Hey Y'all.

Since I'm new and I know people can be overly harsh whilst being blunt (I like people being blunt), I hope people will keep their replies to a dull level of harshness.

I love my fly rods. I love fishing in general, but fly fishing is what I have the most fun with. My rods are beginning to become a pain to pack away, and its hard to find a proper case at a reasonable price. There are actually two questions that I chase the answers to.

1. Does anyone know of any case manufacturers that won't charge outrageous prices for a custom sized one? Nothing extravagant; just a weatherproof box, with a hinge and a couple of clasps/snaps to hold it closed.

2. I'm looking for telescopic fly rods. I would really like to build my own, but that would require multiple blanks. That, in turn, would put me into the "holy crap that's expensive" price range. I do have some nice rods, given as gifts from my father, but its difficult to pack them up, when your wife wants to take every commodity in the house, when you go on a camping trip. Any help would be more than appreciated.

-A humbled and yearning man, Tyler "Leprechaun" Arns

about the telerod..i used to make them from cabelas panfish poles but they quit selling them a few years ago..the ten foot pole had a ferrule every foot and i put the guides on the ferrules...an eight foot rod would collapse to a thirteen inch rod..they were carbon not glass and did not come with guides since they were panfish poles..you just tied your guides on and had a new rod..i could make rods of different lengths by by dropping out a section or two..the guides were only a foot apart from ferrule to ferrule..i adjusted for line weight by trimming back the tip section..they didn,t cast as well as a regular fly rod but cast far enough to catch fish and made great pack rods..if you find a source, please let me know..

Thank you! I currently only have one telerod, and it's an Eagle Claw Pack-It fly rod combo. It cost me $20 and I wish I would've bought the other 2 that were on the shelf. Granted I know they were cheap, but for the type of fish, and where I'm using it, it works really well. I can get about 60 (+/- 10) feet of line out with the rod only being a 6'6" 3wt, balancing it with 3wt line and a size 16 wooly bugger. Surprising, I know, but the darn thing works well. I made an inquiry to Eagle Claw about them, with no avail in their response. They informed me that, if I couldn't find them on their site, or elsewhere online, then I'm SOL. That being the jist of the response I had received.

I was thinking of using a Tenkara rod, but only a few sections of it. Knowing that the tip section is incapable of holding up to the weight of fly line, unless using practically a 0wt. I like my light and ultralight rods, but a 0/1wt is a bit too light for my tastes. Would using say the top 3-5 sections
(minus the tip section) work as well? They're relatively inexpensive and I've seen someone horse in decently (10-15lbs) sized carp with one. So, I'm unsure if they would work. Thoughts on this anyone?

Telescoping fly rods would become more popular if manufacturers made slide-on, lever-locking guides in different diameters. Color-coded dots of paint or numbers on the blank and the slide-on guides would make guide placement and assembling the rods quick and easy.

There is actually one manufacturer that has one, Kastking. But their setup is expensive for my wallet at the moment. They call it Kastking Soloscopic. I mean, I've spent that kind of money on rods alone. Paired them with a balanced reel and tossed a couple of different lines on to find the liking of my choice, but they never really fished the way I wanted them to. I'm afraid that the Kastking will end up being the same way, and even harder to re-sell.

I am not sure about your rods lengths etc., but you may want to look at pool cue cases. They may be a little larger than what you're looking for, but I have many I have bought over he years from @#$%& and other cheap venues. A small single case will have two sections that would easily hold a rod in each section. Just a thought.

Fishing is not a sport, it is an art.

That is a wonderful idea on the case. I'm looking for something along the lines of 36"x20"x14". I'm going for the 30lbs of sh*t in a 3lbs bag scenario. I know, its a long shot, but hey, I gotta try. Hoping to have the lid hold my rods, and for the reels that I have for my 2 & 3 piece, would fit in compartments in the bottom, along with my box of flies, leaders, tippet, net, waders, and vest. Almost like a slightly larger than normal suitcase, that won't break the bank. I feel that I'm looking for something that isn't out there. If that makes any sense.

Sorry to the administrator for the error. I knew the rule but just forgot while I was posting. My Bad.

Fishing is not a sport, it is an art.

I do have another question that has been erking me for a bit now, that goes along with my project. Why do blanks cost more than a completed rod, when we're the ones finishing the rod, and not the manufacturer?

Tyler, with my repurposed cabelas panfish rod i use #4 line and get a comfortable 35 to 40 feet which is plenty enough especially from a kickboat..about the cost of rod blanks: i just don,t pay it..i build all my rods from E-glass blanks and use braided line to restore sensetivity to adequate.levels and i,m working on making e- glass fly rods..

Where is it that a blank costs more that the same finished rod?

There are plenty of completed rods that cost less than the blanks do. I've been pricing, and have seen companies sell blanks for up to $80 more than completed rods. Not saying the manufacturer sells them for more, even though most manufacturers won't sell direct to a customer. All of this is also my experience so far, as I am new to rod building.

Hey Mr. Belote, is that repurposed panfish rod telescopic by chance?

Yes sir, it is but cabelas quit selling them a few years ago..i,ve had no luck in finding anyone who has something similar

Yes sir, it is but cabelas quit selling them a few years ago..i,ve had no luck in finding anyone who has something similar..i carried two easily in the pouches of my kickboat..

I had the same question about the cost of blanks. I have not compared prices of blanks to completed rods made from those same blanks by manufacturers. Looking at some sites where you know the type blanks that were used, the costs appear to be about 3x the blank cost. Does that seems about right to you sellers?

Fishing is not a sport, it is an art.

I think the closest to the cabela's pan fish rod would have to be an Amazon rod. They're all over the place. I mean, Zebco makes a one for about $20, but it is super stiff for a glass/graphite composite rod.

It's rather messed up, isn't it Mr. Smith? The cost seems a bit steep, whether just for the blank, or for the completed rod. Granted on a completed rod, I see the total cost to make it. Man-power, utilities, real estate, materials, tools, etc. I do see the cost. But seriously... $90 for a blank when I can buy the same rod completed at a retailer for $80. But then I see blanks go for $400+ and the completed rods are $900+.

With the telerods you look for blanks with numerous short sections because the guides can only be placed at the ferrules..if the sections are long the guides get to far apart for efficient casting..the cabelas rods were the best i could find..the ferrules were about 12" apart which i think is the best you can do..if you get much shorter your going to increase the number of ferrules and may have a weight problem..

That is a very good point Mr. Belote. With the proper placement of the guides, and the proper amount of them, the pressure from the fight will be more evenly displaced, as well as the pressure from the casting. I'm probably going to have to buy multiple blanks, and just do my own cut and fit with them. Noting where the spine is on each blank, whilst marking it, so it does not become lost in construction. I'm certain that I'm capable if doing this. I've restored a decent amount of rods for friends and myself through the last 15-20 years. Now I just have to source multiple blanks of a fairly cost efficient nature and still reliable. Any suggestions?

I have done a bit of thinking about making a rod like this but i didn,t get too far because it looked like i would need one rod to cut for each section so that if i wanted to make an eight section telerod, i would have to start with eight rods just to make the one.....unless you could cut four every-other-sections from one rod and get four every-other-sections from another rod thus needing to cut up only two rods to make one, i think..lol..what do you think?..once you make and fit the sections the rod is pretty much built..the guides can only go one place and the handle one place..Good luck.

There is a way where I'd only have to use maybe 3 blanks. Its about where you cut on each blank, and how much of the butt from the smaller section must remain inside the bigger section. I honestly don't think its going to be too hard; just time consuming. I'm gonna try to find some blanks. If I spend $60 on blanks, get it right, and maybe another $40 on the rest of it, then I'm actually in good shape. I do have plenty of guides from other rods that have broken over the years. Nice polished stainless guides, and some with ceramic inserts. I'm gonna go for it guys. You'll be seeing pictures/video as soon as I start.