Hello again...
we want to buy a blank PERSONALIZED CTS..., of 8,6 and line 4, but I don't understand well the different options to personalize the blank. My English isn't good and I don't know what means the reduction that he says in the CTS web: butt standard/tipe reduce 2 line wts ; butt standard/tipe reduce 1 line wts;
butt standard/tipe increase 1 or 2 line wts; etc...,, there are many options that I don’t understand.
Can you help us??? Us please the action of 480, but we it want the blank of 8,6, which is the better option????

Thanks !!!!!

That is an interesting question. I see why you are asking. It seems that they are offering different levels of stiffness for the lower butt end and the upper tip end. Softer (more flex) and stiffer (less flex). So if I choose "Butt reduce 2 line wts / Tip reduce 1 line wt" do I end up with a 1wt rod or a really slow 4wt? Neat idea to customize to the users preference but without casting the combinations of varying butt and tip flex how do I know which I would prefer? I would want to “try before I buy” but how would I do that? Maybe a trip to New Zealand is in order. Of course you could just get the “Standard” and then customize the color.

What you're stating Graham is great news for someone who's doing a lot of custom building. It's really remarkable. It really adds uncertainty for someone who wants a couple blanks and is uncertain. It could back fire for CTS if people are getting caught up in paralysis by analysis. I'd stick with the standard tapers because I know I like them. I'll let someone else buy multiple blanks so they can try to figure out the if and what. But that's me. I can see it's a good thing for lots of people. Don't get me wrong.
I also can see it opening the door for guys who'd like to build multi tip rods. Bass tip; trout tip; dry fly action, etc... Should be interesting. Imagine a rod sock with multiple butt, mid, and tip sections. Kinda like a set of Legos™ for fly fishermen.
Some of you are old enough to remember when the Pittsburgh Pirates had gold, black and pin striped uniforms. Between all the mix-&-match with hats, pants and jerseys they had 36 different uni combos! So...does this mean you can build a 7'6" 3wt, 4wt and 5wt and mix-match with them all?

Thanks!!! We sent a email to CTS. We are waiting the answer.
Cheers

*

It is always fun to look at options for different rods. But I think you could also look at your line type and casting. Most 4 weights will cast/fish out to 50 feet or so. Just as an example, all of the late 70s Winston Stalkers were described in just that way. They were exceptional rods, but not because of these modest distances in particular. I will make a guess that you are using a WF line, in which case the first change would be to try a double taper so that there is more capability to extend line and more capability to throw mends for the best presentation.

I will say, I have never handled the particular CTS you have, but I would be astonished if it can't be lined and cast to fish comfortably at 45 or 50 feet--and with very little in the way of specialized casting technique or brand of line.

I find if I want every last inch from a cast I'd get a line with a long belly. WF runs out of weight to cast and a DT starts to strains the rod at a certain point.
A 4wt line on a 5wt rod could be the remedy or dare I say the g-word.

Hi Jeff,

Like Whrlpool, I'd also be astonished if the rod is not capable of casting to 50' with the slack line presentations you're after. I've got an Epic 476 that will happily cast a 4wt line to 70' if I ask it to. I suspect it's probably your casting at fault rather than the rod (sorry) but I've got a couple of questions first before stating that outright.

Can you describe how the line behaves when you attempt those casts? Do the loops tail? Are the loops too wide? Does the line land sideways? Does it collapse in a heap?

Can I ask what line you're using on the rod? (Brand and model). Very short heads are not good for longer casts if delicacy is required. DT lines offer more control as the cast length increases and at 45', it is nowhere near being "overloaded". That's only 30' of line plus 8' of rod and 7' of leader, which almost exactly how line ratings are designated.*

Are you're able to easily cast to 70' with other rods you have? The answer to this indicates to me what sort of line control you have.

Are you double hauling on these casts? (You shouldn't need to, but personally, I do it on all casts for the tip control it offers. I almost can't help it. )

Have you placed this outfit into the hands of a friend who you know can cast any rod? Did he or she have problems reaching 50' with it?

What leader length are you using?

Generally speaking, I've found 'glass rods require a long translation phase before the rod rotates into the cast. If you are not conscious of that aspect of the cast, there's a good chance a nice light 'glass rod will expose that error in your cast when you try to reach out further. (It did for me - 'glass was a good "casting lie detector" for me while I was learning.)

At 45', I'd be very surprised if I needed to tap the reserve power of any rod. If so, the blank has the wrong rating. However, with all else is equal, I've found that strengthening the butt section of the 'glass blanks will give them more reserve power and make the whole rod "less bouncy" during the cast.

Cheers,
Graeme

*All rods are designed to cast much more than 30' of DT line. That's just a calibration point to get a line weight. If you have the skill, the rod should carry nearly a full 80' DT line of the correct weight during the cast.

The suggestions are well intended, I can assure you, and I can just about say the same for Kalgrm, who also described potential custom variations. But the point is that any 4-weight rod will do what was described, including casting 50 feet or more of line to create slack when the forecast is snubbed for a shorter presentation.

Of course it is fun to tinker for a feeling of doing that more easily, but a little more butt diameter or tip length is hard to speculate about at the extremes of performance, let alone the normal range. Changes in feel, maybe; changes in capability . . .

Certainly, though, you could ask CTS what they would recommend since they know the baseline characteristics of the blank best. It would be interesting to know if they thought little revisions would fulfill the need described.

I agree that you can hit that distance. I can throw all of a 444sl dt5f on a kenney 8055, and all of a 444sl dt6f on a scott g906. Those are certainly rods nobody would choose in a distance contest. I never tried to throw the whole line on my kenney 794 but I would bet I could carry 60' of 444sl dt4f plus leader on it no problem.

I second Whirlpool's suggestion of snubbing longer casts (it's also been called pull back) to create slack. Together with suitable leader design this will work - most of the time. It's simple and doesn't require much skill. It will work even with a slower rod. Of course this is a limited and somewhat crude tool but it can be very effective.

Compared to a good graphite 904 any glass rod - even custom S glass with +2 butt stiffness for reserve power - will offer a narrower set of options regarding line manipulation at distance. When you have less options, if you use those available skillfully, you can still get by very well in most cases. It simplifies the way you fish and that might even be desirable.

Pure distance is another story - glass can reach out pretty far, as far as anyone can effectively fish and perhaps further - but that's not the issue here.