I recently booked a striper trip to Raritan Bay in May and the guide said we would be live lining bunker for 20-30 lb striper. He uses Rogue rods exclusively on his charter. I told him I would like to build a rod for the trip. Problem is that rogue rod blanks are out of my price range. I have read other places that lamiglas and batson have very nice blanks for this application. Can anyone suggest any model numbers of blanks that will fit the bill. I plan on spiral wrapping the guides and would like a rod either 7' or 7'6" range. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I would be happy to suggest a few blanks for you to choose from in the Batson Line up. Are you tossing live baits,wire line trolling or Down rigger fishing them?

The first model that comes to mind would be the RCLB70L for tossing live bait.

Rainshadow® Composite Saltwater Blanks
This is our unique Rainshadow® Live bait saltwater blank series. These blanks incorporate our latest design concepts for
a truly high performance blank. Unlike all E-Glass blanks that are heavy and usually slow in blank action, the RCLB’s offer
extra fast actions and low overall blank weight. When our design team tackled this series we had to utilize a blend of EGlass
and graphite to achieve the desired results. Graphite material is used in the bottom 2/3rds of the blanks and then
E-Glass is used in the tip area. The result is a blank series that offers unbelievable lifting power and strength, with light
overall weight. By using E-Glass in the tip we produced the strength needed for the rigors of saltwater fishing, and the
fast tip action anglers were asking for.
Features:
• High tech blend of E-Glass & RX6 graphite • Extra-fast actions • Graphite butt provides unbelievable lifting power
• E-Glass tip provides extra fast action without compromising strength • Low overall blank weight • Clear Gloss finish
• Limited lifetime warranty
Saltwater Live Bait Blanks Featuring E-Glass And RX6 Graphite Blend
(Power Available: XL = Extra- Light, L = Light, ML = Medium Light, M = Medium) (Color Key: CG = Clear Glass)
Model Color Length Sections Line Wt. Lure Wt. Butt Tip Action Power Blank Wt.
RCLB70XL CG 7’0” 1 10-25 lb. N/A 0.810 7.0 X-Fast XL 4.70 oz.
RCLB70L CG 7’0” 1 15-30 lb. N/A 0.830 7.0 X-Fast L 5.89 oz.
RCLB70ML CG 7’0” 1 20-40 lb. N/A 0.880 7.5 X-Fast ML 8.24 oz.
RCLB70M CG 7’0” 1 20-50 lb. N/A 0.910 7.5 X-Fast M 10.01 oz.
RCLB80XL CG 8’0” 1 10-25 lb. N/A 0.915 7.5 X-Fast XL 6.27 oz.
RCLB80L CG 8’0” 1 15-30 lb. N/A 0.930 7.5 X-Fast L 8.17 oz.
RCLB80M CG 8’0” 1 20-50 lb. N/A 0.950 7.5 X-Fast M 10.53 oz.

Karry Batson
Batson Enterprises Inc.
Ph: (877) 875-2381
Fax: (360) 683-3579
karry@batsonenterprises.com
www.batsonenterprises.com

Have built several Striper rods on that Blank and have not had any complaints

I'd look at the Seeker CLB704 and the Calstar Graphiter GF700L also.

I built a rod for the exact same task, Derrek, except that my trip was to the Cape May Rips rather than Raritan Bay. I used one of the Batson live bait blanks (I want to say it was the RCLB70ML, but I'm not 100% sure), and the finished result was great for livelining baits like spot and bunker. They're great blanks at a great price.

There's only one problem with building a dedicated live-bait rod: once you see how superior they are for fishing live bait, you'll never be able to use anything else. I was fishing small spot (about four inches long), and with braid and the live bait blank's very sensitive tip, I could feel everything. Give one of them a shot -- I think you'll like the results.

Even more important, with that light, soft tip, you can see everything that your bait is doing. It's not hard to tell when a strike is imminent.


............

If you can go long I'm really falling in love with this blank as well. Lacking a bit of power in the lower end but talk about a long live bait caster and the tip is premo perfect!
Rainshadow® Saltwater Jig/Boat Rod Blanks Featuring E-Glass & RX6 Graphite
Features:
• High tech blend of E-glass & RX6 graphite • New actions tailored to various jig/boat rod fishing applications
• Lighter overall weight vs. normal all e-glass boat rod blanks • Fast action tips without sacrificing strength • Clear G–loss finish
RCJB102ML CG 8’6” 1 12-25 3/4-3 0.700 7.0 Fast ML 6.06 oz
RCJB106ML CG 8’10” 1 12-25 3/4-3 0.725 7.0 Fast ML 6.30 oz
RCJB106M CG 8’10” 1 15-30 1-4 0.745 7.0 Fast M 7.95 oz.

Karry Batson
Batson Enterprises Inc.
Ph: (877) 875-2381
Fax: (360) 683-3579
karry@batsonenterprises.com
www.batsonenterprises.com

Derrek, The most economical way around this situation is to take a hands on approch, and this is how I would do it.
Attend some of your local upcomming fishermen flea markets. You'll find alot of rodbuilding items (new /used) that can be inspected right on the spot with prices that end in a whisper.
Another thing you can do while your there if your budget minded is choose a conventional set up rod that YOU think will fit the bill ,change the guides to a spiral set up before your trip and see if you got any closer to the master rod you want to build. The cost can be as little as $20.00 maybe less.
Also, you can resell that rod at no loss to yourself. Good luck, Dennis J. Danku (Sayreville,NJ)
I

Guys, I absolutely appreciate all of the input on the blank selection. I think after taking a look at the Batson blanks, you can't go wrong at the prices and the positive feedback. Batson blank it is . . . RCLB70XL. Karry, I will be sending an e-mail your way with some other technical questions. Hope you don't mind.