Custom Fly Rod Components - Part 1 Drawing a Blank

Probably the two most commonly asked questions by potential customers are 1) "How much do your rods cost?" and 2) "Whose blanks do you use?"   The short answers to these questions is 1) "It depends on what blank I use." and 2) "I can use any blank you wish."

You see, as a custom fly rod builder, I can build a fly rod on any blank available, and the cost of the blank is the primary price driver on a rod.  Selecting the rod blank must be done before I can quote a price on the rod because in some cases the cost of the blank can represent more than 50% of the total price of the rod.  There are many factors that go into selecting the correct rod blank for a build, quality, action, warranty, color, and other personal preferences.  Without going into the details of the technical aspects of the graphite (modulus, scrim, resins, etc...) I will give you the rundown on my most commonly used blanks.

Without a doubt, Sage is the best known fly rod and blank manufacturer.  The quality of the Sage blanks coupled with their unlimited lifetime warranty make them hard to beat.  Sage blanks are produced at their Bainbridge Island, Washington facility. I have actually visited their facility several times and have done some lean manufacturing consulting work for Sage.  Their operation is top notch, and if money is no object they are my number one recommendation assuming that one of their models fits the action, length, number of pieces and color criteria the customer is looking for.  There are only two drawbacks with Sage blanks.  First, they are limited to only the length, weight, number of pieces and colors that their factory rods are produced on, If a customer specifically wants an 8 foot, 3 piece 5 weight, green rod,  he is out of luck with Sage.  The Accel blank is green, but only comes in 4 piece blanks, and 5 weights are only available in 8 foot 6 and 9 foot models.  The second drawback is price. Sage is the most expensive blanks on the marker and drive the starting price of a custom fly rod to $600 plus, depending on the model.

In my humble opinion, St. Croix blanks are the best option for the money.  The quality difference between them and Sage is undetectable as an end user.  Although they have a limited lifetime warranty (limited to manufacturing defects) if you take good care of your equipment, the price difference is significant.  The starting price for a custom fly rod built on a St. Croix blank is around $400.  They do have the same drawback regarding weight, length, number of pieces, and colors, but if a customer can be a little flexible in their selections, St. Croix blanks are a great option to build a superior fly rod.

CTS blanks are produced in New Zealand and the quality of their blanks is on par with Sage and St. Croix and backed by a limited lifetime warranty similar to St. Croix.  The major benefit of CTS is the variety of weight, length, number of pieces, and color combinations.  For example you can get a 5 weight blank in either 3 or 4 piece combinations, in 5 different lengths and 38 different colors.  If a customer is very specific in their requirements, I can usually find the exact combination in a CTS blank.  However, being in New Zealand the cost to acquire a blank puts the rod price in the $500 plus range.

Discount/Import Blanks
There are a wide variety of lower priced blanks available. Batson Forecast, MHX, H&H and others. These are good quality blanks, the technology and design is similar to that of the premier manufactures blanks of 5 or 10 years ago, but the price is significantly lower.  I personally have a 5 weight that I love and use a lot that is built on an MHX blank.  I have built many rods for customers on these blanks and they are very satisfied.  If a customers budget for a custom fly rod is in the $300 range, and are willing to forego the name brand blank, they can acquire a very functional and beautiful rod built on one of these blanks.

There are many other blank manufacturers available, and I am not limited to the ones I have outlined above.  I will work with a customer and provide as many options and information that they need in order to make the best blank selection for their preferences and budget.

Hopefully this answers at least some of your questions, but if you have specific questions regarding fly rod blanks you can comment below or email me directly at kb2flyrods@outlook.com.