I have a friend who would like to get his Father a surf rod for Xmas. He sent me a picture of what his dad has now. Judging from the pic. It is about 9' long. His father uses it for just basic surf fishing. Catching Blues, Flounder, Spots etc. What would be a good blank to use for this purpose. He also uses a spinning reel. Probably 12-16lb line. Thanks. Scott

I've heard good things about the Rainshadow 1145. For fishing really light surf, where I don't use over 2oz of weight, I have started building on steelhead blanks. My daughter tore up the spot and croaker this past July using a 1264 steelhead blank and 2oz of weight. I would also have ever confidence I could land a 30" fish with it; however, if he wants to throw 3 or 4 oz then I would go with a regular surf stick.

Scott- I just finished a light surf rod using a Batson/Rainshadow 8', SW967F. This year Batson introduced this blank in a two piece model (the "F" designation). If you need a little extra range, you may want to step up to a 9' model. I test casted the SW967F a couple of dozen times with 2 and 3 oz. sinkers and it is great. It will be used for exactly what you said, small blues, flounder, spots, pompano, etc. Have a look in the Photos section under "Colors I wouldn't choose".

Good luck.

Pete Kornegay

I just built the same rod Pete mentions. Two of them actually, one for me and one for a friend. Haven't had a chance to get to the surf yet with it but I can definitely send a 2 oz. weight very far into the soybeans. I was trying to bean a groundhog in the head but missed him.

I have built three surf rods on the St. Croix 3SRS100M2 blank, one for myself two years ago even though I have only surf fished twice, thus my casting technique needs a lot of work. Even with that handicap, I was able to rountinely make 100 yard casts with 2 oz of weight. My two clients opted to have their rods made from the same blank after casting my personal rod, both are experienced surf fisherman. In fact, one of them is scheduled to pick up his new rod today. Two rods used AMTAK holographic guides while the other was built with Fuji Alconite, all rods with the modified Concept system of guide sizing. Because of my lack of casting experience, I'll let the seasoned vetrans be the judges of the blank's performance, they were very pleased.

What I don't know about blanks, to steal a line from Raymond Chandler, you could almost crowd into Yankee Stadium. But I do know surf fishing, and I know surf rods (and building them), and I've had great success with blanks from Mudhole (a board sponsor). I've built three or four rods from their special surf blanks, and have been thrilled at the results. They have a 9-foot, 6-inch fiberglass/graphite composite blank rated 1-3 oz., and if I were in your shoes that's what I'd use. They're great value, and your friend's father will love it. My go-to surf bait stick is the 10-foot version of the same blank (rated 3-8 oz.), and I love it -- I've even had a few guys ask me to build them one, and I don't build rods for anyone other than myself.

Just my 2 cents...

Scott , we sell a lot of surf blanks , all Rainshadow and for good reason . Go to Pier and surf or Tidal fish web sites and see what they are talking about . We get calls almost everyday from people who have seen post about the Rainshadow surf rods . They get good distance , easy to load , and they are on sale . The SU 1145 , and 1264 would be a good choice , myself I would go with the SU1264 .

Robert

For under 2 oz., I use a Lami MB1083 Works great for light lures and is perfect for pencil poppers.