I need some help building a fly rod! I've done some homework, so I won't look like an idiot, but there's so much contradicting information, I'd like some specific feedback from here.

I've never done western fly fishing, have been fishing Tenkara(fixed line Japanese fly fishing, similar to high sticking/czech nymphing) for a bit. I'm thinking about making this more travel friendly, so looking for a 4pc rod. The biggest fish in the ponds near me are bass around 2-3lbs, but I'll be aiming for bluegill and/or small bass with this rod. I have a moderate/midflex Tenkara rod, but that's entirely different from western rods. I assume I would enjoy moderate fly rods, but I get along perfectly fine with my NFC X-Ray MB736, so Fast action is likely okay as well.

Here are the conditions and the type of fishing I intend to do, and some criteria for the rod:
- Small beadhead flies - Utah Killer Bugs/caddis, Squirmy Wormies with a bead, etc on #12 hook, 3mm tungsten bead.
- Some dry flies trying to mimic grasshoppers and small damselflies
- Pond fishing in Texas - small bass and panfish
- 8ft - 9ft rod length
- mod-fast or fast, I could get a glass rod later down the road if I want a moderate.

I chose 4WT for my blanks, because I read that it can do a little bit of dry flies and a little bit of light nymphs. Please let me know if that's wrong. I realize that 4WT from one company is different from another, but I don't know how that correlates because I don't have a reference since I've never fished a fly rod.

Here are some of the rod blanks I've been considering:
- NFC LMX FAF904-4 - $87.50
- Rainshadow REV8634 or REV8644 - $130
- MHX F904-4 - $111
- TFO Pro II TF4904P2 - $85
- TFO BVK TF4964B - $124.95

I'm leaning towards the NFC LMX blank due to price(it's on sale!) and previous experience with NFC. I also really like my Revelation spinning rod, but at $40 more than the NFC, I'm not sure. Please let me know if you have any other recommendations for blanks in the $100 range. I can be convinced to spend more for the blank if there will be a significant difference. I'll just buy it after saving up a few more months. If you have recommendations on reels, I'm all ears as well. I'm thinking of getting a Lamson Remix 1.5 or something along the $100 - $150 range.

Components
- Reverse Half-Wells Cork
- Uplocking aluminum reel seat - is there a reason why people all seem to get the wooden inlay reel seats?
- Fuji CLNAG-10J for stripper guide - is 10 the right size for a 3/4WT? Seems like some say 10, some say 12.
- One Fuji KB running guides in size 8 and reduced to KT size 6 for rest with a 6 Fuji Alconite tiptop?
- Or in Snake Guides, One size 4, rest size 2, and a small tiptop?

I'm seeing some people saying to stick with snake guides and some others saying to go with single foot runners with ceramic inserts, some say go with minima guides. Some saying to only go ceramic if going above 7 or 8WT, others saying that there's no need for single foot in any fly rod.

I've had a hard time trying to google my way through some guidelines on fly guides, since the word "guide" is so widely used in fly fishing...

Paul

My 4wt builds get 1/0 Snake guides.

Very detailed considerations! I'll share a few of my thoughts.

4wt is fine for what you describe for the nymphing side of things, but since you're also doing bass and bluegill in TX, I'd bump it up to 5wt. 5wt will better handle your bead nymph rigs (especially if using two or a dry-dropper). And the 5 wt will more easily handle bigger, more air resistant bluegill and bass patterns. You could even use a 6 wt. I fished MT last summer for trout. 6 weights were great for windy afternoons and general attractor dries and heavy nymph rigs.

I'm the same as Ron: I use 1/0 or max #1 snakes on 5 weights and lower. For years I used the "guide kits" and when I look back, those sizes were overkill. Also, there are other discussions on this forum, but for the guide train (guides running from stripper to tip) you only need one size (the 1/0s) and maybe a transition size between the stripping guide and the first guide (like a 2).

Size 10 stripping guide is fine for a 4 wt. Sz 12 is too big.

I'm a traditionalist on fly rods and prefer snakes and snake tip top over the ceramics

Have fun!

Angelo,

Thank you for the suggestion! I mostly fish a heavily pressured public park pond 5 minute walk away from my house. There's bass in there, but they're smart and rarely bite(at least on finesse bass lures/baits), especially the bigger ones. I seldom fish other waters, although I'm planning on traveling with this setup by bike to other local public ponds. I like being under powered for my bass rods, so I can have fun with the smaller fish I tend to catch(I fish mostly ML rods when other people fish M or MH). I've learned that if I play them right and be patient, I won't have any issues bringing them in. I think I want to go 4WT as long as it can throw those flies I'm thinking of. I've heard that most people do double nymph rigs or dropper rigs, but I've never experimented with two flies on my tenkara rod, so I don't know how much that would change my rod requirements.

As for the snake guide size, I thought 1/0 was bigger than 2 like hook sizes! I'll make sure to use 1 or 1/0 for the rod. 1 size 10 stripper, 1 size 2 transition snake guide, then rest size 1/0, with a small tiptop.

Anyone for the single foot guides on a 3-5WT rod?

Snake guides are sized the opposite of hook sizes. They vary in size from 6 to 2/0 with size 6 being the largest and 2/0 being the smallest.
Single ft snake guides work well and I have no problems using them. I use a locking wrap on them.
Norm

I would also suggest a 5w over a 4wt. Unless you are on small streams, and especially for stillwater, I would go with 9 foot minimum. Many are now makin 10 foot blanks. i think that Rainshadow Eternity are nice blanks if you want a fast action, but I do not find my 6wt to be super fast, as they state. There is certainly nothing wrong with the older generation of graphite such as in the Unity rod line. Pac Bay Arctos could also fit the bill, as would the NFC you indicate. Doubt you would be disappointed with any of them.

Hi Paul -
I just started building fly rods a couple of months ago and have built 6 already including a couple of 8' 6" 4 weights. I've become partial to the Lemke reel seats (LC1) for their quality plus the wooden inlays just look cool. For the 4 weights, I've used size 10 for the stripping guide, then a size 2 snake, and then 1/0 to the tip. Snake brand universals are really easy to build with.

I've built on the Revelation and MHX blanks and both are great. My casting style prefers the Revelation.

If you are going to be throwing the big dries a lot, I would bump up to a 5 weight. I use the 4 weight for most of my dry fly fishing on the Deschutes but pull out the 5 weight for the salmonfly hatch.

Have fun building!

Paul, just to add regarding line weight (i.e. going with 5 over 4 wt), remember that the fly line weight has to do with with the size flies you plan to fish; it won't affect the fight or feel of the fish (rod does that). I use a 9ft 4wt fishing for trout on tailwaters. The flies are generally size 16 down to 22 and I'm using 6x tippet. I don't think you need those sizes or light tippet for ponds (bass and bluegill). Those hooks are usually in the 14-10 range. But if you have a 5 wt, you can probably cover both scenarios a bit better. Enjoy your project!

Paul, I fish some small ponds for smallish bass and big bluegill and I have an old RX7 Rainshadow 8' 4 wt that is my favorite for the application. I probably went with 8' versus 8'6" because it was on sale at the time. I also have a 8'6" 6/7 that I use for heavy deer hair poppers and bunny strippers. On the 4 wt I use small foam rubber leg beetle poppers, foam damsels, girdle bugs, and small weighted woolie buggers. The short length is nice for hiking and casting from the shore between trees and brush. I probably have a 5 weight line on it to help with the short casting distance. No high sticking involved, so I don't need a long rod for pond fishing. I'm usually trying to get it to land on them out between the weed beds.

Greg

Thank you everyone for the informative insights! I'm waiting till next paycheck for the blank, so I still have some time to think over the 4WT vs 5WT for my applications.

Thanks Greg for the quick Rainshadow Rev blank review. I'm really impressed with my Rev spinning rod, so I assumed that the fly blank would be good as well.

I know that the popular advice for beginners is to skip a WT when getting additional rods, so do either 2,4,6,8WT or 3,5,7,9WT to cover use cases. I think I would eventually want a fiberglass 3WT, so I'm leaning towards 5WT, but I feel like I could do everything I need to with a 4WT. More for me to think about, I guess.