It's no secret that I enjoy the benefits and the versatility of a fly/spin outfit from time to time and Colt Johnson decided to mix it up a bit with his latest fiberglass build which was done on a blank from McFarland Rods.
Colt wrote... "I decided to take this one in a new direction. I have not previously seen a McFarland Spin/Fly rod (although there may be a few out there) and having previously built and fished the 7'2" five weight, I thought it would be a wonderful blank to use.
Originally, I have/had in mind a light bass spin/fly rod, but I also thought that a spin/fly rod is a very utilitarian setup and such a rod needs to be able to "do it all". The 7'2" length is not too long and not too short. It can still be fished on pretty small water with just enough length to feel comfortable on medium sized water as well. The five weight line is not too heavy and not too light. I can cast most dries with some smaller streamers and medium sized poppers as well. The rod can present a fly pretty delicately but still has enough power to handle a medium breeze. And if things get too tight or too windy to cast a fly line then a spinning reel can be attached. It's kind of a "jack of all trades" type of rod.
As for the build, I went with American Tackle's single foot spinning guides with a darkened nickel frame and a gold insert. The gold inserts look really nice with the orange colored ferrules. The wraps are YLI silk and I turned the grip using flor grade cork rings with rubberized cork and burl cork rings on both ends. It's actually a pretty simple build."
Colt...I dig this build a lot. Bring on the bluegills!
Colt wrote... "I decided to take this one in a new direction. I have not previously seen a McFarland Spin/Fly rod (although there may be a few out there) and having previously built and fished the 7'2" five weight, I thought it would be a wonderful blank to use.
Originally, I have/had in mind a light bass spin/fly rod, but I also thought that a spin/fly rod is a very utilitarian setup and such a rod needs to be able to "do it all". The 7'2" length is not too long and not too short. It can still be fished on pretty small water with just enough length to feel comfortable on medium sized water as well. The five weight line is not too heavy and not too light. I can cast most dries with some smaller streamers and medium sized poppers as well. The rod can present a fly pretty delicately but still has enough power to handle a medium breeze. And if things get too tight or too windy to cast a fly line then a spinning reel can be attached. It's kind of a "jack of all trades" type of rod.
As for the build, I went with American Tackle's single foot spinning guides with a darkened nickel frame and a gold insert. The gold inserts look really nice with the orange colored ferrules. The wraps are YLI silk and I turned the grip using flor grade cork rings with rubberized cork and burl cork rings on both ends. It's actually a pretty simple build."
Colt...I dig this build a lot. Bring on the bluegills!
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