I am wanting to build an inexpensive 2/3 wt 7' or smaller rod. This will be a keep in the truck rod. I would prefer to keep it in the SPG $ range. Any suggestions?

I am not sure what the SPG range is, but last I heard James Green had a blank he referred to as his native trout blank and I believe they are 3 and 4 weights. They are $150 ish but I think sometimes you can pick up a "blemish" from him. I purchased two of his blems and cant see anything wrong with them ...

This is graphite, but the Batson RX6 6'6 2wt is a great value, around $28. Very soft rod IMO,but with a 3wt line you can toss some larger flies as well as the small ones.

Curious if anyone has tried these blanks also. Given that they are sold pretty cheap on the bay I know they are cheap blanks from the Far East, but has anyone built on one?

As far as I know the Mountain Brooks are going to be the closest option. You can create a tip over butt with the spg 601(tip) and 721 (butt) in the 6 1/2' to 7' range but its still going to be a 4 wt on longer water or a 5 wt closer in.

You might try getting a couple of the one-piece, 5' UL FG spinning blanks offered by Jann's Netcraft. They are a little over $11 a piece. Butt =. 36" and tip is 5/64. While I can't say for sure, there's a good chance you can make a butt section from one and tip section from the other and build a spigot ferrule to connect them. Link is below if you're interested.

Not sure what you'd end up with but might get close to a rod suited for a lower line weight and probably anywhere from 6-7.5' long. Would be a challenge to figure out where to cut each blank but should make for an interesting tinker project. If I had a use for lightline rod, I'd sure give it a try. Good luck, Jim

http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/netcraft-f. .. ss-blanks/

You may be right but if you don't want to spend $120 for a blank, what other options are there? By the way, personally, I see no need for a 2, 3 or even 4 wt rod but I appreciate the fact that others do.
Jim

The blanks I offer are not to bad for the price tag in my opinion and a lot of members and others have enjoyed building on the blanks while not spending a fortune on the blank. As far as the 2/3 wt, 4piece, its definitely on the full flex side, but not as slow or noodle like as some others. I personally like the packability and hike into some pretty remote places to fish for natives here in the Pa Grand Canyon.
The 7 foot 3 spigot I have now, has seen some improvements in the spigots. The spigot material is now a carbon material which reduces the wt a little. I am still trying to work with the over seas manufacture for improvements, while keeping cost and price tag to a minimum for guys to try a build.

The 2 piece blanks tip over butt blanks I offer, I have learned are sourced from the same manufacturer as others are offering and have offered, under the names of rustic river, river moss, riffle glass (kettle creek tackle) and numerous others. I had the assumption that was the case but hey now I know ... . With that being said, I am still going through quality control and keeping that retail price competitive with everyone else, and offering what I can for the budget minded builder. I still fish all of these blanks and can still verify they can be turned into a pretty darn nice rod. Some members here can verify that.
Cheers
www.mtnbrookrods.com

Thanks for the update mtnbrook. Sounds as if you are having success in working with the factory to make improvements. Nielsen which mtnbrook blanks have you built? And are there others here who have built any? I'd like to hear from you.

picketpin52,
Regretfully, I've misled you. I've no first hand knowledge of the mountainbrook rods and blanks other than what I've seen on his website. My opinion is based on that alone but still, the price seems very reasonable, the blanks look good in the photos and I'm impressed with the forthright information mtnbrook offers on the source of his blanks. Jim

Are any of those "Norie like" still around?

The spg 601, spg 721 and spg 842 have a similar taper so fit isn't hard with these.