I will be bonefishing in Mexico in May and will be taking my #7 sage XP with me, but i'm also looking to build a #9 backup/windy/permit rod. On the Mudhole website there's discontinued RX8 and RX7 blanks. What is the main difference between these and which is more suited to saltwater fishing?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Also if anyone could recommend any other blanks around this price range i'd be greatfull. Thank You.

I would recommend Rainshadow blanks. Check them out under Rainshadow/Forecast in the left hand column.

Good Luck

Dave

Dan,
They are both excellent blanks for the money. The main difference is the RX7 are 43 million modulus and the RX8 are I think 51 million modulus which means that the RX8 will be a little lighter and have higher efficiency and be capable of a little higher tip velocity but the RX7 will be a little tougher.

The 4pc 9ft Dan Craft FT might be an ideal rod for what you want given the high ERN and AA numbers the 9ft models have,but I'm not sure if a 9wt is available or not?It's not shown on Dan's catalogue(only the 8wt and 10wts are),but I think Dan mentioned that a 12wt FT was available a while ago and that isn't listed in the catalogue either,so maybe there is a 9wt blank and it just isn't listed?I would ask him for sure because these blanks would be awfully tough to beat for the dollar.

If a 9wt FT isn't available the 8wt would still be a great choice,since the 9ft models measured so far are VERY fast and powerful,much like the Sage TCR is,and the blanks have similar AA and ERN numbers to the TCR.The 4pc 8wt FT measured in the CCS data base has an almost identical ERN and AA as the Sage TCR 8wt(10.63 and 73 for the 8wt FT compared to 10.70 and 73 for the TCR).The nice thing is though,the 4pc 9ft FT's are under $100!

I know guys like Dan Blanton consider the TCR in the 8wt,to be about as good a saltwater flyrod as there is.The 8wt has great lifting and casting power(closer to most saltwater 9-10wts,yet much lighter) and handles the wind or large flies very well.He speaks highly of all the TCR's actually(as do most experienced casters),but especially the 8wt as not just a casting tool,but also a supreme saltwater fishing rod.The 8wt FT would probably be a VERY similar rod,and would easily do the job of anyone else's 9wt out there given it's high CCS numbers.