Which blank?

**flyingfisherman** · 08-09-2008, 20:35

Hi there,

im going to get a double handed fly rod built for my brothers christmas present. budget isnt really an issue, looking for a 13' blank for an 8 or 9 wt line.. anyone had any experience of good double handers? Im going to look at orvis, hardy and bruce & walker..

Thanks in advance..

Ben

**STAN M** · 09-09-2008, 08:38

I`ve got the choice of just about any blank in the world for rods and I`ve built on a good few of them over the years, blanks from UK to USA Oz, NZ, S African German, many good, some excellent and others living on a name only. Some of the "top" names I would`nt touch with a barge pole, in fact you would be better fishing with a barge pole.

Everyone will have their own favourite and you will never sway them, mind you a lot of the time they stick with the favourite and never try anything else.

Given the choices and options available to me, my own 3 salmon rods, fly and spin, and my trout and saltwater fly rods are all built on Harrison blanks made in Liverpool.

www.harrisonrods.co.uk Only an opinion but I have tried lots and lots.

**flyingfisherman** · 09-09-2008, 09:15

Originally Posted by STAN M

I`ve got the choice of just about any blank in the world for rods and I`ve built on a good few of them over the years, blanks from UK to USA Oz, NZ, S African German, many good, some excellent and others living on a name only. Some of the "top" names I would`nt touch with a barge pole, in fact you would be better fishing with a barge pole.

Everyone will have their own favourite and you will never sway them, mind you a lot of the time they stick with the favourite and never try anything else.

Given the choices and options available to me, my own 3 salmon rods, fly and spin, and my trout and saltwater fly rods are all built on Harrison blanks made in Liverpool.

www.harrisonrods.co.uk Only an opinion but I have tried lots and lots.

Thanks Stan, will have a look at this site.. I havent done much fly fishing for salmon, especially with a double hander, so glad of any help.. A friend of mine has an orvis 13' and he loves it, but as you say, everyone is different.

Ben

**STAN M** · 09-09-2008, 09:22

Shop around, Harrison is my choice/opinion. On your original post you mentioned three, to be honest two of them would be included in the ones I would`nt touch with barge poles, obviously cant name them. In fact if a client supplies one of those blanks I either refuse to build on it or give no guarantee whatsoever except on the build. Orvis are fine;

You could also look here if you want to go USA www.batsonenterprises.com. Rainshadow are damned good blanks as well, as are Winston, Thomas and Thomas, the other mob, (parsley and thyme) and we are back to the barge poles. Given up on the number of repairs I`ve done on the parsley`s.

Of course dont forget our very own salmon rod builder/blank manufacturer on the forum SureanuffandyesIdo or whatever his handle is now David Norwich, good quality stuff there from Dave ( he aint much good at marlin fishing mind you) but I`ve used Daves blanks a good few times, quality gear www.davidnorwich.com

**B L Z Bub** · 09-09-2008, 09:55

Thomas and Thomas make the best off the shelf double handers

Build quality is excellent, the rods are sharp!

Only downside is UK sourcing and warranty claims, which prolly require a return stateside and the attendant delay and carriage costs

I've 3 of them and I havent broke one yet and I'm hard on my gear

BB

**penn2** · 09-09-2008, 15:18

yep all mine are t&t's broke one section and returned to the states got it back about 3-4 weeks later no problem.Out of all the fly rods i've had these blanks are for fisherman to fish with.not just a fancy casting tool.Got plenty of feeling, light in the hand ,strong and you can fish with them all day without getting a dead arm were as some are hard work .

**tack4** · 09-09-2008, 22:51

i am a lucky chap who owns one of stans custom made rods and it is something to cherrish

ok its a 5wt 9 ' 2 piece but is a thing of beauty and a dream to fish with

see below
http://matchpool.co.uk/forums/viewto...&highlight=rod

**Norrie** · 21-09-2008, 13:06

Originally Posted by tack4

i am a lucky chap who owns one of stans custom made rods and it is something to cherrish

ok its a 5wt 9 ' 2 piece but is a thing of beauty and a dream to fish with

]

Hi Andrew, I'm also lucky to own one of Davids rods, an absolute dream to use on the fly..

only a 6/7 weight, but I can use it all day with no ill effects on my "sore" shoulder..