Sabre Rod blanks

[Mike P]

The Sabre blanks that most of the guys around the Northeast are talking about are the IGSC IM-6 casting rod series. They are one piece blanks, and come in one 8' model, and 3 9' and 10' models. They used to be maroon in color (Sabre called them "plum"). Now they are black. They are not the same as the Sabres by Penn, which are boat rods, in the West Coast tuna boat style. Pacific Bay now owns Sabre, I think they licensed Penn to use the name on their rods. Sabre blanks used to be built for Pac Bay by Cascade Graphite. Who makes them now is a good question. The newer blanks have lighter tips and faster tapers than the IGSC Sabre models of just a couple of years ago, and are not as good in my opinion. The most popular blank in these parts is the IGSC 1088, a 9' rod rated for 1 to 6 ounces. Figure 1 to 3 oz lures as the true rating for this stick. They make a lighter "7" blank in 9' and 10', as well as a stiffer "9".