I am looking for a blank to build a surf type rod on. I want to reach 120 yards with as little weight as possible in both the rod and lure weight. I want 11' to 13' feet of rod length to manage the line at distance through the cross currents. I will be fishing a tail race with this rod using as light of lures as possible. I have a thread about this on surftalk. All suggestions have been for cts and century blanks that are very expensive.

I think for the best bang for your buck would be a steelhead rod blank. Anglersworkshop has theirs made by Talon in the USA, one model is a 11'2" 10-20lb line around 5 oz which is pretty darn light .Not as light as CTS or Century but also much lighter on the price tag. MHX used to have some carp rod blanks that would of been perfect but they were discontinued.

The following is from the talon-graphite website:

Length -- Sections -- Line -- Lure -- Action -- Tip size -- But --t Weight -- Item # -- VI PLUS MSRP ITM -- MSRP
12'0" ----- 2 ----- 6-12 ----- 1/2-1 ----- Med-fast -- 6.0 -- .830 -- 5.3 -- BCY035 -- $96.14
12'0" ----- 2 ----- 8-17 ----- 3/4-1 1/2 -- Fast ------ 6.0 -- .840 -- 5.5 -- BCY038 -- $96.14

13'0" ----- 2 ----- 6-12 ----- 1/2-1 ----- Med-fast -- 5.5 -- .875 -- 5.7 -- BCY028 -- $110.77
13'0" ----- 2 ----- 8-17 ----- 3/4-1 1/2 -- Fast ------ 6.0 -- .900 -- 6.2 -- BCY031 -- $110.77

The above are Menpachi (Whipping) Blanks

Don Becker

Check out this MHX:

MHX ST1355 Steelhead Rod Blank . Good luck

Check out this MHX:

MHX ST1355 Steelhead Rod Blank . Good luck

Use Nanofil line for added casting distance. I tried it last month for the first time. My very first cast at my normal casting strength went well past the bank and 10' up in a tree.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/19/2017 05:20PM by Tom Kirkman.

What size lures do you call light? Spinning or casting? I have made a bunch of rods that can go those sorts of distances, and learned something from every one. Also might have some very cost effective blank alternatives, depending on your answers...

I fish that way for Steelhead and use no more than 1/2oz form the beach on Georgian Bay and I use the Loomis 15 ft float rod, 3 pce and it works great. 4-8lb rating and run with 6lb XT

Greg has asked this on a couple of boards, never answers back, the Menpachi blanks were suggested before and would be a great choice, a buddy who lives in Mexico uses one to sight fish the surf from his UTV.

Sorry for not replying more often. Between raising 6 children and owning and managing a business free time can be hard to come by. For some reason I done get notifications any more from my accounts so I only see the replies when I think to check on them. I will try to be better at checking.

Philip Engle Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What size lures do you call light? Spinning or
> casting? I have made a bunch of rods that can go
> those sorts of distances, and learned something
> from every one. Also might have some very cost
> effective blank alternatives, depending on your
> answers...


1/2 oz to 2 oz but not sure I can hit 120 yards measured from the rocks with a snap cast. Needs to be able to handle 20 or 30 lb braid.

doug raff Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Use Nanofil line for added casting distance. I
> tried it last month for the first time. My very
> first cast at my normal casting strength went well
> past the bank and 10' up in a tree.

I use nano on a 10' crappie spinning rod I had built a couple of years ago. I love it but afraid it is not heavy enough for this application.

Philip Engle Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What size lures do you call light? Spinning or
> casting? I have made a bunch of rods that can go
> those sorts of distances, and learned something
> from every one. Also might have some very cost
> effective blank alternatives, depending on your
> answers...


Spinning reel. Probably will be paired with a 5500 ultegra.