8wt rod should be plenty especially if you are in shallow water. The REC guides are a nice option due to their light weight and corrosion resistance however they are 2.5x the cost of standard snakes. I've used the RECs and continue to do so because most of my saltwater rods get used for winter steelhead and the REC's are easier to clear ice out of but I have never had a corrosion problem with s
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Guides seem about right to me. I've built several in both single and double foot. I tend to build the smaller (3, 4, 5wt) rods with singles and the bigger with doubles but I don't do it for performance. It's more about appearance. People will tell you that the single foot guides result in less weight on the rod and it is hard to argue that. However at the end of the day I don't think one cast
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I don't have a specific blank recommendation but I would go with a longer blank. I've settled on 8ft 5wt for my kids and don't have any regrets. Anything much shorter is asking too much of them from a casting stand point. I've used 2 piece blanks so I can't help you with 4 piece options. I chose 2 piece due to cost figuring that it would eventually get broken and I would not get upset over a
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I use an alcohol burner to accomplish the same thing. No worries about dust. As already stated, this simple change made a huge difference in the visual quality of my finished wraps. Quinn
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I have a couple of different fly rods with Titan single foot guides. Weight is not an issue. I use a traditional wire tip top. My only issue with the Titans is that they are soft and bend easy. Especially compared to traditional snake or single foot fly guides. My latest RX8+ build used REC Recoils which are very light. Noisy though. I have never had a corrosion issues with any fly rod g
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I fly fish from a kayak or a float tube often. I know I am going against the crowd but I prefer a shorter rod not long. The long rod makes landing larger fish difficult and I am ofter afraid of breaking the rod due to "high sticking". I am currently using 9' rods but once Temple Forks releases their 8' 6 and 8wt blanks later this year I will be building one. I make the majority of m
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You will not need to worry about light tippet from the beach. Here in New England I use a two piece leader 30# butt into a 17# "tip" for a total of about 8 feet. The heavier tippet will help turn flies over better especially if it is windy. I use medium-fast, fast and extra fast and honestly I don't see a huge difference in my casting distance. My current favorite salt rod (blank)
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There are a couple companies that I know of that produce 7 piece blanks. Unfortunately neither are sponsors so I don't believe I am allowed to mention their names. If you want, please email me at: quinn.canfield@verizon.net and I will give you the info. One has at least
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I have an RX8+ 9 1/2 foot 7wt (4 piece) which I love. I use it mostly for saltwater (stripers and blues). It has completely replaced my St Croix Legend 9wt and 7wt for that purpose. It is a fast rod but very castable. I have a couple other fast rods from other manufactures (9wt and 6wt) that I never cared. I am not a slave to using just the line weights the rod was designed for and this wil
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I have the 8wt version of the Batson blank (actually I have 2 of them). I use it mainly for fishing the Salmon River (out of Lake Ontario). I went with the 8wt because in the fall the majority of the fish are salmon and the 8wt allows me to land the cohos and a chance to land the occasional king in addition to the browns and steelhead. On the Salmon River the 5wt seems a little lite for steel
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I have two of the 8wt Rainshadow rods. I really like them. I use them mostly for Salmon River NY fishing for steelhead/browns and cohos. Not enough rod for kings but I have landed several of those as well. I normally spey cast mine (not very well i might add). My river lines are a 6wt speydicator line and a 325gr skagit short. I plan on putting a lot of time in this summer using it for
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I know you don't want to hear it but you want a switch rod. Batson makes a 8wt 10'8" switch blank that makes a great beach rod. The two handed casting in question is two hand overhead not spey casting. I have two of these that I use for single hand, two hand overhead and two hand spey casting depending on where and what. Nice blank. About $120 Quinn
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Mostly build fly rods so these are geared towards that: cabelas Hook and Hackle Feather Craft (limited to highend fly rod stuff) Batson (however, I have their .pdf catalog not sure about paper) Quinn
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Bill, Regarding the short rod and float tubes.... I've heard the same comment about wanting a longer rod while in the tube but that just has not been my experience. I've used 7, 8, 9 and 9.5 foot rods and never had a problem casting any of them I rarely need to cast more than 40' from the tube usually less. Thats part of the beauty of the tube. What I do find is that landing and removing
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Not until next week sometime. We have two main winter fishing options up here (other than ice fishing) and all of this snow is making both tough. We already have had 60" of snow this year. Salmon river area in upstate NY (on of the typical winter fishing options) has had about 10 feet (yes feet)! Quinn
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I, like others on the forum have been looking for an 8' 6 - 8wt rod blank similar to what Sage and others sell as complete rods aimed at bass fisherman. Well I finally found what I think is a pretty good option. TFO sells an 8' 6-8wt or 8-10wt blank under their salt water series. I checked it out at the Marlboro MA fly fishing show and it look pretty good. It uses the TiCrX coating and is
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I have the RX8+ in a 9 1/2 foot 7 weight. Just finished building it but I have not made any casts with it. I've built lots of fly rods of all types and my general recommendation for new casters it to go with a medium-fast thus the RX7+. The big advantage is that you can typically feel the rod load better with a slower rod which helps with the casting timing. Personally I would go with a 7wt.
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Cabelas sells a fly rod (L-Tech) with a minimalist reel seat. I am guessing I could piece something like that together but is there something available as a turn key product? Thanks, Quinn
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I broke a 9' 4pc 9wt RX6 rainforest blank this fall. Pacbay replaced it but unfortunately they changed the blank composition and design and no longer offer the older green blanks so they sent me entire new rod. Does anyone out there have one of the old blanks for sale. I broke the tip section and would rather not rebuild the entire rod since I put a lot of time into the wraps (made the rod for
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I should have been clear. This is from a FLY ROD..... thanks, Quinn
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I lost a fighting butt last month while fishing and I can't find a replacement. As luck would have ihave the exact same one on another rod so I know what it looks like. Anyway, it is mushroom shaped with a composite end and cork body. The threaded rod has a coarse thread. I can't remember if I bought the rod insert and the butt separately or as one piece. All of the removable butts I can fin
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Dunk it in boiling water for a minute and it should come right off. quinn
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Karry, How do I contact you with questions? I am planning on building a "switch rod" using the Batson blank. My "switch" rod needs to support a fly reel, spinning reel and center pin reel. Will the window seat support that? I would also like the lower handle to be removable so I can replace it with different lengths depending on my reel choice. Do you make removable in
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