My dad recently passed away and I want to make his doctor a custom fly rod. He likes to steelhead fish and from what I gather from him, he likes a 9’ - 11’ rod in a 9-11 weight. I’m not a fly fisherman so what blank do you guys suggest. I want an upper end quality blank.

Thanks
Dave

You could buy a name blank like Sage or Thomas & Thomas, go with a great blank that is less well known such as CTS. Or go with a Batson or NFC blank. How much do you want to spend on a blank plus all the components?

Compared to the big names, the Rainshadow Eternities are great fly blanks for a fraction of the price. I've built a number of them, and all have been excellent. I'd go a 9 weight, 9 foot. Will double as a great Cuda and redfish rod when he retires and goes to salt.

Not worried about the cost, just want a great blank

I second the Eternity 2, a very fine blank.

I love the American Tackle Matrix blank! I have built on very high end platforms and find this Matrix just performs better.

I will definitely check out the blanks. Is there a particular reel seat that everyone likes? How about guides…single foot or do you prefer snake guides? As I said before, I am not a fly fisherman, so I know next to nothing about them. Not concerned about cost, just want a top notch rod to show the appreciation for taking such good care of my dad. I may order a custom decal saying, In memory of……

David,
A 9' #9 is fine for Steelhead. An 11' blank will be a two handed rod.
Neither should be an 11 wt.
If you email me at hladen@hotmail.com - I will put you in touch with a rod builder who specializes in rods designed for Steelheading.
He will advise you gratis.
Herb
CTS Rep.

Herb Ladenheim Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> David,
> A 9' #9 is fine for Steelhead. An 11' blank will
> be a two handed rod.
> Neither should be an 11 wt.
> If you email me at hladen@hotmail.com - I will put
> you in touch with a rod builder who specializes in
> rods designed for Steelheading.
> He will advise you gratis.
> Herb
> CTS Rep.

Email sent

If I were in your shoes, and thought I could do it without giving away my intentions, I want to get a look at his favorite rods. That would give me an idea of his needs/desires and how high the bar is.

If he is a bamboo purist a top name rod may run $3500+. In more modern materials the same brand would be about a 1/3 of the cost. Awful lot of middle ground there.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

I have an Eternity 2 6-weight and it is a nice rod. But he had better like cobalt if you build him at Batson Eternity 2! CTS would provide you lots of color options, as would Rod Geeks.

Did quite a bit of research last night. Seems like the switch style handle is more of an all around handle vs the single handle. Thoughts?

Great Lakes steelhead, Idaho steelhead, Pacific Northwest srteelhead, different rivers and styles of fishing and equipment to consider.

Greg
Aptos, CA

David,
Please don't fall victim to the false concept that a Switch rod may/should be casted as a single handed rod as well as a 2 handed rod.
This is not true.
A Switch rod was designed to be casted Over Head or Anchor Point (Spey). But both styles use 2 hands.

A Switch rod has a particular type of action that lends itself to both Over Head and Spey - but does neither job well. Bottom line it is a compromise between the two casting styles.
Your father's doctor MAY be a 2 handed guy - or he may be a single handed guy.
Best find out somehow before you build one. You don't want it to be left in a corner of his closet.

I have built many Switch rods on CTS blanks - from 10'6" to 13'6". I use none of them now because they are a compromise.

Best bet is always a single hander. Maybe his nurse knows of a fishing buddy she can put you in touch with.
Regards,
Herb
CTS Rep

I’m actually looking at one of your rods, the AFFINITY X 10’, 4pc, 7 wt.

O.K. But not built as a 2 handed rod - right??

The CTS Affinity-X #7 is a pretty aggressive rod - but sweet at the same time.
The swing weight on a 10'0" rod is pretty high. So, he would have to be pretty fit to cast it all day.

9.5' may be more appropriate.
Is this idea coming from Dave G?
Herb

Coming from someone else right now. Just started communicating with Dave
Not a two handle



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/18/2021 04:31PM by David Luttig.

I agree with the Matrix Blanks. An extremely good blank at a great price point!

I have built fly rods on many different platforms, up to and including a $1200 split bamboo 4-wt blank. I have found Matrix blanks are consistently a much higher quality then their price point would suggest, contrary to many of the others. While they only go up to a 9' 9-weight, that is a sweet spot for a single-hand Steelhead fly rod and can handle Coho Salmon as well. They have both 2-piece and 4-piece options.

One interesting fact that I can say of the Matrix series that I cannot say of many of the other series', I have yet to receive a Matrix fly blank that wasn't die-straight! That is extremely unusual, especially in the tip section!

Rich Bowers
TroutStyx Custom Rods

9' 6" 9wt 4pc CTS, NFC or Sage X blank. The lighter the better. Use double foot snakes like REC and get some nice double foot strippers like the REC Cerecoil, Fuji KW Torzite or Seaguide TiLBG with Silicon Nitride ring-RS. This is based off of your original post. I have not tried any of the Matrix blanks but they sound pretty good. I would compare the weights of the blanks and make a decision with that in mind.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/20/2021 09:50AM by Lance Schreckenbach.

The rod owner's current favorite make and model of fly rod will indicate the best blank/action for that individual. If you could discover the make AND model of his current favorite fly rod then the savvy contributors on this website could provide some helpful recommendations. The price of rod blanks and components reveal little, if any, information about the way they cast or for which casting style they are best suited.