I was thinking of making a glass fly rod. Maybe 8 feet for 5 weight. Who has the fastest glass fly blanks? Who has tried the NFC glass blanks? Thoughts?

I have built a number of NFC Iconoglass rods and fish a 4wt myself. It is much faster than the older fiberglass, don't know if it is "the fastest."

I like it very much.

Of the glass I have built on : McFarland GTX, those blanks are a blend of S2 and E glass. I have been told the NFC glass is a fast blank, but I don’t have any experience with them. I have fished and built on the following: CTS Quartz, Livingston Rod Co, Steffen Brothers, Kabuto, Tom Morgan, Larry Kenney, Epic and my own tapers.

Action is independent of material so "speed" may be what the OP is asking about here.

..........

I am currently building 2 NFC Iconoglass, an 8 wt and a 5wt. The 5 wt is on the slow side. Faster than bamboo but not by much. The thing I don’t like is the size of the butt. It’s hard to find a reel seat that fits.

I'm thinking this is about speed not action. You can make super fast action bamboo rods.

.........

8wt NFC has a ton of backbone and can generate line speed.
4wt is slow

David,
Consider the new CTS Turbo Taper glass.
I just built a 8'6" #6 for light saltwater use - sweet
Contact me by clicking on my name for RB.Org price
Herb
U.S. Distrib for CTS



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/22/2022 09:15PM by Herb Ladenheim.

There is only one source of energy for a fishing rod: the angler, not the rod itself. The rod's effective length leverages the caster's energy, producing more speed, but there comes a point where the rod's length produces enough leveraged weight and wind resistance to produce diminished line speed - and distance. The only way around this problem is to increase line speed. Fly casters accomplish this with the double-haul; spin and bait casters separate their hands when they grasp the rod to cast, making it a third class lever. Even fishermen are forced to obey the laws of physics - instead of advertisers.

All I build is glass rods, and only e glass because of it,s fish fighting fun as M ark Talmo would say..I get all the sensitivity I need or want from the ten pound power pro line that I use. To me the line is a better source of sensitivity than the rod but the glass rod supplies the best qualities for fighting and landing the fish.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/23/2022 04:24PM by ben belote.

It is certainly refreshing to learn that I am not the only one who recognizes and has reaped the benefits of FG rods. CF certainly has its benefits, but so does FG. To ignore FG rods simply because they are not the latest wonder-fabric is foolish; hiding one’s head in the sand. Neither FG or CF excels across-the-board, in every application; the wise builder / angler recognizes when to use which!!!

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

Mark,

Gary Loomis said that if we had materials that we use in the APFG/Iconoglass lineups in the 70s, he would have never gotten into graphite.

Best,
Aleks