I've made a few rods now, at least into the double digits. A few on S*** blanks which were very nice, as they should be; others on less expensive blanks. Some of the cheaper blanks made sweet dry fly rods, some were 2x4s. I'm ready to build a "real" rod, one that will cast sinking lines and streamers and also have enough tip sensitivity for dry flies. I'm afraid to mention any commercial rods less the post get pulled, but I see St. Croix here and I did have an inexpensive St. Croix which worked perfectly for this until it broke. One rod which my dad bought for $99 rod/line/reel fits this bill perfectly. It will cast a full sink line into the backing, but I can also drop dries right where I want them, so I know blanks don't have to cost a fortune to do this, I guess I just haven't found the sweet spot. I don't care how fast it is, if it has both power and sensitivity. If I'm going to buy a $500 blank, I guess I might as well buy a $500 rod. Are there good affordable blanks out there?
I'm ready to build my go to rod and supply a few of my friends with them. I'll take PMs if people like.

Jon,
Quite a few good offerings at a blank price about $100
St Croix SCIII and Mud hole MHX to start with.

Eugene Moore

I have 2 Batson fly rods that I like. One is an old one 8' 3pc (IP805-3) 5wt that they don't make any longer. The other is a 906-4 (9' 6wt. 4pc.). They are the Forecast series blanks and are not very expensive for the quality of the blank IMO.

David Dosser
Coshocton, OH

Jon

The price of the blank is no indication of the quality of the blank. I have built on St Croix, Diamondback, Talon, Batson, Tiger Eye, Winston. They have all made excellent rods. The first rod I made was a St Croix 6 Wt that sold for $30 at the time. I still use it excellent rod. My favorite is a talon 4 wt. Remember the fisherman makes the rod. If you don't know how to cast and where to cast. The price of the equipment makes no difference.

Yeah, yeah plane not the pilot. Trust me I caught a bunch of fish on my first $30 blank that nobody else could cast. Doesn't mean it was a work of art or a joy to fish with.
Nicest rod I ever fished was a Winston, but by the time you build the rod, might as well buy it. The Tiger Eyes I've built make sweet dry fly rods, but cannot handle streamers or sinking lines. My dad's $99 Reddignton can do it all, as I mentioned. I just built an ATS rod for a friend of mine and once I cast it I was ashamed I'd given it to her.
By now, you would imagine any blank would be versatile, but they are not. I'm really looking to settle on one great blank.

The MHX is a blank whose name I've seen before. Does it fit my requirements? Will it cast dries with delicacy and huck streamers into the backing on a 30' sink tip? My last rod actually was the St. Croix. As I said, nice rod. The Batson rods I've had a chance to cast seemed a little clunky to me, but I would love to be able to cast some more as they are local. I believe one of the local rod manufacturers used to build on them.
Ultimately, it would be so nice to just cast a bunch of these blanks.

What you like and someone else likes is not apt to be the same. About all you can do is cast as many as possible. There is one place where you can cast nearly all of them, however - the ICRBE.


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I'd love to go to the ICRBE, when will it be in Portland, Seattle, or Vancouver? Or, I guess I could just by 3 or 4 Sage TCiRs and stop building rods....

How's this. Anybody in the Seattle area built on any of these blanks or have a built rod that they think would fit the bill and would let me cast? I'll buy the beer.

" ....If I'm going to buy a $500 blank, I guess I might as well buy a $500 rod...."

You're on the wrong forum then. If you're hung up on names then you might as well just buy their mass produced offerings. Frankly, you're paying for their advertizing. After discovering some other brands of blanks, I'd never waste mine or my clients money on those big names, as they really aren't any better than most of the "lesser" known companies offerings ( and in some cases not nearly as good).

By building your own rods, and using the techniques and materials discovered by the many knowledgable builders that are at your disposal on this site, you can build a far better rod than what you can get off the shelf in your local flyshop or big box stores. Research Common Cents, Static Guide Placement, and look at alternative grip construction materials (and shapes and sizes for that matter). You'll learn techniques that will create a rod more "taylored" to your specific casting and fishing styles. I don't care how "nice" a blank is, when you keep adding the same generic components "affixed" in the same generic way, you still have a fairly generic rod in the end. And then you might as well have just bought a pre-assembled rod.

Since you're in the Seattle Area, look up Gregs Custom Rods up in Lake Stevens. They have pre-made "custom" rods - some of which were built on blanks costing far less than what the big names insist on charging, and put together more carefully by craftsmen who typically select more suitable materials for the rod's intended purpose. I'd bet they'll let you test cast a couple of their pre-mades.

In the end, it really depends on what your motivation is for building a rod. I've encountered MANY prospective rod builders who acquire the exact same identical blanks and components that are used in the construction of their pre-assembled mass produced counterparts. It's as if they mereley wanted to duplicate a rod that they really liked by replicating it down to the very last detail. WHY?! You're really not saving any money in the end. Do you have larger than average hands? Why not build a larger, more comfortable grip? Would you like to save weight, reducing casting fatigue and increase sensitivity? Why not opt for one of the many styles of single foot running guides? Would you like it to be more decorative? Why not use a different color of thread and/or some form of decorative butt wrap or feather inlays?

Also, if you really like S***, and since you're in the Northwest, look up Dan Craft Enterprizes. Some of their blanks are almost identical to many of S***'s models at a much more affordable price. I've used a rod built on one of their FT series of blanks for casting everything from small dries in tight quarters to Size 4 dumbell eyed streamers with sinking lines into 20+ mph head winds.

It would cost me a lot more to bring the ICRBE to you than for you to come to the ICRBE. Sort of like Disney World - if you want to attend, you have to travel to Florida.

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