I have decided to build a first rod. I am thinking of building on a Beulah 4 wt Euro Nymph blank or Pac Bay Quiline 4 wt. Maybe I am crazy but I want to put a 16" Tennessee handle on it. So I can slide the rings forward and put a spinning reel on it, to drift nightcrawlers, Slide them back and put a fly reel on and nymph fish. Not completely against putting a short switch handle on it and fishing it like a Michigan handle with the spinning reel. Also what kind of guides should I use for fly and spin?

Like I said maybe I am crazy, and need to build two rods. Any information from all of you experienced builders would be greatly appreciated.

Isaiah

I would put spinning guides on the rod if it was going to be used more as a spinning rod, than a fly rod.

Or, if you wanted to, you could put spinning guides on one side of the rod and fly guides on the other side of the rod.

If it is a multi piece rods, you could put the different guides on just the butt section, and use one set of guides for the rest of the rod.


Be safe

A fly reel will cast just fine through spin guides. Look at the back issues of Rodmaker. There was an article several years ago about building a rod for spinning/fly fishing. It would have some good information for you. I'm sure someone will weigh in with the exact issue.

Hello Victor & Isaiah.

There is an article in the 12-3 issue on page 10 called "Build your own...SPIN/FLY Combination Travel Rod".

This might be what you are talking about?.

Tight wraps & Tighter Lines.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

Isiah,
You'll be surprised with how well a spinning reel will cast on a fly rod, or for that matter a casting rod, if you have a casting rod around, just install a spinning reel in the reel seat and give it a try, fly rod tape the spinning rod on the handle. If you go with the spinning guides than any rod tube you may use to transport and protect the rod will have to be of a large enough diameter to slide the guides into the tube, go to high and the tubes are harder to find or if made from PVC pipe heavy. Just set your priorities accordingly and build to that specs, you'll get better results than trying to be all things.

I was thinking of just putting fly rod guides on the rod. The casting distance when I would use the rod with a spinning reel does not have to be all that far. So if it did suffer from the guides it wouldn't be a big deal. If it was built like a TFO it wouldn't matter at all, those stripper guides are HUGE!