Re: Rod building
Whether you can or can't find the action you're looking for, you can alter the action of any blank with the placement, length, and taughtness of your wraps. The closer to the butt the bend starts, the slower the action of the blank. The closer to the tip, the faster the action. To slow down the action, you can lengthen the wraps starting at the tip and increase the taughtness, gradually decreasing length and taughtness as you get closer to the butt. This will decrease the flex at the tip and allow more flex to begin closer to the butt.
You've stated that you want a 6' ultra light rod and "feel the fish". Knowing this, I'd imagine that you don't want to use underwraps. This requires a choice to be made. You can sacrifice a little bit of sensitivity for a good amount of altered action. By using an underwrap, you not only have the ability to alter the action to a greater degree, but you can also camoflage the lengthened wraps very well. You can do this by making the elongated ends of the wraps the same color as the blank, and change the color at the point at which you want to reveal the underwrap. If you can't find a close enough color match, you can buy NCP thread instead of color preserved. Get as close as you can to the color without being as dark as the blank. Custom mix your own dye to match the blank. Put a coat of color preserver on the underwrap and let it cure completely before applying one or two very thin coats of epoxy. Let the epoxy cure completely before placing the guides and wrapping.
I've underwrapped several ultra light rods. If done well, the sensitivity sacrificed is so minimal, you'll still easily feel live bait weaken as time goes by. You'll still be able to tell the difference between your rigid lures hitting submerged rocks or branches. Depending upon how much you need to alter the action of the blank, you may not even need underwraps at all. If you don't use underwraps, you can use the same color choice/dying method I've described for the wraps themselves. Personally, I prefer the look of underwraps. That's just my personal preference.
Hope this helps.
