Who makes a good 12wt 4-piece blank (preferably graphite)? I’ve got a trip to a Belize scheduled in May, and would like to have a tarpon rod to take with…
I have no difficulty finding blanks up to 10/11wt, but 12’s seem to be rather hard to find.

Here are a few options that I found:

Hook & Hackle has a Rainshadow Eternity 9' 12 weight, 4pc. blank and it is currently on sale for $210.

RodGeeks has a 9' 12 weight, 4pc. carbon fiber blank for $150. And you can get it in any cool color you want if you are willing to wait a few weeks for them to make it. I built a 3 wt. rod of theirs and it is a very nice fishing rod and looks really nice with the metal flake green color. But then .... a 3 wt. is really not comparable to 12 wt. HaHa.

Mudhole has an MHX 9'0" 12 wt. Fly Rod Blank for $210

Hope that helps.

Andrew,
CTS' Flagship Affinity-X comes in a 12 wt - 4 piece, graphite.

Email me for RB.Org pricing.
Herb
CTS U.S. Rep
Located in FL

NFC offers both a glass and a graphite 12 wt

Thomas & Thomas Solar is a popular 12 weight Tarpon blank, MHX also makes a 12 weight, Sage Salt HD makes two 12 weights, and continue to 16 weight. Angler's Workshop makes a saltwater series to 14 weight, Winston makes two 12 weights.

My son and I really like our Eternity !!'s, two eights and a nine. ERN's are on the high side, as are all the fly rods I've checked. Light and powerful. Faster actions than the old Rainshadow RX 8's.

CTS Affinity X.

You really do not need a 12 wt for almost any Tarpon. I have caught them over 100lbs on a 10 wt. If you do build a 12wt you will have almost no other uses for it.

Phil makes some sense, I built a Batson Xcel RXF 12/13 wt. for Florida saltwater use many years ago, other than when I use very heavy sink tips for salmon steelhead I have little use for it. The blanks really aren't that awful powerful, it's the construction method necessary that makes them seem so. If they were built like conventional gear rods they would be rather unremarkable.

Andrew,
If you decide that a more moderate blank will make more sense for your trip - using CTS' custom design program I designed a moderate/action 9'0" 4pc #11 for my own personal use.
I sold it to a gentleman who needed it for a Tarpon trip. He loves it. Also uses it for big Striped Bass in MA.
Herb

Jann's Netcraft also has a 4-piece 12-wt for less than $100 - IM6 Graphite in a matte black finish.

We have one left of the Batson RX7 Graphite fly blanks, model IF9012-OG.
That is the deep gloss Green color.
On sale -
IF9012-OG 9' 2 12 .530B 6.5T $ 62.00
Here is a link;
[www.schneidersrods.com]

Best wishes,
Ron Schneider
Schneider's Rod Shop
Mountain Home, Arkansas
[www.schneidersrods.com]
mtnron40@yahoo.com
870-424-3381

Preferred rod size depends on whether you seek and hook a #25 tarpon or a #120 tarpon with your rod?