As it was under discussion, I ad a word with a guy I fish with
occasionally who also builds quite a few rods and has used the
rainshadow blanks.

He swears by the RX7 blanks for stream fishing and the Matt clear rods
he has built on these bglanks both look and perform very very well indeed.

The 9 foot 4 piece looks ideal for your purposes, and wont break the
bank either. Final price depends on your choice of fittings of course.

To quote from the Batson site;

QUOTE

Rainshadow® RX7 Fly Rod Blanks

Simply stated, Rainshadow® "IF" fly rod blanks are the best value in a
high performance fly rod blank available today. We believe it's easy to
design blanks when cost isn't an issue, but it's difficult to design a
blank with high performance at a reasonable price. These blanks are easy
to cast and are truly a joy to fish with. We almost made these too good,
because they out perform many blanks selling for two to three times
more. With a total of 51 blank models and your choice of two different
colors, we've got a blank to fit your needs.

Features: · RX7 intermediate modulus (43 million) high strain rate
graphite · Medium-Fast action · Light overall weight · Your choice of
Matte Clear or Olympic Green color · Out perform blanks that sell for
two or three times more · Limited lifetime warranty

UNQUOTE

The 4-piece blanks are here;

http://www.batsonenterprises.com/ind...6&I temid=182

For a comparable Sage blank in med-fast ( Like the Batsons shown);

http://www.batsonenterprises.com/ind...1&I temid=100

you would have to pay a very great deal more, at least three times the
price, and the resulting rod might not be quite so robust. Higher
modulus graphite is simply not suitbale for bushwehacking rods.

If you are worried abouit building such a rod, have a go at a cheap one
first. like the 6´6" blank shown here;

http://www.batsonenterprises.com/ind...7&I temid=183

for $23. You can not do anything wrong at that price, and it would be
good training and practice.

TL
MC

TL
MC