Hello Folks,
The last time I built a fly rod for myself was 1986. I had attended a Fly Fishing Expo in Lansing Michigan and had stopped at an Orvis Booth where I cast a 9.5 foot 8 wt Fly rod in their inflated casting pool. My first cast was hideous. I realized that I was trying to force the rod when I should have let the rod show me what it could do. On all subsequent casts I let the rod tell me how to time the casts. After nearly 30 minutes I realized others were waiting to cast and I gave the rod back. I took two weeks to make up my mind to buy that blank from Orvis. I've used that rod for steelhead. I also have fished for Smallmouth Bass and Northern Pike in the BWCA in upper Minnesota.

Now after all this time, I want to build myself another fly rod for trout in mountain rivers in the Oregon Cascades. I want a 9 foot rod which can handle a five or six weight line easily. The blanks I am considering are a ST. Croix SCV, Pac Bay Quickline (I am currently building one for a customer), or a Batson Eternity 2. I would like to have the opinions of those who have built on an Eternity2 and have fished with it. I have built on Batson's RX7 blanks which has moderate action, but I would like to have a fsater action rod. Thanks for any help you can offer.

Sincerely,

Mike Blomme

There have been a ton of review on the RainShadow Eternity2 rod blank. Some say its the best they have ever seen! Check around the net or back here!! BTW, hard keeping them in stock since everyone wants one.

R. McBride

Batson Enterprises
BatsonEnterprises.com | RainShadowRodBlanks.com | ALPSForeCast.com | Build2Fish.com

Thanks Ryan,
I thought I might get more responses from people who have built on the eternity 2 Blanks. I'm pretty sure that the eternity 2 will be the bank I buy. One concern I have is the color. I was looking for a dark blue Like the Forecast midnight blue rather than a lighter blue. I have only seen the eternity blank on my computer or in magazines. Neither are accurate in displaying color. The other characteristic is the feel of the rod.

I have built two rods that I loved very much. The first was a 7.5 foot 6 weight rod built on a Harnell blank. I lost it when I was casting weighted streamer flies. On a cast I heard a click and didn't realize that I had hit the rod with the weighted streamer. On the next cast the rod cracked. Unfortunately, Harnell was no longer in business. The other was the Orvis rod I described in my Rod Forum post. I only hope that the Eternity 2 will be the third sweet rod. Again, thanks for giving me your feedback.

Sincerely,

Michel Blomme

Michel,
I have handled the eternity blanks and prefer slightly more stiffness in the body or backbone of the blank. I want it to load fast, get to the water with little effort and lift off easily. I love most of the Batson products as well as admire Bill Batson for his passion in this industry. I like the Sage Method or the TFO BVK. My next 5 weight build will be on one of these with a heavy leaning toward TFO due to the price. My two cents.
Regards,
Lance Schreckenbach

Thank you for your comments Lance.

Mike Blomme

I have built a number of Eternity 2 fly rods on the 6wt blanks. The first one was for myself as a test, then a number for others after they cast mine. It is, light, fast, and beautiful! I was put off at first by the bright blue, but my customers really like it, so I'm adapting.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/26/2015 10:50PM by Phil Erickson.