Thinking of building a rod; thoughts...

[Fish Mode]

I've been simmering on which rod blank choice to choose in building a 4-piece 7 weight steelhead rod, which will be used during off season for shad and the occasional surfperch. Here are the blank choices I've narrowed down:

Hook and Hack HHX Blank 9' 7 wt 4 piece (Details: Very Fast Action 9' 7 weight 4 piece blank. 57,000,000 modulus. butt - .415" Weight 2.1 oz Tip - 4.5 Matte charcoal finish)

Rainshadow RX8+ 9'6" 7-weight 4-piece

Now I haven't much experience with fly blanks. Build my first rod two years ago (4pc 5wt) and was wondering how these two rods compare to each other.

The HHX looks like a better grade and higher modulus, but I'm not really sure about the very fast action. The rainshadow is a bit more longer, does that extra 6 inches make much of difference for say, casting into the surf wind?

Can you all share some experience and advice on the level of modulus, action, and length (9' vs 9'6")

Thanks all!

-Fishmode

EDIT: I hope admin doesn't mind me posting rod building in the flyfishing forum, for I think more feedback could be better received here.

[Fly Flickr]

I have built a couple of Rainshadow rods before and they are nice, quality blanks. Right now I have a 10' 8wt 2pc that I love for carp fishing. The only thing to note about them is that they tend to be a little stiffer in the bottom end than the rest of my rods of the same weight.(It takes a little more to load them) That being said I can cast farther with my Rainshadow if I have the room for a double haul and that little bit of length does help with casting/mending etc.. if you plan to do quite a bit of rollcasting, single spey and such it might not be the best fit. I don't know anything about HHX rods. But I like the Rainshadow. Hope that helps.

[santiamflyguy]

Try posting your question at www.rodbuilding.org (http://www.rodbuilding.org)

I don't have any experience with the particular blanks you're considering, but the RX8+ models that I've cast are very nice, recover quickly, and don't have too fast an action for steelie fishing. IMHO you don't want a super-fast cannon, especially if you fish many small or medium size streams.

I would never fish a 9'0" rod for steelies when a 9'6" or 10' was an option. The 6" makes all the difference in line handling and rollcasting.

[steel_beaver]

If you are planning on casting in the surf, the longer and more powerfull RX8 might be a better choice. Haven't messed with either one though so I could be wrong.

[StickFish]

Might drop this int he rod building forum here on iFish. One note about high mod numbers - yes more sensitive, but also more brittle. The Rainshadow RX8+ blanks use a lower mod graphite in the butt for strenght and a high number in the tip for sensitivity. Karry Batson is a member here, PM about the the Rainshadow line - while he might be a little biased you will get excellent information about the blank and its characterstics

[Fish Mode]

Thanks all for the advice, I'm pretty sure on which rod I'll choose.

Fishmode