Flyrod conversion

[John 3:16]

Here's a technical question for you builders out there. Since I can't seem to sell my St.Croix Avid to purchase a smaller rod I'm wondering about converting. Can a grip/reel seat be constructed with a dowell in the end to put the first 3 of 4 sections onto. Does anyone think this will work or would it not be strong enough at the grip? Also, would it change the line wt? For example, my rod is a 5wt. Would it change to a 4wt? This would be fine but I can't afford multiple lines just to find out. Let me in on some of the expertise out there. Thanks and God Bless!

[PanFisher]

Replacing the bottom section will not change the line weight of the rod - only the length of the rod (shorter). If you were to cut from the top then the line weight would become heavier.

Just before J Kennedy Fisher disappeared from the picture he marketed some interesting rods that were double length. I have one similar that is in six sections - the 7ft rod is built with the butt section and three other sections - the 8 1/2 ft rod is built with a different butt section another section and the same three sections as the 7 ft model. All the same rod, six pieces - two are butt sections. It assembles either as a 7ft or 8 1/2 ft.

For what you want to do the seat/handle assembly CANNOT be made of any material except that of the rod itself. In this case graphite as the Avid is a graphite rod. If you were talking a glass rod then it would need to be made of glass. Each material bends a little differently and therefore are not compatible when mixed.

What I would do to accomplish what you describe is look for a piece of scrap graphite that would slide into the female ferrule of the third section. Then simply install the reel seat and handle on it. It then becomes a shorter fourth section. If you need to go shorter than that locate a piece of graphite identical to the third section (from the top) and build the reel seat/handle and likely a stripper guide on that - You then build a shorter three piece rod. The rod "as is" - a bit longer 4 piece. The rod with the new third (butt) section - a shorter 3 piece.

[ol' blue]

The line weight may not change but the relative action will be slower. You might prefer to use a lighter line to adjust the casting characteristics just a little bit.