Ok.. So, first off, i both spin fish and fly fish.. For fly fishing i use my 7'6" 4-5wt. Perfect for the areas i go.. So this isnt going to be screwing uo something i use..

When i first started fly fishing i bought a cabelas three forks 9' 8wt combo.. Its acually what i learned to cast on (i think my shoulder is still sore lol) i got invited to go up to polaski with a few people i knew..

I ended up not being able to go.. And now i have a rod thats waaay to heavy for any type of fishing i do.. I havent, and doubt, ill ever really find a use for it.. I put it together and messed with it, i like my 7'6" 10x more..

I want to switch it over to a spin fishing rod.. Ive done some research.. (Idea popped into my head about 6 hrs. Ago while staring at a machine at work bored to death)

What do you guys suggest.. Leaving the guides and risk burning groves, or replacing with micro guides.. Ive been kind of obsessed with the microwave system.. If i go with replacing the guides, should i use the same placement? I know with the microwave system thats a little harder in the first 2 sections.. (Its a 4pc.)

Should i extend the butt? Or leave it alone? Its going to be awkward either way im guessing..

I tried to sell it.. No one in this area is interested in it.. So i figured repurpose..

Any suggestions and comments welcome..

Having built a bunch of fly rod blanks into travel spin rods, it can for sure be done. Despite it being an 8 wt, it will make a surprisingly soft and slow spinning rod. Definitely replace the guides with ceramic ring style. I'd strip the rod completely and start over with the spacing that is right for the rod. It can be pretty hard to get the handle off though, so keep that in mind.

But if you really want a spinning rod in that power, I'd just buy a real spinning blank and build that. The action will be more familiar and you'll be starting with a clean canvas.

But rod blanks are forgiving. Example: I had an inexpensive 10 weight "Tigereye" blank I built into a fly rod in 2010. Fished one Sockeye trip on the Kenai. Too heavy and too slow. Stripped the guides and handle, rebuilt it into a 4 piece spinning rod and never fished it. In about 2014 I needed a Ham radio mast for a vertical antenna mount on a trip to remote Utah, so I stripped off the guides and used the rod on several trips (worked great BTW). This year I have a friend who needed a travel spin rod to go back to Alaska, so I installed new guides and handle and it's back to being a fishing rod again. The point is, what you want to do is no big deal, but you will end up with kind of an odd, slow action, long spinning rod.

Which is why the RodGeeks 4 piece "travel" blanks are so nice. Short when broken down (fit in a backpack or carry-on) but normal spinning rod type action. I've built 2, and plan 3 more (color coded!) for our groups yearly fall trip to Alaska where we need both 8 wt fly rods and MH spin rods. I'm not aware of other 4 piece blanks like this and the 3 piece travel rods are much less convenient in everyday use, as we tend to carry the rods while hiking broken into 2 sections, but rigged up and ready to fish. You can't do that with a 3 piece rod.

x10 On Drew's comments.

Strip the grip off of the rod and replace it with a spinning grip.

Remove the first two guides and replace them with a tall size 20 for a sripper and a size 10 for the next guide and leave the fly guides alone for the rest of the rod. The rod will fish just fine with that setup.

If you wish, you can replace the rest of the guides with conventional spinning guides if you wish, but not necessary.

Good luck

Well, i think im going to give it a few cast as is.. See if its even worth the effort... I can still try and sell it.. More cash to build better rods lol..

But yeah ill give it a swing or 2 today.. I think it will still be to long for where i fish..

I wish the river would drop some.. We have had 45" of rain already this year.. Pennsylvania's average is 40" per year.. The waters fairly clear again, but 2' off shore is basically waste deep.. Usually its about mid calf.. Its just to dangerous yet... Although it would be nice to have a rod to fire across from shore, my luck the current would snap the thing.. Lol

Also im guessing this wouldnt work well for the river, being slow.. And the current.. Hooksets might be near impossible.. Especially with mono stretch...

Somethings to consider;
A long, slow blank makes a good rod for casting (lobbing) live bait or smaller lures,
also helps protect the line when fighting a big fish, more "forgiving".
We have done a lot of that in N. Arkansas for Striped Bass on Lake Norfork.
I had built some rods for a gent who was after the 2# class record.
He broke it for both Striped Bass (30#) & Hybrids (14#).
And some still are fishing for Stripers with longer, slower rods and 6-8# test line.
There are some "underspin" closed face reels out there that balance a fly rod type setup very well.
My wife prefers it, and so she has 4 in various lengths and powers.
If you just want to try it for a while, a regular spin reel will work as is,
just don't expect great casts or long life of the guides.
Hope this helps,

Best wishes,
Ron Schneider
Schneider's Rod Shop
Mountain Home, Arkansas
[www.schneidersrods.com]
mtnron40@yahoo.com
870-424-3381

It definatly does.. I guess what im kinda shooting for is to see what a noodle rod is like.. Ive never used one.. And understand this is going to be a fairly bad example, unless i strip and fully rework the entire thing..

Basically an experiment.. I have a guy who wants prices for a 7, 9 and 10 foot noodle rod.. I need a solid understanding of what im building before i jump into it.. Im the kind of guy who who spends weeks researching, not the kind of guy who "wings it." If you going to try something, do it right.. Some of the guys on here (through another post) talked about making noodle rods out of fly rods back in the day.. So if anything, i figure this is a good place to start.... With that in mind.. I really need to get over to his shop and get more info yet..

Im not expecting this to be the answer to all my questions on noodle rods.. But to give a better idea on how to build one..

And hey, if i like it.. What the heck, ill keep it for fun.. Ill be using the 8wt with 6lb mono.. So the line will be underrated for the rod.. I read a post for 2011 about wt-lb conversion.. And it seems bouble the weight to get a good idea on lb to use.. I.e. 2wt=4lb, 8wt=16lb.. And so forth..

As for casting it.. Well the only place i have to really try it right now is the canal lol.. The rod tip will almost be in the middle.. So im not gonna be slinging it verry hard anyway.. I might try a distance cast just for fun.. But dont expect much.. Im expecting the tip to wobble like crazy attempting a traditional cast..

All the comments are helpful.. Without you guys, i would still be going through pages and pages of blanks hoping what i choose isnt going to be a flop..

That was.. Acually alot of fun.. Lol i put my tica ss500 on it.. Barely fit the reel seat.. Didnt hook up with anything.. Had alot of follows and hits... Saw a 30" grass carp.. Even though i was using a bluefox gold i had to try.. Of coarse he wasnt interested, but the pickrel i didnt notice was lol.. Getting hookups seems a bit hard.. I might just try the rod geeks blank made for it

Anthony, the guys that responded to this post offer a wealth of info, they won't steer you wrong. What is your approx. location? I'm also in PA

Walnutport... Your near lehighton i presume? (Ptd.net)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/2018 07:45PM by Anthony Unger.

Built a Rainshadow RX8-series 9' 8wt fly rod blank as a spinning rod. It's basically a mod-fast steelhead rod now with power up to approx. 10-11lb and cw in the 1/4-5/8 oz. range. On the other hand a 10wt blank from the same series makes a very nice fast action rod with power, which I estimate is up to 12-14lb, and which can cast up to a little below 1 oz. It all depends on the particular blank, though it is true many of them will make a moderate action rod. Never mind that - in terms of packability (fits easily inside a large spinner case) they rule!

Twelve years ago I bought an 8 1/2' hot-shot blank and built it into a fly rod. It casts surprisingly well and has a ton of backbone but for 99%+ of real fishing situations the fly-rod blanks designed and built by quality blank manufacturers are a better choice. The exception? Bouncing glo-bugs and flies along a river bottom to Chinook salmon.

Lynn, why do you ask? (My location) id email you but you have it set to private

Back in the late 70's I had Dick Swan build me a one piece 8 foot rod for casting tiny jigs with, He called it a "Bike Rod" . Dick was a school teacher in Clare Mi. and was the pioneer of the Noodle Rod , (at one time I believe he held many Line Class world records for salmon and steelhead). He seemed interested in the Idea, and explained that no one had ever asked him to build anything like that before. I had not learned much about rod building, so I sat and listened to his ideas about long rods and their advantages and disadvantages. While in his garage he looked for a blank option, and came up with a 13 foot blank that he put together and then cut from the butt end. I was planning on using the rod for small mouth bass on a trip to northern Michigan. It dawned on me that at the time, short rods were the rage, and reaching cruising smallmouth bass was impossible with the gear available. When my rod arrived via UPS, it was huge, and Dick charged me a whopping $75.00 for it.. (If only I had known) . It was a marvel to look at, and a bit more fun to fish. A few years later, I became interested in building my own rod, and one day stepped into Jann.'s NetCraft in Toledo .- At the time, a Pole Barn was their shop.- I picked up one of their 7'6" 2 piece 4 wt fly rod blanks, and decided to build my own "Bike Rod". One thing I have learned, is that the blank does not know what it is being used for.. I suggest using MicroWave Air guides and pay a lot of attention to guide placement especially around the tip top and the ferrules . When I build them, I prefer a two piece blank rather than a 4 piece, but all will work. Good Luck

Thats a verry good point.. And ill Definatly heed your warning on guide placement...

Thought this was kinda funny.. When i was testing the rod, rather doing the experiment... There i was, big long rod with a little reel, jeans on, full setup, looking like i was ready for a week long excursion.. (My brother and i are always ready for anything) and here comes a guy, shorts, just his licence, ice fishing rod with a monster reel... Had to chuckle a little.. Complete opposites..

Your rod does not know who is using it, with what reel, or with what line. Unless you fish in the Carborundum River or make a thousand+ casts a month all year long grooving will not be a problem if you at least use electro-plated chrome guides and rinse your reel and line regularly.