A while back some of you ordered FT 902 blanks from Dan Craft.

Have you turned these blanks into fly rods by now and if you have how did they turn out - from a fishing/casting point of view of course ?

Peter

I built one up and absolutely love it. I like it with 2wt, 3wt, and 4wt line best but I tried it with 6wt just for fun and it still didn't seem like I was working it! Incredible, LIGHTWEIGHT blank that makes beautiful tip casts with 2 & 3 wt line in particular. It has tremendous reserve power in the lower (butt) half for fighting large fish (I took mine out to the Bow and tested it on 4 and 5 lb-ers in strong current!) though if that's your specific target I'd lean toward the 904-4 instead. It's got a ridiculously fast AA--something around 79 if I remember right.

Anyway, hope that helps a little! ;) We've got them in stock in both our Calgary (Canada) and Virginia (US) distribution centers if you're thinking of picking one up!

All the best,

Thanks John,
chalkstream troutfishing only - I was hoping I could use it with lines # 3-5 for everything from tiny dries to streamers so I wouldnt have to bring more than one rod. I dont like leaving tackle in my car and I have a long drive to the stream and dont know what to use before I get there. From your describtion this rod seems to be what I need for my non-glare trout rod.

I'll remember you ;-)

Peter

Peter--

You might look at the 803-5 III series; it'll handle 2-3-4 weight lines and definitely roll-casts better than the FT's I've cast.

I don't have any experience with the 2, but have fished the 4 weight FT. It's a better distance rod than a tiny dry fly rod. I would assume based on that that the 2 weight FT would be great on larger rivers, lakes, etc, but not so good in tight quarters streamer fishing or #26 midge dropping...

i have a dc III 8' 2wt and in my opinion it is a very good roll caster indeed. such a nice small stream rod. i also have the 6'10 1 wt but have not had the chance to fish it yet. i may just have to build the 803-5 III.

at a friends insistance i am buiding him an FT 904-4. have not finished wrapping the tip section but this thing feels like a broomstick with a little four wt fly rod on the end. i hope it casts as good as everyone says. it feels real unconventional.

Though I only own one FT, I think Larry Pirrone's comment about them being unconventional is pretty accurate. I have test cast my 8'6" 3wt with up to a DT 5wt line, and have fished it with 3wt and 4wt DT lines. I built the rod with casting a four weight in mind, and it fishes a four weight nicely. In a response to another question I pointed out that yesterday I accidentally mounted a reel with a three weight line and after fishing for an hour in 15-25 mph winds realized that I was punching casts in swirling winds just fine. Too far from my car at the time, I fished the three weight without problems. Fighting nice sized wild trout was also no problem.

Since I will be replacing a five weight rod I'm having difficulty with, I plan to build either the 904-4 or 905-5 for larger water in the east and in the west - to be cast with a DT five weight.

Thanks, Peter! Take Scott Kinney's advice to heart as well--I was simply answering your direct question without expanding on some of the reasons you might want to look at other DC blanks. The Sig III is actually my personal favorite series of the lot. I think they're fabulous FISHING rods that, while fishin, you just can't wipe the smile off your face! The FT can make very nice (and ACCURATE) presesntations in close with a precise tip cast, but the Sig III is much more a presentation stick and as Scott points out is also capable of handling a decent range of line weight in grains. Note that the Sig III is lighter in hand but does not have the tremendous reserve power the FT has (not to say it doesn't have plenty, but good grief the FT could double as a lever to get your 4X4 out of the mud in the lower sections!) ;)

Whichever you decide is the right fit for you, I'm confident you will enjoy it tremendously.

Warmly,

hi john. now it is time for me to eat crow in public. some time ago you and i did some business. your operation was experiencing some growing pains. there was a glitch involving a handle and after several emails to you that went unanswered i sent you a final scathing email and said some not nice things. i apologize. come to find out your email service provider was not sending you your emails (heck, maybe you did not get my last one and this is moot). have visited your website and it is very professional. my observation is that your business is being run in a professional and customer oriented maner. you seem like a great guy. hope we can do business in the future.

larry

Hi Larry! Just happened to browse back to this thread! THANK YOU. We went through...well, stuff we wouldn't wish on ANY business while we were trying to get ramped up last year. Between our ISP and our telephone company (which has since been ordered by the courts to recompense us) we just about had to throw in the cards! I never would have believed it if it hadn't happened to myself. Anyway, we scaled back, invested heavily in stocking both our Canadian and new Virginia distribution centers, got the site/e-store up and finally are in business and taking care of our customers the way we were always committed to.

We would be DELIGHTED to do business with you again whenever a future project requires a blank or components we could help you with. In fact, I'm down-right looking forward to the opportunity to redeem ourselves! :)

Anyway, again, thanks a ton. We really are excited--and grateful--to be part of the rodbuilding community at large and to be able to partner with our fellow builders in providing such great blanks and components...and hopefully what will prove to be first-rate service as well.

With gratitude,

Thank to all of you -
due to vegetation I need the rod to be 9 feet long - but I have looked at the Sig III also - either 903-5 or 904-5 because I was afraid the FT might be too stiff - I prefer a through action - not a stiff but soft tip kind of rod.

I believe I'll mostly be using a 4 wt Scientific Anglers GPX WF and a Cortland DT 4 F Sylk line on this rod and I guess it should be the 904-5 then.

I wasnt aware the Sig III blanks were so popular - I did a search and not much came up - but they sound sweet and I guess I'll give it a try.

Thanks again
Peter