Hi All,
Most of you already know about the hard work that the crew at Batson
Enterprises does to produce some very fine products for the custom
rod builder. However, for those who don't and might be on the fence.
maybe this testomonial will convince you to give a Rainshadow a toss
or two.

Below is a letter I sent to the Batson crew yesterday.

Hi Bill and Hi Kerry,

I would like to thank the folks at Batson Enterprises for their outstanding commitment to provide some absolutely great products for the custom rod builder and at a price that doesn’t break the bank!

Last year I purchased (3) HS1021F rod blanks from my friend in Tacoma,
WA. after he recommended them for the type of fishing I love here in Sacramento, CA. ( casting 1oz. #5 spinners for fall run Chinooks ).

When I got them, I new right away I was going to like those blanks! However, I didn't realize just how much until I got mine built and fished. WOW!! I could not be happier! From the very first cast I was impressed. I've spent most of the last week casting from shore on the Sacramento River but the run has been almost non-existent. Over 1000 casts and the light weight and fast recovery time of your blank made it a pleasure every time. The final test finally happened when I hooked and landed a 20+ pound Chinook yesterday. The rod was OUTSTANDING with the fish on! From the moment I hooked it I was in full control over that brute male. The extra-fast action and plenty of power in the lower section wiped the fish but not my arms & shoulders!

I own two high end factory rods, and they don't even compare to the rod I built with your HS1025F RX-7 blank ( $87 ). Of course a custom rod should out-perform a factory rod but not by the leaps and bounds I experienced with my "Lucky Stik" built on your HS1021F blank. I do however take some credit for building it! LOL!

Thanks again to everyone at Batson! Keep up the good work!!

Sincerely,
Raymond Adams
Sacramento, CA





Raymond Adams
Eventually, all things merge, and a river runs through it..

Rainshadow are the only blanks I use here in Oregon now. The quality and price are great. I have customers who like them better than our other blank manufacturers hands down. Keep u the good work Bill, Kerry and family.

David Banaka

Ray did I see that blank in the early stages of wrapping / finishing? I may have even been at that fishing hole too. The Muskie is supposed to be the 'Fish of a 1000' casts. Glad one of those many casts was rewarded with a nice Salmon during this slow fall run . I have never built on Baston but I plan to try one this winter. Thanks!

Yes Steve,

That is the rod I test casted at the very spot I showed you when you were here.

Caught it there as well. Thanks and hope to visit again. I had a swell time!

Raymond Adams
Eventually, all things merge, and a river runs through it..

Raymond & all you wonderful guys out there,

My partner and I intend to order a bunch of blanks from Batson and I am wondering whether you guys can help based on your experience. Where I come from, GLoomis is king and I have personally built hundreds of these wonderful rods, especially the IMX range. Lately, we have difficulties accessing these blanks owing to distributor's lack of interest. This is only my guess.

Our requirement:

Bass fishing:

Length: 6 to 6.5 feet
Action: Fast to Extra Fast
Line: 6-12, 8-14, 10-17, 12-25

Snake Head (Toman) Fishing:

Length: 6.5 to 7.5 feet
Action: Fast
Line: 10-17, 12-25, 15-30

In-shore Fishing:

Length: 8 to 10 feet, preferably 2 pc.
Action: Fast
Line: 12-25, 15-30, 15-45

We are thinking of puuting up an order large enough to get the best pricing and will need you guys to make some recommendation. Most people out here do not have any experience of Forecast or Rainshadow blanks except some fly rods from the old Rainshadow.

Looking forward to your assistance.

Anthony Lee

i like them too.so does everyone i have fishing them..

Anthony,

Use the Rainshadow/Forecast link on the left. Batson Ent. has one of the best on-line
catalogs in the business. Complete discriptions with power, actions, weight, price.

I have not used any of the RX-6 or the NEW RX-8 but as I said before I LOVE the RX7's!
I'll be building on a couple RX6's soon.

You could also try calling Robert or Ray at Fishsticks 4-U as they carry the complete
line from Batson.

Raymond Adams
Eventually, all things merge, and a river runs through it..

Thanks Raymond,

I am in contact directly with Batson and have received their full catalogue. Since we have practically zero experience of their products, my intention was to seek advise from this board, expecailly from you guys who have experiencein using and building Batson's. To get to their level 1 pricing , we may have to place a huge 10K order and we want to be very careful with our choice.

Personally, what's your take on their components like reel seats and guides as compared to Fuji. Fuji the "the Brand and Standard" here and it will take alot of hard work to promote Forecast. Blanks wise, we may have better opportunities.

Anthony Lee

I have the IS781 mounted with a daiwa pixy finese bait caster i have use this rod for a full season now and love the blank. Its light weight and powerful very stiff tip and action. One draw back I feel is the rateings seem to be over estimated to me. Everything seems to be one size or half size more powerful than rated by batson. I also have the ISJ781 and the IS780 i have not built on these blanks yet but fromt he feel of the blanks they will have great qualities for type of fishing I do.

Anthony,
I've used the forecast guides (alconite equilvalent) quite a bit and am very happy.
I have not use their SiC guides yet though as they are special order. I built a rod
on the same HS1021F only in the mat finish and used their zirconium ringed
double foot guides and thought they were a bit heavy (as double foot are) compaired
to the single foot Fuji SiC's that I used recently but that is not a very fare comparison
(apples & oranges)

The Forecast reel seats I've used have been very nice as well. Nice looking and tough as nails, well fit.

To make a long story short, I've been a Loomis and Fuji fan for a long time now
but everything I've use from Batson has compaired favorably with both those MFGR's
and has cost me less $$.

Raymond Adams
Eventually, all things merge, and a river runs through it..

the black h ring batson guides have passed my test hands down with little to no washing for over a year in the surf on a few of my rods.i like them..they are actually on all but one of my rods now.wich is the one i just finished with the alps guides on it.i have not had a ring pop out yet.i have had a few single foot #6's lay down a little at my tip but only on 1 rod so i am thinking it was user error..the new alps guides are pretty nice.i havn't got to fish them yet so the real test will be the salt.i would say the 20 somthing alps guides i have installed to date.i have only had 1 that had a little rough spot on the bottom tip of the #6 single foot .that needed some fine sanding to make it smooth and only a few larger ones that needed a little extra filing down on top to wrap over.all the rest have been.i feel them they are smooth and i install them.their blank exposed reel seats are good too.i havn't had many problems with any of the ones i have installed and it has been quite a few of them.actually the first tich coated one i used turned green from the salt.i sanded it and painted it black.so i only buy the silver or black ones now.i have had a few of one other brand strech out on the hoods leaving a loose reel foot after a while of use..the blanks and selections are good too.i only use them now for myself.all my other brands are retired.i can only think of a few more things that i would like to be able to get from them.one would be some stylish higher framed small ringed surf guides.like those ones that are so popular today.here is a list of my personal rods. rx7= 4,hs9000's. 1,hs930. 3,ist1085's. 1,isa1086. 1,su1264. i also have 3 rx6 1025's too.i have had a couple break but they were all user error also.usually from stuff like me being stupid.leaving one stick out of the back of the drift boat right next to the net.smacking one on the galvi. pipe under the wharf while setting the hook downward.you know stuff like that.my surf rod has been hauled on the top of my car for over a year.it has been left on there for days in my back yard,in the sun and unwashed after use.it is starting to show signs of being under the weather wich is expected for what i have put it through.it has caught many fish and i have casted it as hard as i could so many times with heavy lead that i think it should have broke already but it keeps going.

I agree, they are a GREAT blank and relatively inexpensive to boot! I recently built two 10' 6wt. The idea was to cash in on the Duck's and Beaver's rivalry here in Oregon. So I built one on the green blank with gold hardware and teal wrap, (no CP), and gold metallic trim bands on the butt section, the other I used the matte black with black hardware and orange nylon,(no CP), and copper metallic trim on the but section. Well my experiment didn’t work too well, I loved the look, and feel of the "Duck's" rod so well I replaced my Sage with it, and my buddy in Seattle loved the black one so well he made me sell it to him to replace his Loomis. Yes they are a great blank.

Keith

I'd go with the Rainshadow RX8 blanks if I wanted something that exceeds the IMX blanks. These are some pretty special stuff. They brought a lot of great blanks out in the RX6 and RX7 series than started bringing out the RX8 that are every bit as good if not better than the old ones. I'm really interested in the new RX8 steelhead/salmon blanks. The 10 ft 7 and 8 wt RX7 OG fly blanks have been a big seller for me for steelhead /silver salmon for many years. These blanks fish, not just look good casting. The RX7 SW 967 2 piece saltwater blank may be one on the inshore blanks you want to look at.

Henry Engle Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have the IS781 mounted with a daiwa pixy finese
> bait caster i have use this rod for a full season
> now and love the blank. Its light weight and
> powerful very stiff tip and action. One draw back
> I feel is the rateings seem to be over estimated
> to me. Everything seems to be one size or half
> size more powerful than rated by batson. I also
> have the ISJ781 and the IS780 i have not built on
> these blanks yet but fromt he feel of the blanks
> they will have great qualities for type of fishing
> I do.

Funny thing, I have the same blank mounted with a shimano scorpion 1001 baitcaster. The butt section is very stiff, you can fight a big fish with this stick. Tip is rather delicate, I think that mounted with a spinning reel this blank would make nice drop-shot / light jig rod.

If I may ask, how did you wrap your stick? I mean type of guides and how many.





Best regards,
Pavel



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/2006 06:06AM by Pawel Tymendorf.