I'm a small builder for family and friends. No fee. Normally, I am pretty good at choosing the right blank. This one is outside of my wheelhouse. A coworker - who is a really really experienced fly fisher has it in his head that he wants a 1 piece blank build. His wants are one piece period, 8 to 9 foot, about 7wt, would prefer fiberglass, but I'd suspect if the right blank presented, carbon would be OK.

He tried talking me into a spin blank CRB gator596, but the weight and butt dia, made me pretty reluctant. I don't think he'd be happy. He has a lot of high end rods, but no 1 PC.

Lami is nearby, so could always pickup if shipping is too high.

Anybody have a good candidate? Price is not necessarily a deal breaker if the function fits the bill. Thanks in advance.

I was looking for a one piece 8’ fly rod blank last year. I will tell you that there is very little options since most have gone to multi piece tip over butt blanks vs making a longer master blank then cutting and ferruling afterwards. Most spin blanks like you said are too heavy or too fast of an action to make a great fly rod, I personally do not cast a fast floppy tip fly rod as well as one that has a smooth progressive flex with a somewhat stiffer tip. The only blank I have found available is a vintage Wulff Colonon blank from vintagerods. The other option is contacting custom rod blank manufacturers like Mike McFarland to see if they can make one. I sold my surf rod that has an 8ft tip section to reduce my travel rod tube size so I decided against the one piece fly rod for now. Whatever you get you don’t want to go over the 108” combined length + girth with USPS as the price for shipping jumps up drastically.

I almost forgot Steffen Bros fly rods makes a 8’6” 6/7 that they could probably sell as a one piece. Less time fitting a spigot ferrule in their end.

If the issue here is the lack of separate pieces but not the rod's action you could carefully align and epoxy the ferrules together.

Thank you David for the info.

Nope, it's gotta be 1 PC all the way.

My coworker feels that a 1pc will outperform a 2 PC - because he used a friends 1pc once and really liked the way it felt. But, like I said, this guy is really experienced, and owns several high end rods. So, there is no changing his mind at this moment. I just offered to build for him if he can find something suitable.

I know scores of people who are experienced fly-fishers, many of whom are very successful both fresh and salt water fly fishermen, who couldn't cast a fly over 50 feet if their lives depended upon it, regardless of the line or rod. I know a lot more very successful fly-fishers who can, if they need to, cast 80 or 100 feet. They almost all use 4-piece fly rods and mostly worry about the performance and portability of their fly rods.

There is a reason that 1 piece fly rods are no longer made! They DID NOT outperform their multi-piece replacements!! Additionally, transporting a 1 piece rod of any length is problematical by just about any method of transportation.

There are actually quite many that will say a 1 piece is better performing especially to ones cut and ferruled but many fly fisherman want portability for air travel and on their pack. Like everything it’s always a compromise but certainly the multi piece rods have came a long way. I think is due to the blank makers taking the stiffening of the ferrules into account when they design the blank. But with that said if your coworker wants a 1 piece I would try to give him what he wants, not try to convince him by saying well the best fly casters can cast 120’ plus with 4 piece rods. I am sure he knows the positives of multi piece and since he prefers fiberglass he also knows distance is not a factor of catching fish or not at least at the areas/ conditions that he fishes.

from where did the friend get the one-piece?..

not a common blank , [ 1 PC ] have you tried the people that make blanks on the left on this forum page good people an will treat you well . but do note during this problem the world has some of the makers are shut down , PS because of the length shipping will be $$$$$ I think , but who knows try them ,

William Sidney
AK

The multi piece rods didn’t replace one piece rods because of performance it is because of shipping cost and fly fishers requesting easier to transport rods. With the max 108” max length + girth that would be about a 8’4” rod blank max shipped in a 2” diameter pvc pipe before the shipping gets crazy high. I just recently ship a surf rod with a 8’ tip section in a 3” pvc pipe that was 97” long , was about $14 but if it was 1” + more it would of jumped up to $200.

What I wonder is why there isn’t more staggered ferrule fly rods or other rods for that matter. It puts the extra weight and stiffness closer to the butt. Might be because of looks.

So, to address all this great assistance in one post- I do not know the 1piecer that he tried. This dude can cast. He catches lots of fish. He fishes really good rods. Portability is not a factor, as he wants it for local travel. He has a big quiver for travel with his other rods. I'll definitely try to contact Steffen Bros. Thanks all.

The majority of competition fly casters use 4-piece rods, where results are determined by actual measurements. In the meantime advocates of one-piece fly rods are free to think anything they like about the advantages of one-piece rods and prove those advantages in competition.

At the risk of actually trying to answer your question..... I don't know of any blanks however the only factory build rod I own is a Basspro Stage 1 heat in 10wt. This is a complete rod but for $100 you can cut off the components and put good stuff on. I am in the process of doing that now. The grips and guides are low end. I actually like the reel seat so I'm keeping that. I've use the rod for 2 seasons (without modifications) now throwing mostly full sinking lines from my boat. I really like it. Caught tons of saltwater fish with it (northeast USA). On my boat I prefer a shorter 1 piece rod (also have a Sage Bass II smallmouth which I built from a blank, 4 piece). They don't make a 7wt but they do make 8,9,10. I suspect an 8wt would be a perfectly acceptable 7wt since the rod is not overly powerful. If you are looking for a project give it a look. For boat fishing it is great. The rod gets very mixed reviews but I personally like it. Especially for the $80 I got it for on sale.
Every other fly rod I own (15 or so total) either either 2, 4, 6 piece. It has NO effect on casting and they are much easier to travel with. Especially the spey rods. I would buy those in 6 piece if more companies offered them that way. RB Meiser does but he is in the minority.
addition:
As a side not I only buy 1 piece 7 - 8' spinning/casting blanks too if they are destined to stay on my boat. Less piece equal less things to go wrong. Same (even more so) for the fly rod



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/13/2020 12:12PM by Quinn Canfield.

Freshwater is different but in the salt the bigger the fish the shorter the blank. Leverage, you know.

Phil,
I also like the shorter fly rods in my float tube in freshwater. I might give up a little distance (not much if you cast side arm) but it is MUCH easier to land and release fish that are 8' from you rather than 9 or 10'. The only place I like longer rods is when I am standing. Both fresh and salt.

Quinn: I also prefer shorter (than 9') fly rods when fly fishing from a kayak in saltwater estuaries for the same reason you like shorter rods in fresh water. Form should follow function, and save rods from high-stick fractures.

Drew, Utmost has a bunch of 7' glass rods..i can see the SPG842 with a 16DPSM glued to the very end with a KDPS screwed on to it and a 10" carbon tube attached to the KDPS, a 4" flocked eva fore grip making for a two-fister 7 wt. casting fly rod..i,m sold..lol.

I believe CTS still makes some, HNL to the left would know. Shipping costs on them, no matter who makes it, may be excessive.

mudhole use to offer their MHX blanks in one-piece for 7-12 wts. They discontinued them a few years back, but might be worth a call to see if they have any tucked away somewhere. I have the 7wt, a few 8's, a few 9's, and 4 10's. They make great rods. Biscayne rods offers a 1-piece Billy Baroo. NFC makes some 1-piece blanks.

And for the doubters, the 1-piece rods are legit. I've been a convert since the loomis Pro-1's came out 15-16 years ago.