Hi all,

I'm wondering if anyone can suggest a manufacturer that makes 11wt fly rod blanks in 9'6" or 10' in length? I've looked everywhere but I can't seem to find 11wts more than 9' or 9wt switch rods shorter than 11'9". Does anyone know of someone who makes them?

Thanks,
Zach

Zach,
CTS can do this.
How thick is your wallet??
Herb
U.S. Distributor CTS Rod Blanks

Know of a 9' 9" big dog rod, big pike, musky, tarpon, GTs, etc. Technically rated for line weight 600 - 900 grains. Well known and knowledgeable shop, email me.

Thanks Herb and Spencer, I'll be in contact when I'm ready to buy the blank! I think I'm going to go with CTS.

Cheers

To each their own, the gentleman I mentioned developed the first switch rods and used them long before the public ever heard of them. He developed the spey and switch rods for Beulah and CTS learned from the custom blanks they were building for his shop.
Shouldn't be a wait either and he'll recommend grip lengths, lines that work best with his blanks/rods etc.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/01/2018 10:19AM by Spencer Phipps.

Hrey Zach,
You share how this rod will be used?
As a 2 hander?
As a fly rod?
Used casting Spey? Switch? Overhead?

9'6" - 10'0" a little short for 2 hander and #11 is a little heavy for a single-hander.
Please share - if you don't wish to do it here - email me: hladen@hotmail.com
Regards,
Herb
CTS

Spencer,

This guy sounds great and I’d be happy to check his website out! I didn’t mean to shoot down your response. I do appreciate the info you gave me.

Herb,

I will be using this as a hybrid rod for taimen, I need the length to sling large flies (30cm-40cm in length) and Alaskan chinook. I don’t typically enjoy swinging flies but enjoy the extra bit of length. I fish for bull trout with an 10ft 8wt Loop Evotec.

I will be attaching a switch rod style grip for casting aid and pairing it with a Loop megaloop reel. Does CTS give line weight recommendation or an equation for grain weight calculation? I was looking at the 10ft 10wt with butt strength increase by 2 and tip by 1.

Thank you both, I appreciate your time and info.

Zach

Zach,
There are those that will provide opinions on grain weights - but I find with these "one-off" blanks it usually ends in disappointment. One reason is that assigning a grain weight to a one-off blank is very subjective. i.e. A friend on mine from the UK and I worked for 5 years trying to design the perfect two-handed (CTS) 12'-13' blank for Cape Cod outer beaches in high winds.
We wanted a rod that had the flex profile like a fast single-hander.
My UK friend designed it first - he loves it with a 530 grain line. My opinion is that that weight just starts to tickle the rod. I like 600-700 grains because I GENERALLY like to load a rod into it's lower sections for more power.
So what good would it do to give you a 200 grain window??
Unfortunately - if you are a fussy builder/caster - it is an expensive experiment.

I usually take my best shot and test the rod with various grain lines. Since I fish rods from #8 - #11 - I have room to maneuver.
My current single-handed blank of the year - to cast large 2/0 3/0 Gurglers is a custom CTS blank STATED as an 8wt. But it needs 400 grains to load it the way I like. I cast mostly on the tip with this rod - which is counter to my usual preference.

Anyway - what I'm saying is that it is much too foggy out there to give you formulas.
Herb

Herb,

Awesome. You answered my question perfectly.
Thank you!

Second Spencer's recommendation. I've built a few of the 9'9" rods referred to, and paired with an OPST shooting head they can really sling a large fly a great distance. I've built mine with a somewhat short switch-style fore-aft grip for two-handed overhead. The 8/9 weight equates somewhat to an 11wt single hand rating, and that's the rod I use for muskie. And the blanks are tough.

Not taking anything away from CTS......they're great blanks.

Bryan Yates,
I am wondering if you could give any recommendations on the blanks you are using for muskies? I'm looking to build myself one as a first musky fly rod and wondering what blanks I should be looking for. I'm looking to use rather large flies as I have very large fish in our area (fish each yr caught in the 45-52" range regularly with HEAVY for length weights). I am hoping to keep the budget around $250-300 for the blank if possible (I've got all other supplies otherwise).

I've built many casting rods with great luck and 1 fly rod that was OK, but I believe a better blank was required (3wt, 9ft, 4 piece) as it was a little moderate for my liking. Unfortunately, I've never really fly fished these giants, but do lots of casting for them.