While waiting for my 13' Lamiglas Certified Pro blank to arrive, I picked up a 13' Talon ITM as well. My thinking was to use the Talon (4-8 line, 1/8 - 1/4 oz)) for Steelhead and the Lamiglas (6-10 line, 1/4 - 1/2 oz) for Light Salmon.

After receiving the Lamiglas, it's butt diameter and weight appeared to be that of the smaller weight Lamiglas also offers but their customer service told me they had improved on their processes and the new lighter blank had the same rating as before.

But both blanks took exactly 49 pennies to deflect 1/3 their length (or 52" inches). I remember reading some where the "sag" in the blank at horizontal should be considered as "weight" while deflecting the blank 1/3 of it's length. But the tip of the Lamiglas sags 6 1/2" with the butt at horizontal so it only took 49 pennies to deflect it the additional 45 1/2". Is this the correct procedure?

At 49 cents each, both blanks have an ERN of 6.22 and a meer 3/64 - 1/8 oz lure weight. I'll probably peddle one of the blanks since they have the identical rating. I'm concerned whether I have followed the CC guidelines correctly to arrive at my findings. Thanks.

Yes that is the correct procedure. The blank must carry and deal with its own weight as well. Thus, it is part of the equation.

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Thanks Tom. I went back through the CCS article and under the additional info section for CCS tips, I found where you need to find both the high point and the low point of the blank and take 1/2 of the distance from the total deflection. So I found the high and low point of each of the three peices, aligned them together and found a difference of 1 5/8" difference between the two. So I rotated the blank 90 degrees to the mid point (it came up exactly half - duh) and continued my deflection test but it only took 47 cents this time making it slightly lighter than before. I'm really disappointed how the Lamiglas turned out, I don't think an ERN of 5.94 with a 3/64-1/8 oz lure rating is going to catch very many Salmon. Thanks.

Tim,
Were the action angles (AA) similar for both blanks?

Spencer - the Talon had about a 65 degree AA and the Lamiglas was a bit less at 62 degrees.

Tim, while the CCS is "correct" in helping you determine a power and action rating for a blank, I would not necessarily be disappointed with the data you have. I'll give a couple examples. I have a fly rod that I have owned for about 20 years. It's rated as a 7wt. and only has an ERN of 4.9. But I fish it with a 7wt. line and love it. It excels at river smallmouth fishing with streamers. Another example...I built a steelhead fly rod for a friend based on a design from a famous steelhead guide around the Great Lakes. It is a St. Croix spinning steelhead blank built as a fly rod as the guide/rodbuilder recommends. It only has an ERN of 4.16 but my friend, who had fished steelhead in the Great Lakes tribs for over 25 years says it's by far the best steelhead rod he has ever used. I would suggest that if the blank comes highly recommended by anglers/builders for that purpose, have no worries and just build it and fish it. Personally, I think a lot of modern rods have more power than necessary to fish well. 20 years ago fishermen were fishing the same lines and lures with rods that had significantly less power. That's a fact.

I love the CCS and am very pleased to have it as a tool to help me. But, I never use it to "tell" me what line or lure to fish. I use it to compare power and action to rods that I already know and understand. Just like Dr. Bill says, no description of power or action means anything without something to compare it to. I use it to compare, not to prescribe.