# Building a fly rod.



## flyfisher117 (Jun 29, 2009)

Im building a fly rod for my senior project this year. Ive got most of it figured out but i just cant decide on what length and weight to go with..

Im only a casual fisherman, dont spend enough time to go out and study bugs and hatches just go out to enjoy the outdoors and have fun. 

Ive currently got a mod/fast 9' 5wt rod and it works fine, at times its a bit long but not often. I mainly fish for trout.

I originally planned on a mod/fast 7' 3wt but im afraid ill get the rod and just decide its not enough and never use it. Then i thought about a little fast 8' 4wt, but would there be enough of a difference between my rod and the 4wt?

Just looking for thoughts.


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## Dodger (Oct 20, 2009)

I have 2 8'6 4wt and a 9' 5wt blank sitting in my garage. The 5wt is quite a bit bigger and stiffer than the 4wts. I don't fly fish a lot, but just based on my playing with those couple of blanks, I can see the difference.

What else do you have planned for it?


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## flyfisher117 (Jun 29, 2009)

I want a fun little trout rod. My 5 weight is fine but ive caught a few fish that i flat out didnt know i had becuase it was a bit too "strong". Specially here on my local creek, Katorade can confirm this, but the little trout are tiny. Most uncatchable but theres a few that are big enough to catch. Or on the BlackSmith for example. Ive fished it only a few times (only caught 2 maybe 3 fish??) Ive fished it with both my 9' rod and my grandmothers 7.5' rod and I had a lot more fun with her rod. Just that foot and a half shorter was much better (for me).

Like Katorade asked me "how many big fish do you catch?" my answer... "None".

Im really looking at a Winston Passport 8' 3wt fast action. It is their entry level rod but I dont fish enough to justify a Sage Z-Axis or even a $200 blank.


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## RnF (Sep 25, 2007)

My 3wt is my least used rod. It's fun to fish with, but sucks in the wind. I just got tired of fighting it. Going up to a 4wt is a nice compromise. Just depends on you though. Go to a fly shop and cast some 3wts and see if you like the feel of them. That's the only way you are going to know. Buy some flies while you are there for their time.


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## flyfisher117 (Jun 29, 2009)

Well i flat out wont fish in wind, i struggle even with my 5 weight throwing heavier streamers in the wind so if its windy i wont go fishing. Guess that shows how die hard of a fisherman I am.


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## RnF (Sep 25, 2007)

For how often it is windy in Utah, you wont use it much then  

If this is your first rod you are building, I suggest not getting a nice blank to learn on. You will probably muck it up, not being offensive here, everyone struggles with it on the first go around. Get a cheaper blank like a Pac Bay (around $60), their 3wts are actually pretty nice. Matrix rods are good too for relatively cheap. Once you get better at building them, then I would go for a nicer blank. Just a suggestion.


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## flyfisher117 (Jun 29, 2009)

haha, well I dont live in utah anymore and probably wont get to fish it much because of the cost for me to go fishing there. But its always nice to get others ideas specially from different parts of the US. 

I get what your saying about the cheaper blank for first, thats why im looking at the entry level winston its only $99. Im not afraid of making it look too terrible becuase my mentor said that we would build it together and he would do anything I didnt feel comfortable doing so im sure he can guide me on what to do in order for it to turn out at least a somewhat decent. Im still considering a 4 or 5 wt maybe just a 7.5 or 8 footer and maybe a fast action then it will be different than my other rod so they both will get to get used.


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