Does anybody know who makes MHX blanks?

Here is my MHX 3wt. This thing will cast 90' with little effort.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

There are a lot of excellent 9' 5wt blanks out there. I recently built an NFC LMX 9' 5wt and paired with a Airflo Universal Taper WF line it is an excellent rod. In my opinion, perhaps the best fly blank for the money, especially when on sale. Lots of power but will also easily cast a size 18 fly with precision. But I would not call its tip soft or call it a finesse rod. I have not cast any of the Gamma blanks nor any MHX.

Other than NFC or MHX, you may want to look at an Epic 590G blank. I wrapped up a 690G and find it an utterly fabulous rod, super-light and very smooth casting, but with great power when needed. I own about 20 fly rods and it is clearly the finest rod I own. I have cast Sage Core 8, Scott Centric, Hardy Ultralight, Loomis Asquith, Winston Air, etc, I find the Epic competes in that league and bests a number of those rods, IMHO. And Epic customer service is superb.

Some others would say the same about CTS.

chris c nash Wrote:
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> Rod blank manufacturers are fiercely competitive
> but if I had to give one blank manufacturer the
> edge at this point in time I would give it to NFC
> for their C602 material .


I just all manufacturers described their rods like Rodgeeks.

david taylor Wrote:
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> There are a lot of excellent 9' 5wt blanks out
> there. I recently built an NFC LMX 9' 5wt and
> paired with a Airflo Universal Taper WF line it is
> an excellent rod. In my opinion, perhaps the best
> fly blank for the money, especially when on sale.
> Lots of power but will also easily cast a size 18
> fly with precision. But I would not call its tip
> soft or call it a finesse rod. I have not cast
> any of the Gamma blanks nor any MHX.
>
> Other than NFC or MHX, you may want to look at an
> Epic 590G blank. I wrapped up a 690G and find it
> an utterly fabulous rod, super-light and very
> smooth casting, but with great power when needed.
> I own about 20 fly rods and it is clearly the
> finest rod I own. I have cast Sage Core 8, Scott
> Centric, Hardy Ultralight, Loomis Asquith, Winston
> Air, etc, I find the Epic competes in that
> league and bests a number of those rods, IMHO.
> And Epic customer service is superb.
>
> Some others would say the same about CTS.


An echo would be nice, but out of my price range. NFC are way out of my price range except for their sales.

NFC are way out of my price range except for their sales.

Be patient. There are sales on most of the time.

Jon: I am presuming you meant to say Epic and not Echo. Echo does not sell blanks, but are finished rods known for their high price to performance ratio.

An NFC LMX fly blank is $125. In the past, on periodic sales it can be had for less than $100. I got several last year for $75 each on their big sale. If $125 is too much for you, then as Michael indicated, keep an eye out for sales.

david taylor Wrote:
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> Jon: I am presuming you meant to say Epic and not
> Echo. Echo does not sell blanks, but are finished
> rods known for their high price to performance
> ratio.
>
> An NFC LMX fly blank is $125. In the past, on
> periodic sales it can be had for less than $100.
> I got several last year for $75 each on their big
> sale. If $125 is too much for you, then as
> Michael indicated, keep an eye out for sales.

The LMX is $250 unless it's on sale, at which point I'm willing to build on a blank I've never built or cast before. Unfortunately, it's easy to put a blank on sale when it's not in stock.

This conversation reminds me of a time when I was at a sporting goods store wasting time in the golf simulator. After swinging many different clubs the sales rep steered me towards a starter set and said I wouldn’t see any benefits of the newest top-self, titanium headed, carbon fiber shafted, Rolls Royce of clubs until I put in the hours and learn how to swing a club.

Same principles apply to casting.

Michael Tarr Wrote:
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> This conversation reminds me of a time when I was
> at a sporting goods store wasting time in the golf
> simulator. After swinging many different clubs the
> sales rep steered me towards a starter set and
> said I wouldn’t see any benefits of the newest
> top-self, titanium headed, carbon fiber shafted,
> Rolls Royce of clubs until I put in the hours and
> learn how to swing a club.
>
> Same principles apply to casting.

Sure, which is why I love the rod geek site, and why I actually called NFC. The MHX blank is a known quantity to me. I know what I'm looking for, but NFC doesn't have anyway to tell me if they are a fit. The site is a train wreck and the salesman couldn't answer my questions.

I have built a number of fly rods over the years, including NFC, American Tackle (both Matrix and Bushido, when they were available) Pac Bay Arctos, TFO BVK, Fenwick (many years ago), Lamiglas (again, several years ago) Proof, Anglers Roost, Anglers Workshop, Batson Rainshadow and Tradition II, and many others I cannot recall at this time.

At this time, my favorites are the NFC FAF series and the Pac Bay Arctos. I have an NFC 6-wt for streamer fishing and it casts very well, is very sensitive, and plays a fish extremely well. I have several PacBay Arctos rods and for a budget price, they have been consistently good quality and have become the favorite blank for the students in a fly rod building class I conduct for a local fly fishing club.

I cannot speak to the MHX fly blanks, but have had several MHX spinning and casting blanks. They are consistently good quality, but not up to the level of some of the other brands listed above, nor are they comparable (In my opinion) to St. Croix, Stryker or Phenix. I do not have any experience with G. Loomis subsequent to Gary's departure, nor will I with so many other great options at better prices.

For high-end fly rods, you may want to consider Berkheimer - they are too rich for my blood but have been consistently rated extremely high by many experienced anglers in our local fly club. Same with Sage blanks, I cannot afford $450 for a blank when I am happy with one at around $50 to $75

Rich Bowers

Epic had 50% off blanks last year for black friday. A ways off, but aa was said, the 690G and 590G are spectacular. The NFC Gamma Alpha is also very nice. Way softer than the Gamma Beta for presentation. I am a sale shopper these days

Thank you, Richard.

Tim Scott Wrote:
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> Epic had 50% off blanks last year for black
> friday. A ways off, but aa was said, the 690G and
> 590G are spectacular. The NFC Gamma Alpha is also
> very nice. Way softer than the Gamma Beta for
> presentation. I am a sale shopper these days
In looking at the site, I suspect that the NFC Alpha and Beta graphs are reversed. Because both you and the site say that the Alpha is softer, but the graphs would lead me to believe the opposite.

I did not think either of these blanks were in the CC database, it turns out the MHX rods are, just not in alphabetical order. For some reason they are all at the end of the list.
The ERN is 5.5 and the AA is 70. As I understand it, that is a pretty fast rod with some power.

If you compare the bend on the 5 / 6 weights of the two aeries, note the weights used are different..

A 5wt GB has slightly more power by CCS than a 6wt GA. Very different casting. The GB wants to be driven and the GA is a relaxed caster. Been waiting for a while ………. On a couple in the LMX series.

I think that the LMX blanks are sold at the $125 price point most of the times I visit the NFC website. Not too many folks are buying them at $250. Rod Geeks Carbon 4 fly blanks are a bit over $100 and are basically identical to St. Croix Imperial fly rods, which are quite decent rods. In my mind, at $125, an NFC LMX produces a very good fly rod. But it is not as good as an Epic G fly rod, the blank of which I purchased on sale for $240.

Despite a blank's cost, there are of course many other costs that go into building a rod -- grip, reel seat, guides, epoxy, wrapping and finishing tools, etc. -- so blank cost is just one piece of the overall investment.

There is nothing wrong with older IM6 blank technology, and a Batson Unity blank will make you a quality fly rod, and you can find them for pretty cheap on sales or on @#$%&.

As with most consumer goods, you pretty much get what you pay for in a fly rod blank. And, just like other consumer goods, you can wait for a sale.

The downside of a blank is you can't go to a shop and test drive it. You are relying on the manufacturer's data and feedback from sites like this as to blank performance and characteristics. A fly rod's taper and action that I may love is one you may find does not meet your expectations.

You also need to take some level of pleasure and enjoyment in the act of building the rod, and have the time to do it. If not, you can go buy a perfectly good Echo or TFO rod for $250 and be on the stream 45 minutes later.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/27/2023 12:59PM by Tom Kirkman.

I’ll add that I recently built an NFC F 904-2 (Classic) for myself and a RodGeeks C4904-4 for my dad. The RodGeeks outperforms the NFC, its casting is noticeably better for us two mediocre fly casters, and I’d say almost effortless. I’m still a relatively new builder but the RodGeeks I was shocked with how much better it performs against rods 1.5-2 times the cost that I have into it.

The NFC is more versatile, even with a 4wt rod I have no problem throwing streamers, weighted nymphs, and delicate dries. The RodGeeks is better suited for smaller west, nymphs and 12-16 dries. I wouldn’t toss anything too heavy or wind resistant with it. I’m happy with both though. My next fly rod will probably be a RodGeeks or CTS.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/2023 05:11PM by Evan Cobb.

I would think most would agree with your assessment: the LMX being the fast and more powerful rod, which is not to everyone's liking. Some folks like softer, or deeper flexing rods, hence the glass renaissance. Don't overlook the NFC "classic" fly rods, as they may be more to your liking.

I see NFC has their new fly rods out! [manage.kmail-lists.com]

Couldn’t agree more. The glass is just nice fish. Same with IM6. Most of the rods out there are geared towards high performance. Sometimes it’s nice to just tool around in a comfortable old truck. A friend fishes the FAF 4 and considers it a 5. I would agree. Especially for in close.