I have decided to design a new competition fly rod (or rods) and wondered if I could call on your expertise to help me in the design.
I have a broad idea of what I want to achieve but would welcome any suggestions and advice.
The questions I have initially are as follows:
1. What would be the perfect length.....I am guessing between 9'6" and 10'6"
2. What sort of action? My thoughts are to have a rod that is fast enough to cast a long line but to beef up the first two butt sections to enable a fish to be landed at speed
3. Colour? Do you think a matt finish is beneficial?

I really would welcome your input in this and I am sure there will be some brilliant suggestions to help me make the best competition rod on the market.
Thanks
Mick

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www.bloke-rods.co.uk

10' 4 section 7 or 8#.fast action (but not super fast) matt finish,small fighting butt,no fly keeper.2 stripper rings/single leg snakes.Matt spiggot finish(not painted) must be able to fish dries and Booby on a Di 7.
The current XL50 blank is pretty close to perfect IMHO.
From top of full wells handle handle markings at 10-11-12''

Jim

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The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

Bloke
You have set yourself a hard task, but good luck trying to design this rod.

I am sure that the comp anglers on this forum all use different manufactures rods as the ' tool of choice '

'One mans meat .......'

For me its 10 feet long 7 # fast action very light with butt extension, must be capable of throwing a whole line of any type ( floater to Di7 )
Must be capable of playing more than one stockie at a time

Can't see that a matt finish is important , sounds just a gimmick. The trout won't see the glint coz they will be dazzled by the blobs

And does price matter????

Good luck

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Thanks guys....I agree with the "flash" issue regarding varnished blanks, my opinion is that "flash" is the most natural thing to fish, wet leaves produce the same effect reflecting in sunlight.
I definately agree with no keeper ring.....they all snag line (the folding ones are less obtrusive in this respect so if the overall thoughts are for a keeper ring then this is the solution)
I have two fairly radical thoughts regarding but design....based on my thoughts regarding the Greys Platinum XD competition special.....
Firstly the XD has a huge weight problem with the 10' 7wt coming in at 5.60oz and the 8wt 5.83oz. The ones I have actually weigh more than this but this is quite common. The issue is that these are AT LEAST one ounce heavier than they should be, the reason for this is the composite grip...I can see the benefits of using a composite material is because competition anglers really give their rods a hammering and the composite grips will stand up to the abuse, but at the expense of massive weight increase.
I launched a synthetic cork last year called Q.Suber which has the same integrity but actually weighs less than cork.....it is also better when wet than dry, here is a pic...I intend to use a full wells grip and small butt extension manufactured from this..



The other issue is that an up-locking reel seat is not as effective in terms of counter balancing the rod as a downlocking seat, I know there are a few subtle "pest" issues with downlockers but this is a far better option in terms of casting ability. By lowing the balancing point, especially as reels are getting lighter these days the rod will feel more comfortable to use, cast further and dampen the tip better.

If I use my Japanese Toray uni-directional carbon I will be able to get a really powerful, strong, lightweight blank which would weigh in one ounce lighter than the Platinum XD.....or even less (about the same as an Orvis Hydros 10'7wt)

In terms of price point I want to come in sub £200

Mick

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www.bloke-rods.co.uk

I use loomis glxd 7wts and am happy with these. I favour the 2 piece rod as it appears to have a tighter action. The finish on most of my rods is great but on one leaves much to be desired. I too find greys heavy but I also find sage "heavy" in the hand , but thats just me. I would look at the glxd range of rods and take it from there. jim

Prefer 3 piece myself, don't see any real benefit in 4 piece.

Bloke
Can you not create a questionnaire or survey for the comp anglers to complete.

What rod do you currently use ?
Make / model / Fly line rate /length
Whats good about the rod?
What would you change (if anything ) to make it perfect?
How much did it cost?
Is cost more critical than rod performance.

I think you would quickly see which rods were most popular and why.

I suspect that price is not the driving factor , but that rod performance is the only matters to serious comp angler.

Not sure about substitute cork handles, I fish hard and they do not fall apart. Perhaps I'm old fashioned.

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Better a 'has been' than a 'never was' !
http://te-ff.org/
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Mick, you are on the right lines but if you could get a rod down to Helios weight (that is what I use), I think that would be beneficial. I actually miss having a keeper ring on the Helios and never understood why they left that out.

10 ft 7 or/and 8 weight (the GLXD brigade definitely like an even stiffer rod), 4 piece, good quality fittings and a composite handle would be fine, especially if it saved rather than added, weight.

Charlie

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Charlie
I should be able to get really close....and that solves the keeper ring issue....I will use a folding one.
Thanks guys!
Mick

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www.bloke-rods.co.uk

The composite handle would be a real turn off for me. Matt finish is good and if you want details a plastic rod tube that's light and doesn't rattle about in a boat would be great.

Matt slate grey rod with black fittings and graphics would be nice.

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SpottyHors Fly Fishers