A really good friend of mine is ordering a rod from me and with his specs I am having a hard time choosing a blank.
The rod will be used for walleye and trout/salmon fishing from the bank and from boat in Montana.

He wants 6.6" spinning rod with 8lb line throwing 1/4 oz weight with a lindy rig. or jig.

I was going to go with the MHX EPS78MLF-MHX but want a few other opinions.

I am thinking about the Pac Bay Traditions 2 - T2MBC782 or maybe the Rainshadow RX6 SB782
I do not have any experience with either of those 2.
Of those 3 choices what would you choose?

I will be using the AirWave guides.

Oh and I am new here and love the forum. Lots of great information for a new builder like me.

Ernie,
you picked the correct blank. Stay with that MHX model it will serve your needs well.

Buzz

I have no experience with any of those exact blanks but have held some of the Pac Bay blanks and I prefer the MHX blanks over them. They just feel like nicer rods to me. I have built on 5 MHX blanks and every single one has been straight as an arrow and the finish on them has been really good so far. I do a different style of fishing so like I say I cannot attest to the action or feel of any of those specific blanks but I do think MHX makes a nice blank that builds well. In fact I have 2 St. Croix blanks that I built and I can tell you they weren't as straight and I don't feel like the finish was as good. I don't think you could go wrong with the MHX but I'm sure some others will chime in with some more first hand experience to help you.

I personally didnt care for the traditions blank. I built a few of them and they just seemed ok. At no point did I think OMG I love this

Funny you asked this Ernie. I just built myself a rod for similar fishing and has allready landed walleye and sm bass. Check out the Liberty Blanks at Getbit. Made in the USA, lifetime warranty, and a great price. I used the P703-USA blank.

For bank fishing I would choose a longer bank to get longer casts. Have you covered this option with him? MHX Elite Pro Blank EPS86MLF

Thanks for all that info, I did think I was on the right blank but wanted opinions on the other options.

I did tell him that a longer rod would be better but he is set on 6.6" I am hoping the AirWave guides perform good.
This is my first time using them.

You could also look at Pac Bay's Quickline line of blanks. I built matching 6'6" spinning rods on their QLSJ782 blank, and they are excellent blanks. Very sensitive, extremely light, straight, and with a beautiful gloss black finish.

The 782 I built on, and the 783 from the same line, have extra fast actions.

Agree with Sergeant Butters on the MHX EPS78MLF. If you want this to be really special, the Point Blank PB661MLXF is off the charts. You pay more but it is definitely worth it in my opinion.