On the graphite page of the website I state "All graphite rods are available in any action (fast, moderate, or slow) that you want. The blanks used to make the rod will depend on what you want & to meet your fishing conditions & situations. As a result, colors of the rod blanks vary depending on the rod you choose. I scour every available source of USA made fly rod blanks to make your rod. No matter what rod action you want, these custom graphite rods load & unload the line very comfortably, making it easy to cast a line with better accuracy."
In other words, what happens when you contact me about making a rod for you is that I ask you how you'll be fishing the rod most of the time. From this we determine the action you need, the length, line weight, & how many pieces the rod should be. Most of the time folks have this pretty much figured out when they contact me & know exactly what they want. Others aren't sure of specifics, they just know they want a rod to meet their needs. Either way is absolutely fine & I'm happy to work with you as much as needed.
After we've established what the rod will be I pour through tons of possible USA-made rod blanks that are available on the market, looking for the best quality of blank within the price range of your desired rod. If you have a preference for the rod shaft color, I keep that in mind, too. Some folks do, some folks don't. In order to meet your needs I look at, literally, hundreds of rod blanks.
Of course there are many anglers who want me to make their rod on a specific manufacturer's blank. These are folks who love the action & feel of a particular rod but want something different done with it......"this Winston rod would be perfect if only it had a different reel seat or agate stripping guide or my name written on it or...."
As I state on the graphite webpage: "I can build a rod on any manufacturer's rod blank you want. This is an option for folks who have a loyalty to a particular brand or are on a tight budget, yet want a personalized, custom rod. Thomas & Thomas, Winston, Sage, St. Croix, etc, if it's available on the market then I can make your rod using any particular blank."
So when someone asks what color my standard rods are, that's why I say that it depends. Some are black, green, blue, burgundy, natural graphite color (gray), etc. I spend all this time searching for just the right rod blank for you in order to provide you with the highest level of service possible. I believe that that is something you're just not going to get from a large rod company, only from a custom rod maker.