Moderate Action Blanks

[EJSIII]

I'm planning to build a 9' 4-weight spring creek rod for some cold-weather dry-fly fishing. I want something that loads well for short casts and is soft enough to protect 7x tippets on big trout ... what I'd call a moderate or slow action, mid- or full-flex blank.

Winston comes to mind immediately, but money's tight now. Does anyone have recommendations for a Winston-action-without-the-Winston-price kind of blank?

[dudley]

How about glass?
[url=http://www.steffenbrothersflyrods.com/fiberglassrods.htm:3dce4]http://www.steffenbrothersflyrods.com/fiberglassrods.htm[/url:3dce4]


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"too much of anything is bad, but too much whisky is just enough"
Mark Twain

Take a peek at the Forecast line. If you can get your hands on one, try one out. Moderate action, inexpensive, and a great value. I consider them a moderate action.

[Northern Extreme]

I'll second the glass rods. Larger than normal snake guides (if icing is a problem) and large tip top.

Regards,

[flyfisherjoe]

Hey Guys, EJSIII was asking about blanks, not rods.

I don't know what would compare to a Winston blank but the Forcast that ol' blue mentioned is certain a lot of blank for the money.

Another thought, Dan craft has an inexpensive blank called Private Label Brown that he says "These are some of the smoothest moderate action imported blanks I have seen!"

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Joe

[I. Chasepike]

Forecast RX6 blank to be specific. These are awesome blanks for a fraction of the cost of winston. I have a 5wt. and love it. I've also built several others for some very satisfied customers.
Go to [url=http://www.batsonenterprises.com:1b632]www.batsonenterprises.com[/url:1b632] and check them out.

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To fish or not to fish?
What a stupid question.

[dudley]

FlyFisherJoe,
My link was to a page showing rods and blanks.
Steffen Brothers are very highly thought of by the fans of fiberglass

EJSIII,
An other choice would be the cabelas PT.

Forecast RX6 blanks are discribed as being moderate-fast

And I've also heard other guys call them fast. They aren't. I guess you could consider them moderate/fast, though. But to me in my hand while fishing, they are moderate. But then again, I'm not a true "conny-sewer".

[EJSIII]

This is great -- thanks! I hadn't thought of building a glass rod, but I'm going to consider that carefully. I just wonder about the weight of those blanks (not listed). I feel like glass is much heavier, but is that just a myth?

Also checked out those Dan Craft private label blanks, and they sound like what I'm looking for. I'll check out the Cabela's PT and the Forecast, too. I just wish I could walk down to the local shop and demo them all!!

[dudley]

The reason no one makes a glass 9 foot rod today is because of the weight.
That said, modern glass rods are much lighter than those of the past.