A friend of mine is moving from Florida to Colorado Springs and I want to make him a fly rod. All I have ever made is spinning rods-5 to be exact.

Three questions please:

Would a 5 weight 3 piece be a good choice?

What manufacturer would be a good choice?

Are there any significant difference between constructing fly rods versus a spinning rod.

Thank You

Spencer

No real difference in construction - the handle is just assembled with the seat at the butt of the rod.

An 8'6" to 9' 5-weight fly rod is a good all around choice for most trout, and even some general bream and bass fishing in most areas.

There are really too many good choices for me to go through a list. I came up building rods in an era where you had maybe 3 or perhaps 4 blank manufacturers and the selection from each was spotty at best. Now you can choose from over a dozen manufacturers and the selection is almost endless. I don't know - maybe having too many choices isn't a good thing after all.

My favorites would be the St. Croix SCIV and All Star Austin series. But I can't say these are better than anything else. I've had many fly rod blanks through the shop in the past year and I continue to be amazed at how good all the offerings have become, even the ones that are fairly inexpensive.

..........

A 9' 5 wt or maybe a 9' 4 wt. wold be the main rod used around here (Colorado Front Range). A two, three or four piece rod would be great but a four piece would be easier to travel with and if your friend was interested in any back country fishing than the four piece would almost be a necessity.
There are too many good manufacturers too list but hear are a few that I have experience with and highly recommend. To get the most bang for your buck, I would suggest Tiger Eye, Pac-Bay, Rainshadow or Dan Craft. If you want the rod to have a lifetime warranty and a well recognized name, then you can't go wrong with a St. Croix. If you want the best money can buy, I would not hesitate to recommend a Thomas & Thomas!
Building a fly rod is a Little different than building a spin rod but if you can do one, you can surely do the other. Feel free to give me a call with any questions you might have, and be sure to check out my all inclusive fly rod building kits on my website at www.platteriverrods.com.

A 9' 5wt. is a great all around western rod. I just built a Loomis IMX 3pc and tried it out on the San Juan. Best rod I've ever had.

I just visited and flyfished with a friend in Castle Rock, CO. This was my first airline fishing trip since 9-11, and my two piece rod had to be checked as a piece of luggage. That's one less bag I could have checked with gear. Prior to my trip, I had already purchased a four piece, 9' 5wt for future trips. This size, under 30" in the case, will travel inside of a piece of luggage on future flights. So if your friend plans on traveling with his rod, a four piece might come in handy. It does for the friend I visited, as he travels east now and then.

Jeff Shafer

Thank you for all the advice.

Spencer