A blank is the heart and soul of a rod, it is going to be the biggest determining factor when it comes to the performance of the finished rod.
For example:
Let’s say you want a perch rod, but the power rating is too high and the blank is made of a very stiff carbon.
Then you will get a lot of hook pulls, due to the soft mouths of the perch.
Same thing but the other way around.
If you have a zander rod that is underpowered and the carbon used is too soft.
Then you will not be able to set the hook properly in their hard mouths.
These are just 2 random examples, but the same thing goes for every rod.
Whether that be a carp rod, a spinning or baitcasting rod, a salt water or big game rod, a surfcasting rod or a fly rod.
The blank has to have the right characteristics for the intended fishing application in order to perform.
This is where the knowledge comes in of the rodbuilder, coupled with the ability to translate the wishes and wants of the customer, to build a rod that they have dreamt of.
The blanks used to build Ramon’s Rods are:
North Fork Composites (USA)
RainShadow (USA)
CRB (USA)
MHX (USA)
St. Croix (USA)
Phenix (USA)
Rodbuilders Republic (USA)
Black Hole (USA)
American Tackle Company (USA)
Suzuki Blanks (Japan)
Matagi (Japan)
Harrison (UK)
