Real World Tests: Back to the matter at hand. When all was said and done, my minimal build on the ETEC73ML-SS came to three point seven ounces (3.7oz). That means roughly two ounces of components, thread, and epoxy. I'm not quite experienced enough to know if that's good or bad, but once the epoxy dried and I had a chance to whip the rod around in the garage, I liked the feel of it. Of course, in the garage is one thing. I needed to take this new build out on the water to see what it could do. For those duties, I matched it up with Abu Garcia's brand new Zenon MG-LTX spooled with some Varivas Nagoles Dead or Alive Ultra Power Finesse X8 and a leader of 6lb Sunline Marboroshi FC.

Paired with the brand new Abu Garcia Zenon MG-LTX spooled with Varivas Nagoles Dead or Alive Ultra Power Finesse x8

Casting: In the polar opposite bass fishing world of big baits, the question with each new casting rod is how high can you go in lure weight before the stick feels overburdened. In the world of bait finesse, the question is how low can you go? But unlike the world of big baits, when fishing finesse applications on casting gear, your choice in reel can greatly affect results. Why? Because not only does the rod's tip have be limber enough to handle light baits, your casting reel's spool has to have a low enough threshold to start spinning in order to present these lighter lures.

Among the baits I used to test the ETES72ML are these micro-spinnerbaits by Lucky Craft - Area's Feather Tuned in 1/8oz size (3.9 grams actual weight)

Depending on what bait you're trying to present, that pairing between rod and reel is critical. Fortunately, when we're talking bass fishing, the sizes and weights do not get too outrageous - at least not for me. The smallest usable lure weight for me is usually no less than an eighth of an ounce total lure weight. For this ETES72ML wrap, that equated to a couple of lures, Lucky Craft's Area's Feather Tuned Micro spinnerbait and a tiny, Bagley Baits squarebill. This new combo handled these baits quite well. The blank's tip loads really nicely and releases that built up energy in predictable fashion.

This tiny, Bagley Baits squarebill weighs 5.8grams (~0.205oz)

Sensitivity: Sensitivity is not usually an issue with light powered rods/blanks, but just the same, I can sense the materials in this blank are top notch. The ETES72ML's feel is very good. While lacking that hyper sensitivity some high end blanks can deliver, the ETES72ML gives you an excellent sense of what's going on at the end of the line. Bite detection was not an issue for me while fishing this build but more so I like that I could feel what my lure was doing.

Fig 1 : The chart above illustrates the deflection characteristics of our Rainshadow ETES72ML build against the historical averages of similarly powered rods we've tested over the past twenty years

Power: Specified as "medium light" in power, the ETES72ML blank falls right in line with our 20 year average deflection curve of rods we consider ideal in finesse applications for bass. More than that, I really like the blank's tip and how smoothly it loads under the load of a fish. It lines up well for the way I like to drop shot which involves simply lifting the tip when I detect a bite rather than snapping my wrist for a hookset. Once a fish is at the end of the line, as with any finesse tuned rod, it's a matter of playing that fish to the boat and the ETES72ML is great fun in that regard.

The ETES72ML has a really nice tip

Design & Ergonomics: In my limited experience building rods, I found the ETES72ML very easy to build on. The blank's weight and balance out of the shipping tube is typical of what you'd expect. That might sound strange when talking about a blank, but I have experienced one blank that was excessively heavy and unpleasant to build out - simply not what I was expecting when I placed the order. The ETES72ML had none of those difficulties, and, as mentioned earlier, I really like Rainshadow's sand swirl finish on the blank.

Forecast's EVA hood option for the reel seat is a nice touch

This very familiar reel seat design comes in several sizes intended to match the diameter of the blank where you intend to install for a true, exposed blank situation

If presentation is of concern, I prefer a winding check of some sort to soften that transition between the grip material and blank. I did not use any checks in this build because I wanted to save weight

I also like the look of a trim ring between that EVA butt and the carbon grip at the end of the rod, but again chose to exclude that from this build to save weight

Price & Applications: MSRP on Rainshadow's ETES72ML blank is $190. The cost of the build, with parts as shown in this article, is detailed in the table below and comes to about $325. Keep in mind that total reflects the cost of parts only and not the time and labor to assemble nor the cost of thread and epoxy to finish the wrap. There are a lot of intangibles involved with building a rod that are difficult to factor into total cost.

Conclusion: As with any hobby, but especially one that is a creative undertaking, I find the more I immerse myself, the more options and variables I uncover. Batson Enterprises, through its subsidiaries, offers a wide range of blank and component options to suit a variety of angling endeavors. The ETES72ML was my introduction to their Eternity blanks, and it was a very nice introduction.

The ETES72ML was my introduction to Batson's Rainshadow Eternity blanks, and it was a very positive one

The way I see it, a blank doesn't know if it's being wrapped as a casting or spinning stick. There may be some fine intricacies that make a blank more suited for one configuration over the other - namely the way in which that tip behaves. In the case of a casting rod for finesse duties, this is why there are specialty reels to support this technique. Not every casting reel can take the energy from that delicate tip and present an 1/8th ounce or even lighter lure. That's why BFS stands for bait finesse SYSTEM. Reel manufacturers are now responding to the demand. It's only a matter of time before the rods catch up. In the meantime, with available blanks like the ETES72ML, if you're into wrapping or have a favorite custom builder you can lean on, the opportunity is there to get ahead in the game.