What Are Fishing Rod Blanks? Dive into the Basics!

Fishing rods have various parts, including handle, reel seat, eyelets and other, but the one connecting it all is the blank.

It is an important part of it that determines many rod features, and it defines its performance. So, what are fishing rod blanks exactly?

Rod blank is the core, or the backbone of the rod. It is hollow and tubular shaped, and can be made from various materials including graphite, fiberglass, and similar. Blank gives the rod its power, action, and has a huge influence in casting performance.

Anglers can choose blanks that are one piece, or in sections. Those sections may be telescopic or multi piece. Of course, all types of blanks have their intended use and various advantages and disadvantages.

This crucial part of any rod is frequently neglected by novice anglers, and that is a big mistake. In my opinion, this may be the most important part, the one that makes or breaks your experience.

So, to choose wisely, and to have a rod that fulfils all your angling needs, check out this guide and find out everything you need to know!

What Are Fishing Rod Blanks?

Fishing rod blanks are the spine of every rod. Every other rod part like line guides or handles are connected to it but they are not a part of the blank itself. It can be observed as the core of the rod.

How the blank is designed and made determines all rod features including:

• Power
• Action
• Sensitivity
• Casting performance
• Durability
• Flexibility
• Strength
• Stiffness

Of course, some of these elements are connected to each other. For example, the higher the power, the stronger rod will be.

Because of all this, it is essential to pay a lot of attention when choosing rod blank material and features.

What Materials are Fishing Rod Blanks Made From?

Rod blank material determines rod performance, and of course, the price range. There are three main materials that I will mention here:

Fiberglass

Fiberglass has many benefits, and one of them is relatively low price. This is why many beginners choose fiberglass rods. They are durable, forgive many mistakes including mishandling, and are quite resilient to damage. Their action is usually slow, and casting distance and precision are lower. When it comes to flexibility, they have decent properties.

Graphite

This material gives extraordinary sensitivity. In addition to that, these rods are very responsive and lightweight. This makes them excellent for prolonged use, and many experienced anglers choose them.

Downside is their price, however you will get excellent and precise casting ability, as well as excellent casting distance. Unfortunately, although they are very stiff and strong, these rods are not resilient to damage and impacts.

These blanks are used when you need high precision, like for bass fishing.

Composite

Composite blanks, as the name suggests, are made from combining various materials such as fiberglass and graphite. These blanks are versatile and have properties of all materials used in production. Prices can vary a lot, but they are usually more expensive than fiberglass but cheaper than graphite.

When you combine these materials, you get rods that are more sensitive than fiberglass, but not as light as graphite.

How Does the Material of a Fishing Rod Blank Affect its Performance?

This was briefly explained in the previous chapter, but here are a few more details.

Every material has different properties. For example, graphite is extremely strong, stiff and rods made from graphite are very light. Because of this incredible strength less material is needed for constructing rod blanks, and that is why their weight is much lower.

Graphite, as a material is very sensitive to vibrations, even the slightest ones. It transfers vibrations much better than fiberglass. This gives it that sensitivity I mentioned before.

Let’s assume that fish is just slightly checking out your lure. Vibrations from fish touching it will travel over the line, through the rod, to the handle where you can feel it. Those smallest activities can not be felt on fiberglass rod due to material properties and much lower ability to transfer vibrations.

From this you can see how the material affects blank performance and how to choose the one that will suit your needs.

What is the Importance of Action in a Fishing Rod Blank?

Now you know what are fishing rod blanks and I already mentioned action, but here is a bit more details. What is important here is not to think that power and action are the same. Let’s define it.

Fishing rod action related to how much the rod will bend when pressure is applied. Depending on material, only the top third will bend, half of it, or the whole blank. It is divided into fast, medium and slow (or combinations like slow-medium). This slow/medium/fast feature describes how fast the rod will come back into original position when pressure is removed. Fast rods are those where only upper third will bend ad swiftly come back. Slow ones are those where the whole blank will bend and take longer time to straighten.

Depending on intended use, you should choose the rod action. If you need a rod that is sensitive, responsive, and enables fast hooksets, you need fast action. This is very useful for bass fishing.

If you plan to use live bait and need rod that doesn’t move so swiftly, you should go for slow action.

Action is very important feature you must consider before buying a rod.

Can Fishing Rod Blanks be Customized or Tailored to Specific Preferences?

The answer to this question is YES! You can customize rod blank to completely fits your personal preference. You can choose properties such as length, material, action, power, and all other parts that connect to it like line guides and handles.

You can choose these properties in accordance with the fishing technique, species, lures you intend to use and the rod type you need.

However, this is not something that beginners will often do, and it is targeted towards very experienced anglers, even professionals. Customized rods are frequently used for tournaments too.

There are fishing rod companies / brands that allow their buyers to choose among various features and rods are built on demand.

Of course, this will come at a fairly high price.

Can you Replace a Fishing Rod Blank in an Existing Rod?

There is nothing worse than seeing a damage on your favourite rod. Whether it is a result of misuse, or something else, the good thing is that you don’t necessarily need to buy a completely new rod.

Of course, on a one-piece rod, it is not easy. Replacing a blank in that case would mean buying a completely new one. Repair is the only option here.

However, if you have multi piece rod, you can change just one section, if you can get your hands on the spare one.

Most of manufacturers don’t have just one section to order, so your best chance is to find used rod that is same as yours and take the part.

If something happened to your rod, most often, it makes sense to simply repair it. You can find detailed guides on how to do it online, or you can take it to the shop where professionals can try to save the rod.

Related: To avoid all these problems - don't forget to clean your fishing rod!

Conclusion

Knowing what are fishing rod blanks and how they affect properties (some of them even float) of any rod is very important when choosing your rods for specific use.

As a beginner, you can focus on cheaper variants, however, that doesn’t mean that those are bad. You just have to be aware of their performance and know how to maximize it.

And the most important tip here – take care of your rod! Clean it, handle it, and store it properly to avoid damage and to make sure it lasts for years!