Jump to content
Fly Tying
Sign in to follow this  
Fish For Life

fiberglass rod question

Recommended Posts

Just recently i found out that an old 7 wt rod that i made a while ago is a fiberglass rod. So my questions is, what are your thoughts on fiberglass rods. Ive never used one before and don't really know what to expect. So what can you tell be about what a fiberglass rod will be like. Why has the world of fly fishing generally gone away from fiberglass rods?

Ive heard that they make good small stream rods because they load up fast. But what will a 7wt be like?

Any anything else you think might be useful to know about fiberglass rods wold be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Fiberglass is a bit heavier than graphite. Either material will make a good fly rod, as did bamboo, which is heavier still. The load in a rod comes from the line weight, and the proper casting stroke. The longer glass and bamboo rods is where you would start to notice a difference in the weight. It isn't much weight, but you can easily feel the difference in casting a 9' glass rod all day. Shorter rods were the excess tip weight and leverage isn't as great not as much difference would be felt.

 

The action of a rod comes from the taper, and the amount of material used in the different areas of the rod. Russ Peak used to sand down glass rods to alter the action. Ounce for ounce good graphite will be much stronger than fiberglass, so less material needs to be wrapped to get the performance you want.

 

I have cast really awful glass rods, and really awful graphite rods, and I have cast really nice glass and graphite rods. My first fly rod was a truly awful glass rod made back in the 50s. It was slow, and floppy feeling, even then, thought I needed a better rod. My boss and mentor at the time had a Fenwick Fiberglass rod, and his rod was so much better than mine I started to save my pennies for one.

 

I didn't care much for the first Graphite rods I tried out, since I was used to the slower action glass and bamboo rods I had. Since I was working in a tackle shop, I could try out all the "latest and greatest" rods. My first graphite was a Loomis rod which was given to me by the sales rep for some work I had done on his reels. I soon started selling off my glass rods and built new graphite rods to replace them.

 

That was 30 years ago, and I don't have a single glass rod in my collection, and only one bamboo. I still have 6 graphite fly rods, and they are the only ones I use.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Like utyer, most rods I now own are graphite, but I do have a couple of inexpensive glass rods too, one from Berkley & a Daiwa. I also started with a Cortland 8 wt glass rod in the early 70's, so graphite was an improvement. However, I caught a lot of fish with that old rod. For the rods I now have, the Berkley does seem to cast better with a 7 wt line on it, and I enjoy using it sometimes. It has a much slower action than any of the graphite rods I've used. When I choose to fish with that rod, it's in tidalwater creeks & I just fish, not really targeting any specific species. Like the 8 wt I started with, it's fine for tossing some fairly large flies for bass & it's still fine for the various panfish I may encounter. I've never used it for trout. The Daiwa I usually use for panfish & most often with a spinning reel attached. I've tested it with a few different line weights & have never really been happy with any of them.

 

Frankly, it's hard to say without taking it out & using it what you can expect other than what utyer has said. Generally a 7 wt of any type might be more rod than you need for small streams, but that too can depend on the stream. In bigger water is might be a good streamer rod, or for topwater bugs if you chase bass or anything else you might use such large bugs to pursue.

 

One of the nice things about glass, it's generally more durable than graphite, so even little nicks are not often crucial as they can be with graphite. Unfortunately that doesn't include accidentally slamming them in car doors, which is how I finally broke my old Cortland 8 wt. sad.png

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I fish fiberglass and bamboo 95% of the time. The only time I use graphite is if I'm in my pontoon on a large lake...even then I still use an 8.5'/5wt wt McFarland or 8.5'/4wt Diamondglass rod. Fiberglass is smoother and has more feel then graphite and often times more than bamboo. There are some tremendous glass rods out there, especially nowadays! Like bamboo there are many glass tapers. Some you may like and some not. Best is to try or buy used and get your money back if you don't like them. I'd recommend trying some of the original 3pc Diamondglass rods or Hardy Perfection glass rods or older Scott glass rods. Echo and Epic are making some fine glass rods as is Orvis and L. Kenney and M. Steffen. I have an older Berkley Parametric 8.5'/7wt that I will never sell. Its light, smooth and sweet flexing. I do find it harder to find glass rods in the heavier weights from 7wt up and then go to spey rods or graphite. By the way my all time favorite graphite rod is a Orvis Seven Eleven 4wt. It feels like glass!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Why has the world of fly fishing generally gone away from fiberglass rods?

 

Because like any other aspect of a technologically advanced society, "better" tools and materials make their way into our lives.

 

There are a billion variables (or more) that will affect the answer to your main question... what can you expect with YOUR rod compared to all the other rods out there... no way to answer it except for you to go fish with it.

 

For the majority of people, in the majority of circumstances, graphite rods have proven to be the superior tool. Whatever qualities they possess compared to fiberglass have been accepted as more desirable to more people in more situations than other materials.

 

In certain conditions, certain people will prefer one material over another. We fly fish for personal enjoyment, so there is no right answer. I grew up with fiberglass rods, fly and spinning. You can use a tree branch with a string tied to it, to catch fish.

 

My question to you is how did you "just recently found out" that rod you built a while ago is fiberglass?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

 

My question to you is how did you "just recently found out" that rod you built a while ago is fiberglass?

 

It was given to me from my uncle as an old beat up rod about 5 years ago. When i got it i stripped it clean and re did it. Once i was done i put it into on a shelf in my room and never really looked back at it, all that i new about it was that i built a fly rod. Back then i was just getting into fly fishing and didn't know about glass vs graphite rods. Just recently i have been looking at getting a new small stream trout rod, i was considering either a 2wt graphite or a 3wt glass. That got me thinking and learning a bit about glass rods. Such as them being generally slow action and heavy.

The past few months i have been tying some bass flies for this upcoming summer. Then i started to think what rod i was going to use for them. Either my 5wt, which is a bit small for bass, or my 10wt, which is way to big. Then i remember about the old 7wt that i built a few years ago. When i got it off the shelf a few days ago i remembered that it was an old, slow, heavy rod; which resulted in me discovering that it was a glass rod. which brings us to me asking this questions about fiberglass rods.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Since you already have it, try it out. You didn't say how long it was, but a 7 rod should handle small bass bugs fine. The difference in weight is not all that much. There is no harm is giving it a shot. You can pick up a #7 line on sale usually around $30 to $40. I will let you know if I still have any 7 lines I can part with. I have one that use, but not sure if I have any spares.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

In the late 60's most of the books I read recommended an 8' 8wt as an all round rod. 5wt rods were hard to find and were considered ultra light wt.......vintage glass rods are generally slow action but slow is not a dirty word. I still fish glass as well as graphite. A 7wt is a good wt for all but the large bass flies with a double haul. It will cast nice sized hair bugs and poppers as well as streamers or crawdad patterns. You can get a floating WF 7wt line at Walmart for $20. You can always slowly cut back the front taper to help turn over the larger flies and don't be afraid to use a shorter heavy mono level leader. Sometimes a fast graphite rod can get to be 'work' to cast. Slow glass will almost cast it's self if you let it. ......As mentioned above glass rods are much more forgiving to abuse than graphite. Any little knick in graphite can cause a catastrophic failure in a black rod and they don't do well with high sticking. You can pretty much lean on your glass rod and miss handle it and it will survive to fish another day. The only new glass that I own are two Eagle Claw cheap rods and they are fine fishing tools and a real steal for $20. Probably the best bargain in fly fishing today and yes they are slow. You will continually read on these forums about overlining graphite rods. They do that to slow them down. Slow can be good.....Glass is a little heavier and most noticeable with the longer rods. I personally like shorter rods and 8' is a long glass rod IMO and prefer shorter. I do fish 9' graphite in the salt. I owned a 9' Fenwick years ago and I think I used it once. To me it was like swinging a telephone pole. Use that glass. You might just like it. :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Just saw this rod last weekend at the Denver Fly Show: Blue Halo It is the lightest rod I have handled and the tip was tied to the butt, the rod was completely bent over...... was amazing to hold. I didn't have a chance to cast it though..

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The rod being bent double used to be the big selling point of the Shakespeare Ugly stick. I believe that was in the mid 70's.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Those Ugly Sticks were nowhere close to as light as this was... I am tempted to save some coin to try one out.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Just saw this rod last weekend at the Denver Fly Show: Blue Halo It is the lightest rod I have handled and the tip was tied to the butt, the rod was completely bent over...... was amazing to hold. I didn't have a chance to cast it though..

 

I cast the 5wt at the show and loved it. They had a coupon for 20% off (I think) and I'm going to order one, just need to pick a color. :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

ditz beat me to it....

 

"The 1970s are calling, they want their rod back!"

 

I have the late 50's / early 60's 7'6" "HDH" Phillipson glass rod which was my Dad's and with which I learned to fly fish. Compared to even a mediocre "modern" rod, it is wiggly, heavy, slow, bends all the way into the handle, and hard to feel. It was awesome in it's time, and I wouldn't part with it. I caught literally truckloads of fish with it.

 

I find it interesting when I read quite a bit that people will sometimes compare the action of fiberglass rods to bamboo. Back in the day, fiberglass rods were the technological wonder (Shakespeare even called their rods "WonderRods" ) which were going to eliminate all the perceived problems with bamboo. They did, except for a tiny tiny niche market. Then carbon fiber came on the scene and took a while to take over the market, but it did. No way to argue that in almost every instance, graphite rods are lighter, quicker, and more sensitive than glass.

 

It's reached a point now where fiberglass is hitting the niche market again.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...