Hello all. Hope you enjoying your holidays.

Is there any difference between pre-2005 and post-2005 Forecast fly blanks?
I have a pre-2005 5# fly blank and want to know if the quality has improved.
cheers
Martin

Martin... I have no expertise on this but I can offer my observations... I recently purchased several Forecast fly blanks that I believe were made in 2003 (paid next to nothing for these). I also have two complete fly rods I bought from a small rodmaker in New York that were built on Forecast blanks in 2002-2003 timeframe. I can compare these to the four fly rods I built last year on 2005 Forecast blanks and the two 2005 Forecast blanks I am about to build on. There is no comparison. The 2005 blanks are beautiful. The fit and finish are outstanding and very consistent from blank to blank. The older blanks have sort of a teal blue (almost green) tint in the sunlight. The newer blanks are a refined deep gloss blue. The older blanks also have matte areas (no finish) where the sections meet. The male section butts and the tip ends are filled on the newer blanks, while they're open on the older ones. The fit is noticeably better on the 2005 blanks. I guess we can thank the folks at Batson Enterprises for continually improving and marketing a superb product that is within reach of the average guy who wants to build a very nice rod and still send his kids to college. Regards, Vance

i completely agree with vance's assessment between the different versions. i can add that when casting two fly rods i made on the older teal colored forecast blanks, i'd have sections come loose during casting. the newer version no such thing (yet). Version 2.0 of the Forecast (now called RX6) blanks are a marked improvement.

eric
fresno, ca.

I have one of the older blanks that I haven't worked up yet. I can't decide what color it is. I can take it outside in the sunlight and swear that one section looks blue and the other section looks green. The problem is-what color thread do I use?

Dave