lengths, and are most certainly "slow action"! If the angler does not have to cast farther than 40 feet [doesn't double haul] a noodle rod blank might be just the ticket.

mark steffen, Steffen bros fly rods makes an 8'6" 7/8 at 3 pc fiberglass blank.

The 8-12 lb. line class steelhead rods I have all seem to CC around 12 wt. The 8' 3" Rainshadow IST 993 casts a nice tight loop.