Im interested in the Dan Craft Rods. What Im hearing from this forum is that the ft series is heavier and has a slower action than the series 3 and 5. The 3 and 5 series are faster actions but the 3 is heavier in weight? Am I correct? What are the actions of these rods and the pro's and con's of each series. This probably could be solved by the CCS info. but due to my own stupidddddiity I haven't read up un the subject yet.

BTW if someone wants to give me a quick lesson on the meaning of 6.04/ 74 in the CCS it would be much appreciated.

Hi Bill! Some of this stuff is fairly subjective, and then thanks to postal scales and the CCS most of it's not! :) In any event, I'm afraid with all the confusing comparisons you may have gotten the end results a little mixed up.

In terms of lightness of blank (actual weight) here are Dan's blanks IN ORDER FROM LIGHTEST:
Sig V (lightest)
Sig III (also very light but not QUITE equal to the Sig V)
FT (heaviest of Dan's lineup, but also the must robust/tough...and certainly not a "heavy blank"--just tough to compare to the feather weight Sig's!)

In terms of action, here are Dan's blanks IN ORDER FROM FASTEST ACTION (where the rod bends):
FT (distinctly tip action with AA's of 76-82)
Sig III (also mainly tip action with AA's of low 70's, but much more of a "full", smooth presentation feel)
Sig V (more of a moderate-fast with AA's in mid 60's, but far and away the "crispest" i.e. fastest recovery).

The meaning of 6.04/74 in CCS is that the blank would have an ERN (Effective Rod Number) of 6.04, making it a solid 5wt or light 6wt by the 30ft of rated line standard. More specifically, it would load with ca. 145grains. The 74 is the actual angle (measured with a protactor) of the TIP end of the rod when the rod is deflected 1/3 of its length. The amount of weight required to deflect the rod this much is what determines the ERN, the angle the tip is at while deflected is what tells you its action in quantifiable terms. I don't have the article in front of me but GENERALLY speaking anything with an AA in the 50's is SLOW (i.e. flexes well into the butt section under casting load), low-60's is Moderate/Medium (i.e. flexes to about the top half the blank), high-60's is Fast (i.e. top 1/3 flexes), 70+ is "ultra-fast" (i.e. distinctly tip action...flex is predominantly in top 1/4).

So, without even knowing which blank you referred to above, I know you're talking about a very fast-action 5wt.

Now for the more subjective stuff.

The Sig III is actually my favorite of Dan's series because it's just so stinking smooth and such a joy to cast and fish with. The blanks are nice and light, crisp but not stiff, and very responsive. I will say that PERSONALLY I like them more in 5wt and down than the heavier line weights, but heck I probably like any series in the lighter weights better! ;)

The Sig V is what "put Dan on the map" as it were as a builder of truly exceptional blanks. It's one of the lightest blanks on the market and also one of the fastest in terms of speed of recovery or damping speed, which means it throws wickedly tight loops and because of the high line speed it's capable of it can cast the line further than most of us are used to. It's also a wonderful fishing stick.

The FT is the latest addition to this awesome lineup, and is far and away the most powerful. The 9' models are incredibly tip-action and have more reserve power in the butt half than any blank I've ever encountered...hence the CC numbers that describe the 905-4 as a light 9wt! Honestly, the CC system cannot give the whole picture on this series in particular as they are designed to be more of a tip-action rod than the 1/3 rod-length formula allows for (IMHO). That being said, they'll cast the rated line beautifully at normal and extreme distances, and will also cast 1, 2, and even 3 line wts heavier with authority. The 10ft-ers are my favorites...very smooth, less distinct of a tip action, and incredible casting/fishing machines. You'll notice the CC numbers are a little less extreme as well.

Whew! Hope that helps more than confuses! :)

When you're ready to narrow it down for your project, drop us an email or call us on our toll free number (1-866-FLY-RODS) and we'd be delighted to help you get introduced to these blanks!

All the best,

6.04 is a relative power rating. 74 is the action in relative degrees. The higher the power number, the greater the power. The higher the Action Angle, the faster the action.

It would be hard to do in a message board post what required many pages in a full size magazine. But this should at least allow you to make a comparison.

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