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Post 05 Aug 2022, 16:28 • #1 
New Member
Joined: 05/09/20
Posts: 15
Looking for a glass blank that would have a similar feel to my old LL’s. Something you can water load with 20 feet of line and shoot it 70. Any suggestions?


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Post 06 Aug 2022, 18:57 • #2 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 09/18/09
Posts: 5561
Location: Relocated to the Drought Stricken West.
I haven't found one. The old LL is a very nice rod, and while it may be softer and slower than most graphite, it definitely is graphite. I would look at other vintage graphite.


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Post 06 Aug 2022, 21:13 • #3 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19076
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
To me, glass doesn't replace good 8-1/2' to 9' graphite. Should be no reason to not fish your LLs.
Glass fits best in the 6' to 8' niches.

I'll never be without my old Fishers and Powell, which I compared a LL side-by-side in the alley behind Austin Angler when I bought the Powell Silver Creek.


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Post 06 Aug 2022, 21:14 • #4 
New Member
Joined: 05/09/20
Posts: 15
Thanks man. I know, I have several old LL’s and they are my favorite dry fly rods. I want to build glass rods that cast in a similar fashion. Never going to be spot on but I’m looking to get close so I can use the same lines and get similar casts.


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Post 07 Aug 2022, 01:10 • #5 
Master Guide
Joined: 09/23/18
Posts: 614
Location: Eastern Wa
Ive owned 4 graphite 2 LLs. Two 490LLs, 389LL, and 473LL. I hated the 473LL as it wasnt in the same league as the other two. Broke a 490 in a car door (wind) and the 389 (trying to break off a snag on a cattail impatiently when mother nature was urgently calling). I still have the 490LL which I consider my best graphite trout rod for lakes and spring creeks. These I aquired in the 80s. The 473 i removed the guides/handle and built an ultralight spinning rod from it.

Of the many dozens of fiberglass rods i own i consider the fenwick FF855 the closest match to the 490 except its a 5wt.


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Post 07 Aug 2022, 11:38 • #6 
Guide
Joined: 07/07/19
Posts: 221
Location: US-WI
I haven’t found one either.
LL’s I’ve owned are the 490-3, 389-3 and the 469-2. All sold except the 389-3 (which is on my “remember to never sell this rod” list).
One vintage glass rod that somewhat reminds me, in feel, of the 490-3 LL is the Fenwick FF806-2. Progressive, full flexing and just very capable of a lot of trout fishing demands.


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Post 07 Aug 2022, 11:46 • #7 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 06/10/09
Posts: 1651
Location: US-OH
You might want to consider ********* Glass YS Glass. I built out a 9' 3wt that was as close to classic graphite as I've experienced. It does have a bit of graphite in it but it's mostly e-glass. Surprisingly light in hand with good recovery for a glass rod of that length and weight.
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=68795


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Post 07 Aug 2022, 15:23 • #8 
Master Guide
Joined: 02/23/10
Posts: 784
Location: SF Bay Area
I can't help with a blank but anyone looking for similar could do worse than a 9' 5/6 wt Leon Chandler fiberglass rod.

First outing with mine felt a little like I'd come full circle (back to 9' graphite).


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Post 07 Aug 2022, 17:08 • #9 
Master Guide
Joined: 05/16/10
Posts: 814
Location: South of Houston, TX
I've got a 490-4LL and a 379-3. For glass fishing the same waters I bought a Steffen 3/4 weight 7'9" 3 piece blank that I built into a rod that I love. It certainly has a different feel from the Sage's but I find they all bring a smile to my face. I don't do any shooting to 70' with it though, but I haven't had the need.
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=48540&p=206993
Interesting that I bought the reel seat for the build from Shane Gray, who now owns all the equipment and is producing the Steffen rods and blanks. It would be worth giving him a call if you're looking to build a rod.
My thought was I didn't want a rod that was the same as the LL, since I already had that covered. But I wanted another fine fishing rod that had its own charms.


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Post 08 Aug 2022, 06:42 • #10 
Sport
Joined: 11/13/20
Posts: 33
Location: Southern VT
The two glass rods beyond 8’6” that I own are possibly my favorites: ********* 8’9” 5 weight and McFarland 8’8” 4 weight. I imagine both of these are more full flexing than the LL’s, however having never cast one, this is only conjecture. Not sure about 70’ casts with either but they are both precision tools. I also have a ********* 864 blank that is waiting patiently.


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Post 09 Aug 2022, 04:13 • #11 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 06/24/11
Posts: 1144
Location: Belgium
Quote:
Thanks man. I know, I have several old LL’s and they are my favorite dry fly rods. I want to build glass rods that cast in a similar fashion. Never going to be spot on but I’m looking to get close so I can use the same lines and get similar casts.


Take a look at CTS turbo tapers (or ask them for a custom taper).


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Post 09 Aug 2022, 09:19 • #12 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 12/31/15
Posts: 1238
Location: Northern Rockies
I've only cast an LL 590-3 that a friend owns, so keep that in mind. You probably want a glass rod that is stiffer in the butt and softer in the tip than is usual. I think a McFarland GTX might get you fairly close, and Mike McFarland can probably tell you how that taper compares more specifically. You may also want to go up a line-weight in glass to mimic the Sage LL. For instance, get a 6-weight GTX or similar to cast a 5-weight line.

I haven't cast a CTS Turbo Taper, but from what I've heard about it on the forums, it sounds like it would be another option worth considering.


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Post 16 Aug 2022, 14:15 • #13 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 08/25/08
Posts: 1526
Location: Delton, MI
Why you would want to make a 70 foot cast for trout is beyond me but to each his own. The LL’s were fast with soft tips bending fairly far up the rod. You probably won’t find something long and light that casts like an LL in glass but the Orvis Superfines tend to have that quality although I haven’t cast the new models for this year. I would also say some of Chris Barclay’s rods exhibit that characteristic like his older 7’8” 4wt brown ale rods. So I would visit your local Orvis shop or give Chris a call and see what he offers these days. You might give Mike McFarland a call. He would probably be the most able to give a particular recommendation.


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Post 19 Aug 2022, 07:34 • #14 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19076
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
70-foot casts are for schooling fish that follow and challenge each other to take the first bite, such as white bass and seatrout.

Fred Thomas solved the perfect dry fly rod problem in 1936 with the taper that resurfaced as Thomas Light Special.
Short light tip that will accurately cast the leader alone, long fast mid wrings a dry fly on a single back cast and gives an uncanny feeling of casting itself to 50'.
The flared butt gives fish-turning power, and absolutely kills the taper - the rod will not cast beyond 50'.


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Post 22 Sep 2022, 10:51 • #15 
Guide
Joined: 04/20/10
Posts: 112
Location: US California Tahoe Sierras
A vintage Fisher / Winston phenolic fiberglass resin rod configuration will be a good choice. A nice processive action . With this type of glass you can speed up or slow down the action with a change of line size with in reason . In the short game double taper help. These early glasses are very forgiving. Just need to use the power correctly in casting.

The old school guy understood this that is why they are so highly prized in the fiberglass world yester years & today .

Randy at Retroglass


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Post 24 Sep 2022, 17:03 • #16 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/10/07
Posts: 1632
Location: The Netherlands
kelleystand wrote:
The two glass rods beyond 8’6” that I own are possibly my favorites: ********* 8’9” 5 weight and McFarland 8’8” 4 weight. I imagine both of these are more full flexing than the LL’s, however having never cast one, this is only conjecture. Not sure about 70’ casts with either but they are both precision tools. I also have a ********* 864 blank that is waiting patiently.

By the way, I ran into this same weird change as well. Why is Dusty's company name changed into '**********'?

I still own the 490-4 LL (back then the original series was a four piece) I bought in 1992.
Although it's a great rod to cast & fish, I prefer my G. Loomis 490-4 IMX (built by George Minculete from a NOS blank) because it has a softer tip which allows me to feel the rod even with just 4-6 ft of line. The LL would 'come alive' after around 15ft of line. The LL's action is a graduate progressive action while the IMX has a 'compound progressive' action.

Although most of my glass rods are in the 7-8ft range I think the rod that I've cast that comes closest to the gradual progressive action of the LL would be the Steffen 8ft #3-4. Yes it's a foot shorter and the action is much lighter, I felt a similarity I haven't felt with any other glass rods.


Last edited by ibookje on 01 Oct 2022, 01:23, edited 1 time in total.

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Post 24 Sep 2022, 20:06 • #17 
Master Guide
Joined: 09/23/18
Posts: 614
Location: Eastern Wa
The original LLs were "Graphite II" and they were 2 piece. They went to Graphite III after that and felt "brisker" to me than the graphite II. Never cast an LL that was 3 or 4 piece as far as I can remember. I built mine in the mid-late 80s. The 490 LL 2pc is wonderful and i built loomis 2pc IMX too and they were nice. Still have the 10ft 2pc 5 wt somewhere.

My Kenny 813 (my highest praise for a 3wt) does remind me of my graphite II 2pc 389LL but 30+ year old memories of that rod are fading.


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Post 30 Sep 2022, 19:17 • #18 
Guide
Joined: 08/11/20
Posts: 229
Location: Ontario, Canada
I agree with others who say the Steffen tapers are close to the old LL’s. I’ve got an 8’ Steffen graphite rod rolled by Shane Gray and it does remind me of the old LL’s. I’ve never handled a fiberglass Steffen but for sure, get in touch with Shane, he’d be able to get you in the ballpark.


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Post 30 Sep 2022, 23:04 • #19 
Master Guide
Joined: 09/26/10
Posts: 547
Location: Montana
If you guys like the LLs then I might suggest checking out the Redington classic trout. I would actually take the 904 and 905 classic trouts over any of my 904 LLs, even my pre-IM6 and IM6 904 and 905 Winston’s, and my old Orvis 904 Superfine Zephyr. The Redington just has a nicer more even bend and a nicer tip. And for the price is it’s a great value. There are also some other makers who not making graphite broom sticks.


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