Fiberglass Fly Rod Question

[letumgo]

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.

[Ruard]

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.

[letumgo]

Thanks Ruard.

[Vlad]

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...

[letumgo]

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.

[Soft-hackle]

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

[Vlad]

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...

[Vlad]

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

[tie2fish]

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

[Vlad]

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.