[jimmy mac]

Hi all new to the forum! And thanks for accepting me!
Bit about me will keep it short: first tried to fly fish age 13 and sort of gave it up due to carp and barbel I say no more! Have just re started my fly fishing adventures at age 37 and loving it already had a few wild brownies from my local river and plenty of lake rainbows!
Now I’m looking at building a fly rod for my new to me syndicate lake! And wondered if anyone had thoughts or experiences on fly rod building using both double and single leg snake style guides on the same rod! ie doubles for mid of rod and singles for top section? I haven’t seen a off the self rod with split style guides apart from the obvious stripper guides which tend to be double leg! Is this just a no no due to breakage! Trying to design a rod to handle fair weather dry fly on a 6/7 weight  and strong enough to chuck out an 8 weight in colder months with a bit wind on an 8 acre fairly open lake from the bank!
There u go anyone any info much appreciated!!
Cheers

[Rob Brownfield]

There are a few off the shelf rods with a mix. There is one on the market just now, and I cant for the life of remember what make it is...possibly Hanak, as its a euro nymph set up. The very tip has singles, the rest doubles.

There are a few things to remember when configuring the guides....weight and stiffness.

You can "tweak" the action of the rod not only by the placement of guides, but also whether you use double or single legged and the weight of extra epoxy and thread.

I have a deflection board at home that I use to static place guides. I can change the curve of the blank, making it "flatter" by using double legged, or giving it a more natural curve using singles.  I can also slightly shift the curve to being a little more tippy

Doubles act as a brace because with the 2 feet being apart, plus the epoxy on the whipping, you are effectively inserting stiffners up the blank.

So, the effect of having doubles on 3/4 of the blank and singles on the top 1/4 will be to shift the bias to a slightly softer tip.

There will also be a little less "bounce" at the end of a cast as there is a little less weight.

[jimmy mac]

Thanks for the reply Rob!
Maybe I should consider the spacing aswell then!
I have no idea what deflection board is but I take its a devise that outlines the curve of the rod with guides in place when loaded!!
All sounds interesting and thanks very much for the info I know there is no fly rod that covers all situations or line weights but it sounds like maybe I may try it to see how it works! Just trying to conjure something up that is delicate but has a good action with a bit of back bone when desired!
Thanks again👍🏻

[Rob Brownfield]

Just trying to conjure something up that is delicate but has a good action with a bit of back bone when desired!

Glass!!! I find myself saying this more and more these days, much to my own amazement.

Since switching my river outfit to glass I have been so happy with gently placing a dry fly to a fish, and then having a rod that cushions the fight but still turns good fish.

BTW, the deflection board is just a large whiteboard with a grid and a clamp that holds the blank at about 30 degrees to the hotizontal. I can then place guides using a formula or by "feel" and then pass a line through them and load the blank. The grid helps understand the loading.

It can also help identify stress points as the curve has a slight change in "flow" and it stands out against the grid. I find it all very fascinating....but its probably a bit OTT, but it means I can tweak to get the perfect rod for my own fair hand.

[jimmy mac]

Funny u should mention glass as I was also gonna knock up sumin plain and simple like an 8ft 5/6 weight for chub and perch! I can’t seem to find any glass blanks in uk that are longer say 9ft 6 to a 10ft for more lake style fishing do u think they would work with a heavy line like an 8#?
I do have an old glass rod and it is brilliant fun to play fish on!!

[Rob Brownfield]

Funny u should mention glass as I was also gonna knock up sumin plain and simple like an 8ft 5/6 weight for chub and perch! I can’t seem to find any glass blanks in uk that are longer say 9ft 6 to a 10ft for more lake style fishing do u think they would work with a heavy line like an 8#?
I do have an old glass rod and it is brilliant fun to play fish on!!

Modern glass is so different to the 1970's stuff.

My go to rod is an 8 foot 5 weight built on a S-helix blank from Taniwha Rodworks down south. £99 for the blank. He also does kits of components and will match up handles and reel seats for you.

Very fast recovery, extremely light and with a very forgiving action, ideal for very small flies and good fish. I am pretty stunned by it to tell the truth. I built it with the intention of "up grading" to a more expensive make if I felt it was something I would use a lot. No need. It is spot on.

Also does a 8'3" 6wt and a 7/8 weight. Coming in winter is a 8'6" 10 weight

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/537567069/taniwha-premium-s-helix-translucent-s?ref=shop_home_active_5

Also worth speaking to Chris Gould of of Gouldfish Custom Rods. He has a some interesting glass blanks/rods including a 10 foot 4 weight.

Epic have several Switch blanks at 10 foot in glass, but prices are quite a bit higher than others.