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Here's what I came up as a taper for the 7 1/2’ 5 wt I was working with. Not sure it'll be my final taper, but it's a fairly quick rod. I've been able to get at least one cast out to 79’ with it. It seems fairly solid out to 70’. It's a second attempt, based on an old Montague that came alive after I changed line wt to a WF4. It still feels a little heavy fishing it. Ferrule 13/64 01 .098 One note. I've been thinking about the way I measure flat to flat on all three sides. In the past I've just averaged them out, but I believe that the top and bottom flat are more important than the four sides in the way a rod casts, so I took that measurement twice and then divided by 4 ((side a + side a + side b + side c)/4). The difference didn't turn out to be much. I guess if my strips were a little more off, it would be more important. (Terry Kirkpatrick) Hi Terry - Not having cast the rod, I may be out of line here, but the tip area looks too stiff to me for a 5 weight. I would have a hard time throwing a tight loop with something on those dimensions, and would have to work too hard in general. Garrison's 209 tip .070 Don Anderson's 7'9" 5 weight .071 Both moderate progressive tapers Wayne C's 7 1/2' 5 weight .070 A nifty parabolic, as I recall it. Dickerson 8013 .074 A classic fast action rod. I would suggest you build another tip based on the numbers above, and see how you like it. If you don't, I guess you will at least know who to blame. (Tom Smithwick) I too saw this taper and had the very same thought as Tom. I put it into a Hexrod type program offered to me by a list member and I don't recall seeing the rod as uncastable, but yes, I thought the tip was way stiff for a 5 wt. Question... is this why Terry was able to get an 80 foot cast without throwing out his shoulder??? (Ren Monllor) Some of you may remember my listing for a 7.5’ taper that had a tip of .098. Several people wrote me questioning the dimensions and I rechecked the original taper. It fell right in line with the taper I'd built. However, I decided to check further, so I built another tip using suggested dimensions. Those that came closest to falling in line with the rest of my rod. (Why add additional variables?) The original stations were 1 .097 the new tip is 1 .074 Yesterday I taped some guides on the rod and test cast it. And the change in rod action is..... (Drum roll!) ...Nothing I can feel. I've got a second rod built on the original taper, so I can actually compare the two side by side, (With identical fly lines on them.) after I finish the rod tip. But I'm wondering... What if there really isn't that much difference in the way the two rods cast? (Terry Kirkpatrick) I would guess then that the part of the rod you use to cast is the other part of the rod you did not change. This is a neat and fun sounding comparison. I wish I was there to cast them also. (Timothy Troester)
Here is the taper on the little rod that roll casts so well. As I mentioned I was fishing with a friend in Montana (I forget which river) but he was casting a 4 wt through a 9’ graphite rod and i was roll casting with this rod what looked like the same distance he was over head casting (he knows how to cast). Sorta caught both of us by surprise but was impressive enough Jimmy made a comment about the roll cast ability - he's pretty tight lipped when it comes to positive comments ... Anyway - I'm casting a 5 wt weight forward out of this rod, if someone wants to run the numbers through a program and see what it's really designed for I'd be curious to know myself cause I really have no clue and have only tried the 5 wt. It's really funky to cast short distance - I think I'm always way too fast but out about 40 - 50 ft it performs well then falls flat on its face again at about 60-65 ft I have to really work the hell out of it. Tip .61 2 3/4" to ferrule ferrule 60 .226 I was looking at your taper and wondering how long the rod is, you didn't say, but I would guess it's 7' or 7'6". It looks very much like a Chris Bogart Taper for his Shenendoah Supreme #2, which is a 3 pc 5 wt 7'6". Chris's taper is a little smoother and has the low point on the butt flex at 65" where yours is at 60-65" I plotted yours as a 4 wt But it will take a 5 WF nicely. If you have any more info on the rod please send it and I will send you a copy of the taper and try to describe the rod action. I am particularly interested in why it roll casts so well. (Bob Norwood)
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