Hey BFnF, My favorite downrigger rods are 3 rods I built on Batson blanks,2 are on the 7'6" RDR blanks the other is 7'on a batson E glass blank.All are very light and a blast to use. For flatlining I use a couple of 8' rods built on Ugly Stik blanks,light tips with lots of backbone in the butt.101ok101