I know somebody has thought of this and maybe done it. Take a 7 piece nine foot 5 weight blank; eliminate the butt section and build a fly rod on the six sections. It would be about 6 and a half feet long; what weight would it be?Anyone put the cents measurement to it? Or similar?-p-

It shouldn't be because youre omitting the butt section, which is the strongest; I am building a 5 foot ultralight pack spin rod on one so I will check the ERN; its from a 8 foot 5 weight-p-

I always thought that eliminating some of the butt section sped a rod up, and required a heavier line, but I could be wrong, it has happened.

Not sure about the 7 pc Stowaway blanks but I did that with the 7.5' 4wt and 8.5' 3wt in the 5pc blanks. In both instances I ended up needing at least 1 line weight higher to get a good casting rod and in the case of the 4wt blank, it really casted best with a 6wt line.

I have to say that the 8' 3wt with a butt section dropped was an amazing little rod. It ended up being a bass bug taper where the tip was a bit stiffer and the rod flexed well into the butt on the casts. Very fun little rod and Jsentell here can also attest to that as I also made one up for him.

P'row- let us know how youy make out if you try it.

Lou

RioSeco, I use the CCS method and I'm a firm believer in it. I've never heard some one call a fly rod a spring before, but after thinking about it for a second, you are right.
I also measure from the droop, the only part of the blank that I make sure is totally level is the butt section right in front of the cork.

J.

Jim, I have one of the Orvis 7'9" 5wt's and I get roughly the same ERN that you do. Many glass rods spec out the same way.

J.

I just go by FEEL. I am not sure why it is, but a longer rod always feels easier to load than a short one- especially in graphite.

Although, if you just look at the TadPole (Forecast E-glass spinning blanks as an example)- the 6.5 and 6' rods seem to load much easier than the 5' blank and they all have a similar rating. I think it's the lack of length that makes the 5' blank FEEL stiffer.

I have yet to find a multi-piece rod that needed a lighter weight line to make it work after dropping a butt section. Even without a line on it, the shorter rod just ends up FEELING stiffer- perhaps that is because there is now less length and a shorter lever. Maybe a really fast rod that bends mostly in the upper section might not be affected this way, but softer moderate action rods that load into the butt section seem to feel stiffer.

I take a very unscientific approach to all of this- so please take this info as my own findings. Not sure if they mean anything to anyone or if they are helpful.

Thanks,

Lou

Okay; I took the 8' 7 piece 5 weight stowaway; eliminated the two butt sections and built a nice little 5' pack rod for spinning. I'll get some pics of it later. My initial reaction is that it will cast line in the 6# to 8#. Its a very light rod with more backbone than I thought initially. I think it is too powerful for 4# use unless the reel had a super nice drag system. Its not a fly rod, but the concept is the same. I will also check the ERN when I am finished with it. The person I'm making it for has plenty of pack fly rods, but wanted a pack spin rod for those mountain lakes and streams where fly casting was difficult-p-

Although a big fan of CCS, I think Lou has described my experience. Particularly with bamboo, I mock up all rods to see if shortening the lower section of the blank 6" makes for a better casting rod. In bamboo, there is a usually a pronounced swell in the last 12" of the blank. Removing that swell creates a more limber rod. But it may or may not improve the casting characteristics. Of course the butt section is now shorter than the tip section if you take off 6". This is known as a "staggered ferrule rod".

With graphite, dropping the lower section of a multi-piece section does something similiar. But of course there is a ferrule not very far from the grip that has an influence whether you drop a section or not. I would strongly suggest that you mock up the blank with the grip right at the tip end of the original butt section. This places a ferrule right at the winding check of the grip. This is an excellent place for a ferrule to fall and has the added advantage of being nearly invisible when assembled. You now have a detachable handle section shorter than the other sections, because you will cut off the butt end to that is lies underneath the real seat. Sometimes the stripper falls naturally at the next ferrule up, and so looks clean as well.

If you can get a second butt section, you can build a spinning handle on that one and carry both in the backpack. Don

Well, I would prefer to be known as the "Doctor of Love", but evidently I don't qualify. Since you have the expertise Gene, you want that female ferrule to be just a hair shy of touching the grip with the sections joined. That way you don't see that male tip until you dissassemble the rod. A flat spot right ahead of the grip (the ferrule) is a good thing, as it keeps the flex from going down into the handle, which departs less from the manufacturer's original taper than dropping the entire section. Since the next ferrule is farther away then it would be by dropping a section, the stripper also falls in the right place on a female ferrule (at least sometimes). Hey, with all this talk of male, female, and strippers, maybe I should give that "Love Doctor" business another try. Don