I have been told that the dancraft is as good a blank as a Sage. Is this true?

Of course not! How can it be if It only costs half as much! Just kidding. They are better, IMO.

Limited experience with Sages. More with Dan's blanks.

Simply...Dan's blanks are terrific.

The 8'4 4 wt Sig V. is the best rod I've ever touched. Others calim that honor goes to the 8'9 Sig. V 4 wt.

The heavier weight Sig V. are incredible light....Amazing.

Everybody seems to have fallen head over heels in love with the FT blanks...

They are off the chart good. And Dan is a terrific guy to deal with.

Give them a try....Prepare to fall in love.

Keith

Mike, I've built and fished a number of Dan Craft blanks. They are an excellent value for the money. My favorite is a Sig V 10 wgt I use for Coho's. And I fish it every season, often.
I don't believe cost necessarily equals a better performing rod. But the question is, "what comparisons are you making to compare Sage Vs Dan Crafts?" The most significant difference between a Sage and a Dan Craft blank, is cost. Dan's blanks are cheaper, hands down. If you compare retail costs, then Dan Craft offers a better value for your money. I would go so far as to say that you would not be disappointed if you chose a blank from Dan.
Have you fished a Sage previously? They both certainly have their following, and both provide high quality blanks and finished rods.
Beyond that, I think the only true measure of performance is to build similar rods of equal weight, equal IM or modulus, and fish them to see which one you like. Without an actual comparison at your favorite fishing hole, stream, or lake, it would be impossible for anyone to be able to tell you which is the better performer. It would be like someone looking to buy a car based on someone trying to explain the road-handling differences of a Corvette and a Porsche to someone who never drove either.

Patrick Vernacchio



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/18/2005 12:56PM by Patrick Vernacchio.

Patrick makes a valid point. But I hasten to add that many of us believe the D.C. outperforms the Sage, and at half the price. I hope that the Sage camp doesn't get wise to Dan's product or the price of his blanks may go up. And Dan, where are those T-shirts for our "One Weight" club [the 6' 10" Sig III]?

In my opinion Dan's blanks are much better than any of the high priced name brands. The best way to find out is to build one and you will become a fan along with a lot of us who have built and fished them.

Don.... What about those of us who have Sig III 2 wt's ? Can we get on the T-shirt list or do we have to build a 1 wt ?

Bob

Bob. You have to build the 1 weight! But I now have a 2 on order, so I may change my mind. A lot of guys love that 2 weight as well. Would complicate our choice of slogans though.

Bob & Don, What are you fishing for with the 1 & 2 wgts ?




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/18/2005 01:34PM by Patrick Vernacchio.

Enough said, I am buying a Dancraft blank next week. I have been using an Orvis TLS rod lately but I need an excuse to build another rod. It looks like a major upgrade is as good an excuse as I can come up with. I never knew that rod building could be so additive. How many rods is too much? Where does it stop????

Thanks to everyone for their input I will surely be asking more questions in the future.

Patrick....great analogy!

Bows and Cutts to 12" on my 6'10" 1wt

....I can hardly wait!
RB

for the 2wt club...

"No one can fish just 1(wt)!"

Patrick. I e-mailed you the answer to your question. I agree with Robert, 12 to 14 inch fish, no matter what the species, are perfect for these little rods. I now have several 0 and 1 weight rods from Dan's blanks. I got tired of building other brands and finding that my advertised 1/2 weight blank was really a 3/4. Who needs a 5 foot 4 weight? The Sage TXLs are an exception to this rule.

I currently use a factory Orvis TLS that I haven’t liked since I bought it, (couldn’t cast prior to buying and it was a sale item so no refunds). So according to your analogy I guess I am still driving a Buick… I can’t wait to list it on @#$%&. Most of my other rods are Loomis.

I built on one of the 1 wt blanks - My goodness, what a sweet rod.
i used it on some monster 7 to 11 inch brookies - a great experience - it is a keeper

I'm wating for an FT 8wt. All this talk has me even more excited that I was before. I should get my stuff next week :) Dan has been great to deal with and I'm sure that this will not be my last rod to build on one of his blanks (I'm already eyeing a 10' blank for a switch rod).

This rod building thing has me hooked bad!

Peter

With the 2wt, bows & cutts in the 10 to 14 inch range the largest was a 17 " brown, a real blast.

Guess I will have to build a 1 wt so I can join the club.

Peter.... I have built 2 FT's, a 10 ft 10 wt & a 9 ft 5 wt both great rods, just starting an FT 10 ft 3 wt. I am sure you will like the 8 wt.

Bob

Since I can't try a Dan Craft rod, I'd appreciate some kind of comparison in order to have some idea of what his blanks are like. For example, to what rods might one compare the Sig V 8' and 8'9" 4 wts? Are they very fast, like a Sage XP, or are they more like an STL or a TXL. My preference is for medium to medium-fast action rods (Sage SP, Loomis IMX, etc.); do any of Dan Craft's blanks have actions like this?

I don't know if it was the fingers or the brain missing a beat, but I meant the 8'4" Sig V.

Alex, take a look at the CCS Data Site, using the link to the left. The Sig V blanks and rods listed there all fall in the general range you like, medium to medium-fast, mostly in the latter category. My Sig V 8'9" 4 weight CC's at 5.5, with an AA of 62. The Sig V 10' 7 weight I am building measures 9'9" assembled, and CC's at 8.5 with an AA of 66.

The 8'4 Sig V is actually listed by Dan as a 3/4 wt. But it is a perfect 4 wt.....I think Dan agees with the idea that at normal range the 4 wt line is just right for it.

It cc's at about 4.5 or 4.6...."perfect" 4 wt territory. AA of 62.

I think it is fast...AND very responsive at fishing distances. It handles 15 feet of line with ease....and I can stretch it out to about 70 ft (which is good for me....whoever fishes a 4 wt at this distance). It is light...thinks for you....puts the line where you point it....looks great.....feels great.....Just wonderful.

I also have the 9'9 (10 ft) 7 wt....which I feel is perfect with an 8 wt line. This is an amazingly lite rod.....quite fast, too.

Keith

What flies are you casting with one and two weights?