Hello all, thanks for any help in this!

I am looking at buying one of Hook and Hackle's Forecast rod kits. This will be my first build, and have read that they seem to very good for that. I have also read the article here on FAOL about how to build a rod.

I mainly stay in warmwater (panfish and small bass.) Fly line that I would like to use would be the SA headstart line. I currently own a 9' #6 Sage VPS that I LOVE!!!! I am wanting something for a winter project and this seems to be the one thing the wife might let me invest in. I fish mostly from bank of farm ponds, or occasionally from my pontoon boat (whenever I can get my 11 year old from out of it!) I am also looking at purchasing a float tube
so 9' is a must!!!


Rod Kit I am looking at: Forecast 9' #4 weight.

So now the questions questions!

1. Is there an appreciable difference in the feel of a #4 weight to my #6 weight when it comes to fighting panfish and bass species?? I guess my question is will it be more difficult to land bluegill and bass with the #4 than with my #6, to the point that I will say -- WOW!!!!!

OR, should I go with a 9' #3 weight and just go with a different / more expensive line??? I am only looking at SA Headstart for it is the line I use on my #6, and for the fishing I do it is ideal in both performance and price!!!


2. Does anyone know what kind of action the rods from H&H have?? My Sage VPS has a med-fast action and I love the way it feels to cast and fish!!! I have tried to use rods that are more on the soft side, and frankly I just find them harder to feel when the rod loads correctly!

3. If the action isn't as fast as I would like, could I go with dual foot guides to make it a little stiffer? Same question if the rod is too fast, could I go with single foot guides to make it a little less stff and thus a little slower???

By that same token, would a 3 or 4 piece rod make the action a little faster from having to thread 1 or 2 more ferules???


4. Other than the look of an uplock real seat as compared to normal, is there any real difference in performance of the 2 reel seats?

5. I am leaning towards single foot guides for the rod (less thread wrapping,) is this a mistake for a first time rod builder?

6. Is finding the spine very hard? I am really worried about getting it right, so that I don't end up with a bad rod!

7. With multi piece rods, is it okay just to put the pieces together then find the spine for the entire rod? Or, do you have to find the spine for each section, and then line them all up and double check the spine of the rod?

8. I know that the ferrules on a multi piece rod or the weak points on the rod. I know that they must be thread wrapped over for strength. Will wrapping this with enough section of wraps be easy to figure out in order to make the areas strong enough?


9. Now for a question I must say might be purely opinion. Is a #4 easy to feel load and cast? My #6 is the SMALLEST flyrod I have EVER used!!! I come from southern Louisiana where my 9.5' #9 weight ruled the inshore seas!!! Now I live in the central Kentucky area and am having a fun time "downsizing" my equipment to match local conditions.

10. As I know that I am not the best person to do it, I am going to have a good instructor teach my daughter to cast a fly rod. She loves to tie flies with me, and is itching to try using them. Would a 9' #4 be easier for her to learn on than my 9' #6? She'll be fishing with simple dryflies, and maybe an occasional nymph with indicator.

11. Lastly, do I really need some kind of motorized attachment to spin the rod while the guide glue dries? Or is it easy / feasible to do it by hand?

Thanks for the help!!!


Sincerely,

Reggie




[This message has been edited by RCaillouet3 (edited 27 July 2005).]