I am looking at making a bluegill rod. Something around 7-8ft and a 3 or 4 weight. This will be my first build and although I dont want to spend alot of money I dont want a blank that is poorly constructed. I have been looking at a forecast blank but the father-in-law (cue eye roll) claims a blank thats only $40 should be left alone. My factory rods are very fast models made on an island in Washington and I appreciate quality just as much as the next guy but do I really need to spend tons of money on a medium action bluegill rod so that it doesnt blow up on me? I spoke with the nice people at Utmost and they have the blank, cork and UL3 reel seat at incredible price. Should I spend double on an MHX blank or something similar? I know most rods are wrecked to our own mistakes but is the build quality and warranty something I should be taking into account on this? I just want something fun to fish that I built.

Hopefully I have made sense and didn't step on any toes in the process. Again thanks for all the help so far.

I wouldnt spend tons of money on my first build but thats just me. Also knowing my 10th build was 100 times better than my first. If youre buying from a reputable dealer the blank you use isnt going to be junk and will probably fit your needs regardless of the price. If you enjoy the build process then build a pricier one later if you want.

Rufus
Port Saint Lucie, FL

I've not seen a poor quality product sold by a sponsor shop. The RX6 7 ft 6 inch 4 wt I built for myself some years back is a fast action blank and as durable as you could ever expect from a graphite rod.

Money is not necessarily indicative of quality nor durability. In fact, a $40 blank stands a good chance of taking more punishment than a $400 blank will, due to the differences in and amount of materials used to build the blank.

What you gain with a more expensive blank, generally, is a higher stiffness to weight ratio and therefore a bit crisper, quicker responding product. Not necessarily a better quality nor more durable one.

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

Do a search on this board and see what blanks come up more often then most

Then when you find some thing you like and can afford ask here .

Bill - willierods.com

My new trout rod is an 8'6", 4 weight, 4-piece, RX6 Forecast. The blanks are great quality, enough that I put a nice grip, nice reel seat and insert plus Fuji Alconite guides on it. Don't kid yourself, it will be a fabulous bluegill rod. My all-time favorite pack rods happen to be built on Forecast RX6, 6'0", 4-piece spinning blanks that Bob McKamey @ Mud Hole turned me on to. They have been ALL OVER the country and caught hundreds of fish. Buy the components and build away, you are just fine. Make sure to order yourself a rod sock and/or case, you will want to take care of it properly.

I'm also a Forecast believer. I have two of them. I have one that is a cut down (it is now 7'6") two piece 5wt. and another one that is 8'. I had a 9' until I sold it (4pc.) The 8' is 3pcs and is a great fly rod. It's light and I use it for just about anything, bass, crappie, bluegill, smallmouth, whatever is biting. They are great blanks, especially for the price.

David Dosser
Coshocton, OH

I'd go with one of the MHX Fly blanks. I truly believe you'd be hard pressed to find another blank of equal quality for the price.
I'd say, depending on how "packable" you want the rod, the F703-3 would serve you very well.

Your plan of getting what you need through Utmost is a good one.

Personally, I'd use an RX6 2 piece in the line weight you want. It won't be expensive. You will really use your first rod as a learning exercise so don't spend a lot. While it will fish just fine, rods you make later will look much better. Even if you build it, fish it once and park it, you will have learned to build rods and not spent a lot of $$.

MHX blanks from Mudhole are very nice, but too much $$ for your first rod, in my opinion. Great rods/blanks, though. I've built 2 and the 5wt MHX is just an outstanding blank.

St Croix SC4/2 is also a worthy blank to consider-after you have completed your first rod. I've only built 1, but it is a great blank for the $$.

If you like fast rods made by Sage, you will be surprised by how good the Batson Rainshadow RX8 rods are. They are about 1/3 the price of a Sage blank, and fish just as well if not better. After you've built your first rod, build one of these and prepare to be impressed. I have a Sage Z axis factory 8wt, and a Rainshadow RX8 8wt that I built myself, and I prefer the Rainshadow.

It is worth saying again, that rod #1 will not be a nice as rod #2 and up. So don't spend a ton of $$ on your first few rods.

Drew

I called the folks at Utmost and they found me an American made 10ft 3 wt two piece blank and hooked me with all ceramic guides, reel seat and cork for under $65.00. shipped to the house in Michigan. @ 10 ft, and a two piece rod, it is kind of a pain to get around, but for boat fishing for gills, it is a blast...

The Forecast blanks are good, just not as light as the higher end blanks. I brought my Forecast 9' 5 weight to Alaska this August as a backup rod. I ended up using it the whole time.

Greg

You can't go wrong with any of the blanks mentioned here, or any branded blank for that matter, especially if you get really hooked on rodbuilding. If you don't like something in a rod and are running short of new rod ideas, you can always rebuild the old rod (change guides, do the wraps and finish again, whatever) and do it as many times, as the blank will handle ;-).

For your first, or last build Batson blanks are just fine, just as MHX or American Tackle Matrix, to mention just a few.

I have already come to the "rebuild the older builds" stage and man, this is fun!

Cheers,
Michal

For what its worth, I just bought an SB822.5 blank for $40...my dad is wrapping it for me.

I had looked at the MHX as well as the RX8 and RX8+ lines. When I held this blank I was very impressed...I would compare the action to my Fenwick HMX spinning rod, but a little faster.

Try the $40 blank, and if you don't like it, get the more expensive one next time...or get the expensive one first and if you don't like it....

Thank you for all the advice. I appreciate it.

I love my St. Croix SCii/SCiv 2wt and 3wt blanks. I would and have put them up against Sages and Windsons and they equal or exceed both. I would not trade you my 2wt for a Sage TXL unless I could sell it, build me a new SCii/SCiv and pocket the difference. Don't know about the 4wt but the 2 and 3 are exceptional creek rods. The 2wt is the most accurate rod I've ever used. BTW, I use single foot guides. Being your first build I wouldn't recommend single foot and not sure how much snake guides was affect this blank.

The forcast are good for the money and good to practice on. I have a 7'6" that is a decent rod but I also have a 9' 3wt that fishes like a noddle to me. I still think others advise is sound to practice with a forecast, then build the real one.

Has anyone had to utilize the warranty for any of these mentioned blanks? The companies as easy to deal with over blanks as they are with factory rods?

I have had NO problems with warranty service or customer service with any manufacturer. Do remember that blank warranties cover manufacturer defects only. It is very rare to get a blank that isn't defect-free. If you stress test it upon arrival, you are 99.9% clear. After a few times of use, it is all but impossible to label a breakage as defect.

I got a new top section from Batson when I broke one of my spinning rods. They turned it around in 2-3 days. The only downside it that you have to rebuild the rod yourself, but for most here, that isn't a bad thing!

The MHx blanks from Mudhole have a really nice registration/warranty package that I hope others will copy.

To answer your question directly, I don't think you'll have any problems with any of the major players here.

Good luck with what ever you decide.

Drew