So a while back I had asked on here about ice rod blanks and it was suggested I try Midwest rod and Reel Ice Rod Blanks. At the time I ended up with Thorne Brothers blanks but now I was interested in buying some Midwest. I found the site and didn't find any blanks. I emailed him but it turns out he won't have any this year.

I was interested in his because I've heard multiple people say they are very similar to TB and St Croix. I know I can get blanks from TB but honestly at $50 a blank I just can't justify it.

Does anyone know of any other blanks that are similar (to the Midwest) or anything?

[sportsmensdirect.com]

Awesome! Thanks. Any advice on what one is similar to the Thorne Brothers rods?

Look at the extreme taper blanks.
They will give you great versatility.
They are very good quality.

See you on the water, Doug
Captain Paddlefoot

All of the afore listed ice rod blanks are constructed of solid glass or graphite.

Thus, if you have a need to change the action of the blank, you can place the blank in a variable speed drill or lathe, spin the blank up to speed and then use various grits of sand paper to remove material on the blank to achieve the action of the blank. Many of these blanks are very inexpensive so if necessary several extra blanks may be obtained as spares when doing experiments on changing the taper of the blank. Often, just removing material from a couple of inches of part of the blank will give you the perfect action that you are looking for in a given blank application.

Especially when working with the glass blanks, keep the speed down a bit, because it is rather easy to melt a blank if you get the heat up too high on the blank while doing sanding work in the blank. The graphite blanks - not so much.

Good luck

Yeah I've thought about that. I'm not sure if I'm ready for that level of detail yet. I haven't been ice fishing enough yet to really know for sure what I like or need. Maybe after this year I'll get a little more crazy with that stuff.
Thanks again for all the help. I have 4 blanks from Jans I need to build then I'll buy some of these :)

Josh,
May I ask your location?

If you happen to be in the Twin Cities location of MN, you could swing by and I could give you some pointers if you need any help.

Be safe
Roger

Thanks for the offer. I actually live in Moorhead but come to the cities a lot as all my family lives in coon rapids. I might just take you up on that if I need any help next time I'm down. . Thanks!

Josh,
I reside in Blaine, so only a few miles from Coon Rapids. If you want to stop over some time - just drop me an e-mail.
Take care