Is there any way to determine if a fly blank will work for an ultralight rod? IE a 3wt or 5wt

A stick will work, but will you be happy? , I did it with a 5 wt years back an I was very happy with it good luck

William Sidney
AK

Only if you build it and try it.

The first spinning rod I built was from a fly rod, turned out to be the best Speck (Crappie) rod I own.

Go for it.

Have fun

John

If casting performance and accuracy are critical there are better options. The ones I've built both for myself and others have been prone to want to lob cast unlike blanks designed for that purpose. If all you have.to do is hit the water, you'll be fine.

The reason I ask is because it's hard to find a ultralight blank longer than 6'6" so the choices are limited.

Paul Luechtefeld Wrote:
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> The reason I ask is because it's hard to find a
> ultralight blank longer than 6'6" so the choices
> are limited.


What action are you looking for? There are quite a few options.

Paul,

Google "A Spinning Rod for the Flats" by Capt. Fred Everson. He wrote an article that was published in Saltwater Sportsmen about ten or more years ago about this exact subject. I built a rod using a Forecast 7wt rod and trimmed 2" from the tip and 4" from the butt to end with a rod that was 8'6". I used it for casting very light jigs and unweighted plastics to small stripers and blues here in NJ. It was a fun rod to fish, but I put the thing away and have not seen it in years. I may have to dig it out again now that your post has reminded me that I have it.

Seth a customer wants a 8 and a half to 9 foot ultralight mod fast or faster and doesn't want a crappie rod ( he says they wont handle 1 or 2 lb test line). I thought that since fly rod generally have a softer tip they might work.

Could also look at the Phenix Elixer UL Blanks.
[www.mudhole.com]
I find fly rod blanks made into spin rods just feel a little too sloppy for me, but that just me. Some like that soft sloppy feel, I don’t.
Norm

Thanks Joe will do that. Norman Miller he doesn't want to spend that much. Actually I dont think he will buy a rod but I'm trying to make the sale.

Paul,
Thank you for posting this topic. I have finally discovered something Norman Miller and I disagree upon lol. A fly blank can make a great spinning rod. I too have had trouble finding ultalight blanks longer than 6ft and have built a number of spinning rods from fly blanks including my very first build. While I totally understand Norman’s “sloppy” description, I prefer to consider it a full-flexing-feel which I prefer when fishing mountain trout which is why I have developed a passion with vintage FG blanks such as Conolon. I feel the same as Norman and will agree with his comment though, “but that’s just me”.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Fly blanks will work, but as they get longer they get sloppier. And accurate short casts are difficult. One can like "sloppy" all they want, but if it prevents accurate casts, there must be a better way to go.

There is an excellent 7 -2 Rainshadow Revelation spin- blank that I have not tried, but some of my friends have, and they love it for panfish. Fast action.

The American Tackle Matrix 4 weight 7 1/2 foot fly blank is a good one for this, as it is too short to get very sloppy, has a little faster action than most fly blanks, and works very well as an UL spin rod. I've caught many nice bass and walleyes on mine. In open water.