FLYMPH FORUM

Do any of you guys fish with fiberglass fly rods? I'm thinking about building a new rod from a Lamiglass fiberglass blank and was wondering if any of you had any experience with fiberglass rods. I'm leaning towards the 7 ft 6" / 4 wt / 2 piece blank, but would be interested in hearing opinions about glass rods. I want a slower rod (sort of going for the feel of bamboo) and love the look of these honey colored blanks. Opinions welcome.

Hi Ray,

Sometimes I fish with a fiberglass Rod. Sometimes I fish with a Bamboo rod. I cannot say that the fiberglass rods feel like a bamboo rod. They all have a character of their own. The bamboo rod is pretty fast and the glass one a little bit slower than most of my carbon rods. My first fly rod is made from a glass blank. It is an Orvis rod and rather fast and 7 ft. The bamboo rod is also 7 ft. Yesterday I fished with an old (1970) glass rod #5 and 8 ft. It played a fish verry well but casting was not to good. Perhaps when i should use it longer that my casting will improve. I don't have any experience with the Lamiglass blank, but I shal not build a rod anymore without first casting with it.

Thanks Ruard.

Do any of you guys fish with fiberglass fly rods?

Yes!! Most of my trout fishing is on smaller to medium sized spring creeks, and I mostly use glass rods I build on contemporary glass blanks.





Glass rods and soft hackled flies work in perfect harmony.

I'm thinking about building a new rod from a Lamiglass fiberglass blank and was wondering if any of you had any experience with fiberglass rods. I'm leaning towards the 7 ft 6" / 4 wt / 2 piece blank, but would be interested in hearing opinions about glass rods.

Lami 7.5' is, imho, the nicest of four available Lamiglas honey blanks. I also use 7' and 8' versions, but prefer the 7.5' model. Here is a picture of a nice brown caught on Lami 7.5' #4 and soft hackled pheasant leech. The deep bend of a glass rod is highly addictive...

Oh man, those are some beautiful photos Vlad. You do beautiful work on the rods. What type of guides did you use? I've built a number of rods with single foot Fuji ceramic guides and really like how well they work. They don't look as traditional as wire guides, but they cast like a dream.

That looks like some tough water to fish. I think I would be pulling vegetation the whole time.

Ray,
I use to use fiberglass all the time. Of course we "old Timers" remember when there was no such thing as a graphite rod. Fiberglass was the in thing, and they WERE perfect for fishing wet flies. I had a beauty of a little rod I used in Germany. It was a Eagle Claw 6.5 foot and was perfect for where I fished. Another was hollow fiberglass, a Phlueger (spelling) that 7.5 foot and extremely light weight. Both rods are no longer with me. I often wish they were.

Mark

Thanks letumgo!

Now I mostly use snakes on glass rods (they fit the retro-nostalgic style associated with glass or split cane better.) However, I have used wire single foots on all three Lami blanks I built. The difference is very small, but just little less weight on the blank should give (theoretically) slightly better rod performance. Glass rods are not high-performance tools, they just work all the time, and will make you smile with the fish on.

For strippers, I have used (depending on the rod) agate, agatine, mildrum style guides, and H&H strippers. You can certainly build a glass rod with any type of guides, including Fuji's. I personally prefer more classic look for glass rods. Graphite is a different story...

Hello Mark,

It was a Eagle Claw 6.5 foot and was perfect for where I fished.

Eagle Claw 6.5'-er is still produced, and considering its cost (around $16), it might be the best bargain in fly rods going...

Regards,
Vlad

Ray - I inherited an 8' 3-wt Wright & McGill glass rod from my father, and when I first tried fishing it with dries, its slow speed (compared with the 9' Loomis GLX I normally use) really put me off. However, now that I fish wet flies more frequently, I've learned to use this "softness" to my advantage and wouldn't use anything else on the fairly small stream I frequent most.

TL- Bill

I inherited an 8' 3-wt Wright & McGill glass rod from my father

Hi Bill,

In the era of 'classic glass rods', fiberglass rods designed for #3 line did not really exist. The light line rod was a 5wt and your W&M is most likely a 6/7wt rod-considered a good allaround rod from the era. Glass rods are low power rods, compared to graphite, and will easily cast lighter lines.