Hello, all - new to the forum and this is my first post.
I am building a fly rod for my son as a gift on his 18th birthday. I had settled on a Beulah 9' 5wt, but they are not currently in production and, according to Beulah, will not be available until sometime in April. Can anyone recommend a blank of similar quality and cost ($150ish)? I would like a "moderately fast" action blank and I'm trying to split the difference between him casting to small-medium trout with size 14 dries and to bass with a significantly larger fly.
Also, (and I apologize for opening this can of worms) for guides, I chose a size 12 Fuji stripper, dropped to a size 5 Recoil single foot guide, followed by 8 size 3 Recoil single foot guides to eliminate the gradual step-down in guide size based on posts I have read.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

Batson Revelation, available in 2-pc or 4-pc in the 9' 5wt
Mystic Reaper is very impressive for its price
RoodGeeks is in that price range

lots of options out there in that action and price range.

You cannot go wrong with the Batson line of blanks available in different actions and price points. See their site on the left.

Hi Garry,
Welcome to the RB.org
I stocked a few 9'0", 4pc, 100% graphite CTS 5wts in 3 different actions to use as demo blanks for trout fisherman. Some of them custom one-of-a-kind blanks.
I also have a #4 in a faster blank that could handle a #5 line easily.
I really like to help youngsters interested in fly fishing.
These blanks retail for $250 ish.
I will meet your $150(ish) budget for one of them for your boy.
Herb
Distrib. CTS Rod Blanks, New Zealand
[ctsfishing.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/28/2016 12:55PM by Herb Ladenheim.

Thanks, Bryan, Phil, and Herb. I appreciate the feedback. I had been eyeing the Mystic Reaper, as the reviews seem overwhelmingly positive. I may go with that, but I have concerns about short casts. Of course, I learned to fly fish with a department store log-of-a-rod my grandfather stuck in my hands when I was about 10 years old, and I learned to compensate and cast where I wanted
.
Any thoughts on my choice of guides?

Go 4 piece, you'll never regret it. Look at Pac Bay Quicklines, great blanks within your budget.

Your guide train sounds good to me.

Michael Danek Wrote:
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> Go 4 piece, you'll never regret it. Look at Pac
> Bay Quicklines, great blanks within your budget.


Definitely going with the 4 piece, Michael - thanks for the input.

Bryan Yates Wrote:
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> Your guide train sounds good to me.

Thanks for that reaffirmation, Bryan. I'm always a little leery at breaking from the norm, but always seem to be drift in that direction. Worst that can happen is that I don't like it, cut them off, and try a different set up.

Hey Gary,
No problem.
Offer withdrawn.

Herb