Rod blank fabricators use prepreg graphite fabric from a limited number of producers, use bonding agents from a limited number of suppliers, and employ mandrels to shape rod blanks from an even smaller number of alternatives. Advertising and pricing are not reliable guides to the performance of rods or rod blanks, any more than the most expensive, hyped-up golf clubs will perform best for the vast majority of golfers.

I have a question
other then your opinion,
What is the point of your post?

Neither prices nor testimonials are reliable indicators of a blank's performance. My tiresome insistence for objective measurements of a rod (particularly fly rod) blanks distance and accuracy no doubt are tiresome to those who prefer to depend on hearsay and advertising copy-writers for their blank selections.

Phil, IMHO the only reliable indicator is if the fisherman likes it. We all have different needs and criteria. For example, I can't consider any review worthwhile unless it involves catching a fish.

For me, casting ability is way down the list. Bite detection can be high on the list depending on the rod's usage. But what is always absolute tops on the list is fish fighting ability per unit weight of the rod. Ability to keep the fish hooked up is also near the top.

If I fished a fly rod, or cast lures, I'm sure I'd value different things. But mostly I troll, fish live bait while drifting, and sometimes fish dead bait on the bottom. It is only the bottom fishing that requires "sensitivity".

If I'm holding a rod all day fishing live baits.....I want it to be light in the hand, sensitive enough for me to know when the bait is nervous, and robust enough for me to know my line will break before the blank does.....if I have to clamp down on the fish for whatever reason.

I have found there are some that will share dead lift ratings if you email and ask discreetly. I have also found most of the saltwater rated blanks will dead lift near the upper end of their rating.....if you are brave enough to test them so.

For all the rest I think you just have to make an educated guess, buy the blank, and see how it turns out for you.

Word of mouth from the good folks here is invaluable. However Phil, since you and me fish saltwater, there is less to go by than if we fished for large mouth bass!

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Phil, you are correct.............................it is tiresome! I build only fly rods, and have for many years. I have no problem selecting a blank suitable to my customers, if I get enough information from them. I use a quite lengthy interview if they are a new customer. I also have no problem selecting proper blanks from my suppliers!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/10/2020 07:34PM by Phil Erickson.

Such is the case with all consumer goods in a competitive marketplace. You can know the ingredients of a beer, its IBU measurments, the water source from where it is brewed, etc, but the final opinion on taste is yours alone. One person loves the new Corvette, the next thinks it is garbage, despite the measurments and specs. In addition to fly rods, I also make golf clubs. The same thing is in play there, but you also have the effect of shaft on performance along with the club head. And much of what people think comes down to looks. I recently made a fly rod from a Batson Etnerity2 blank. The young guys at the shop loved the cobalt blue color, others think it hideous and would not buy regardless of performance or specs. I also make audio amplifiers, and what one thinks is a masterpiece there is anothers trash. A lot of it is in people's perception and bias and not based on measurements or specs. Or what they have become cofortable with over time.

Phil,

I understand your position and certainly don't disagree with it. But such posts here aren't going to change anything. You might consider sending some letters to the editors of the world's major fishing publications. The fly rod magazines would be a good place to start.

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

i don,t know anybody who pays much attention to advertisers but they do listen to fellow fishermen and what they think of certain rods, reels, and lures, etc.

One would hope for a good degree of objectivity from this forum which, to me, seems to be the case in what I read.

Trying to make rocket science out of something that isn't rocket science is the bane of some builders. All you need is common sense and common cents to get you through 99.9 per cent of your customers or self builds. Turning a fun craft into a difficult task would not be my idea of fun.

Simply put:
It does not matter what the blank weighs.
It does not matter whether the rod bends in one place or another.
It does not matter whether the rod feels like a club or a feather.

Two things matter:

Does the customer like the appearance of the rod and the way that the rod catches fish.

If the customer likes the rod, and enjoys using the rod more than another rod to catch a fish - the rod is perfect for that particular customer and all of the details about the rod build and the components that are on the rod, fade into nothingness.

To paraphrase a different author:

Happy customer with a rod -- equals a perfect rod for that customer. Generally speaking the customer does not care if the rod is graphite, fiberglass milk toast or a piece of reinforced drill rod. If the customer has a great experience while using the rod to catch plenty of fish and enjoys the use of the rod -- no matter the color, construction, etc. etc. etc - the rod is perfect.

Be safe

Even if data or specifications are available they are still questionable. Last week I bought a blank the specs listed the tip as a 5.5 after receiving the rod the tip was between 4.5 and 5.0, I realize there is a tolerance but almost a whole size? How much confidence does that give you.

Any technical data presented would be measured under ideal controlled conditions and will rarely compare to the rigors fisherman puts their rods through.

Consistency is the feature that is very important, if a blank model is consistent from blank to blank then one is reasonably sure the next blank ordered will be near the same and time always prove which manufacturers produce a consistent product.

Technical data is something I read when I am on the can after I have read everything on my drivers license.

Those above who have responded share the same common denominator and that is, feed back from forums, fellow fishermen, customer satisfaction and confidence in some manufacturers, that is the real source of information.

Have fun

Gotcha. Give the customer what he wants. A large share the posts on this site are concerned with "sensitivity" or "power" or "action" or "speed" - but with no facts, only hearsay. Sounds like we are selling dreams, not fish poles - which is perfectly O.K.!

glad to see you have come to your senses Phil..lol.

Not everyone accepts facts for what they are. There are still rod builders who believe that "spine" controls rod twist or casting accuracy when 20+ years of facts, data and testing have proven otherwise.

...........

WOW..not even a murmur from the pro spine crowd..maybe it,s finally dead and buried Tom..lol.

Right after I perfected my fully automatic, motor-driven spine finder. Just my luck!

I am in my 70's now and have fished all my life and predominately fly fished the last 50 years. Lots of rods and reels and fish. I would confidently speculate that over 95% of the fish I have ever caught, I would have also caught if: the rod had rod had been a half'' longer or shorter, if the rod had been a smidge heavier or lighter, if the rod had cost $50 more or $50 less, if the rod had been a smidge stiffer or looser, if the rod had been a different color?!? Also I would speculate that well over 85% of the fish I have ever lost has been due to: poor knots, weak/old/bad/ or frayed line, bad hooks, poor hook set! My goodness I do appreciate the feel of an extremely expensive Sage or Powell but if I can cast a fly to spot, that is the key! We split hairs unbelievably over rods in this day and age and we have been conditioned to do it! Go fish and enjoy. Life is too short!

Ben
I understand senior and the message is clear,BRAVO!

I,m pretty much in Terry,s camp about how some of us try to make this craft into rocket science..i always felt that Spine was an attempt to do this very thing..i just thought it was silly and didn,t take too much thought to see it is bogus..maybe if i built to sell i would think different and try to hype things up too..jmo..