I have a potential customer who is looking for a salmon/steelhead rod for back trolling and bouncing lead for his wife. She likes a shorter rod (7'-8') and they use up to 6 oz. of weight with 45 lb. braid. Is a Musky blank is the way to go? I am not used to using that much weight or lb. braid. Should I be looking at fiberglass, a blend? Any blank suggestions?

No, you are looking for something more like a heavier swim bait type blank. If you don't mind my recommendations check out the SWB956-MHX for that 1-5 oz. back bouncing or the SWB967-MHX for the 3-8 oz. range.
[www.mudhole.com]

regards,

Todd

Regards,
Todd Vivian
Mud Hole Custom Tackle

todd@mudhole.com

I'm pretty sure both Sage and Loomis make specific blanks for back trolling, its a big thing out west.
Not sure about 6oz though.......

Sage, not anymore. Lami, yes indeed. One of the better back bouncing rods I've built is the Rainshadow XBB962 or XBB964. Either of these would handle 6oz for backbouncing. It is a popular method here. Remember you are not casting 6oz, but just managing it with short bumps to keep it close to the bottom as the boat moves slowly downstream. Very effective method for salmon and steelhead using eggs, prawns, sand shrimp, etc. The equivalent Lami version is the XLB 96 1MT but for this application, I prefer the Rainshadow blank. All these selections are 1-piece, which is common for back bouncing blanks.

Terry

Thanks for the info. Terry would those blanks handle the 45 lb braid the customer wants to use. We are looking at recoil guides in a spiral wrap for the ice clearing properties.