I am just looking to get a feel for general color preferences on translucent fly rods by asking custom rod builders for some insight, and getting some personal preferences from owners and fans. (I also added a poll for your 2 personal favorites) I am starting a new modern fiberglass fly rod & blank company, and I could use some feedback on color preferences for stocking blank quantities before I place my initial order. Any guidance on color preferences would be very appreciated!

My translucent blanks will come in bright shades of the following colors:
Blue
Green
Yellow
Red
Orange

I am not going to go into the company name, rod construction, materials, finishes or specific color shades right now. Please do not ask. Rod details wouldn't matter anyway, because they do not directly compare to any other fiberglass rods on the market. This is my first official post, and I do not want it to come across as an advertisement. Avoiding overstocking on less popular colors would really help me during startup. Thanks in advance for any help!

I made a vote with the choices available but I really like the raw/white/nude blanks.

Voted and agree with KWDK, good ole brown works as well.

Rootbeer brown!

In that case, you are going to like my orange!

I will be doing only clear / translucent silk wraps as the standard on all of my rods. The blanks have a unique finish that I don't want covered up. I will only add color wraps or accents on custom rods by request.

I think any of the translucent colors would look good if finished out correctly. I voted for orange, because I think it could look nice. I personally like brown translucent blanks the most. The worst looking blanks to me are those that are painted and not translucent. They just look cheap!

Is take a Rod that does what it's supposed to before one that looks like I think it should any day of the week. Form follows function. That said, I like white.

I'm not crazy about nude blanks though I think a pale green that mimics beach glass would be cool. I do have an Epic 480 and like it. My Dusty Miller is a sanded tea colored blank and glows amber in the sunshine. As far as translucency goes, it's really cool but it's secondary to fishability in my eyes. I'll be keeping my Kenneys, Steffens and Hardys.

translucent brown that turns amber when backlit, like some iced tea.

pale green like the grasses next to the stream on a spring day

pale yellow amber like the same grass late in the summer

those are my favorite colors, the colors you see next to the stream.

Now I am now torn between iced tea and rootbeer brown for a future color!

Interesting... Still early, but I was originally thinking that blue and red would be most popular. So far they have the fewest votes. Thanks for the feedback!

"As far as fishability goes, my bar is much higher than "does what it is supposed to do". Either my blanks will be the best performing fiberglass fly rods ever made, or no one will ever get the opportunity to purchase one. "

Be careful with a statement like that. Your idea of "best performing" may vary from some one else's.

Maybe this question is early. But origin matters to a lot on this forum. Will they be NZ sourced like several on the forum use and epic? Japanese sourced like a certain builder here uses. Or Asian like blue halo and many many others?

Bob

Hope you're gonna make your dream come true! Im having my eyes on you You definitely gave me something looking forward to se. Like your thinking!