Hi gang,

Finished building a 9ft 9wt Five Rivers FT from Dan a few weeks back, and have been busy puttin here through the ropes on New Hamsphire and southern Maine "stripah" (... feels funny, a transplanted southerner sayin it that way! but these new englanda's are startin to rub off on me!!! lol).

Anyhows, I'm absolutely crazy about this rod, and love it so much that I'm considering building another one, just a tad bit heavier for throwin big honkin grocery streamers 'round the rocks. Not that the 9 hasn't done a good job, would just like a lil' more thunder in the stick for punchin a hole through the 20-25+knot winds that seem to blow EVERY chance I get to sneak over to the coast!!! .... argggh,... wind.... lol

I think the 9ft 12wt is waaaaay more rod than I need, but I'm not sure if the 9ft 10wt is gonna give me any more tangible "bang" than the 9wt I already have... ???

Have noticed that plenty of guys advocate throwin 11wt lines on the 10wt FT, but I've found myself drifting back to throwin what Dan recommends his rods to be rated at...

Reckon the real crux of what I'm gettin at is, do any of you guys own and fish both a 909 and a 9010 FT? Do you notice enough difference between the two in terms of wind and fish fighting power to warrant owning both? Or is the difference minimal enough to be negligable?

Thanks for the help gang,

Nate

P.S. Thanks again for all the help with the blank Dan,... been workin hard to hook up on a cow and give her a real workout! ;)

Nate,
I have yet to have the pleasure of using one of Dan Craft's highly regarded blanks. I will, however, suggest you take advantage of the opportunity to pick up one of the discontinued Allstar Austin BAF 9010/11 blanks that Andy Dear (Lamar Reel Seats) has on special sale. These are legendary blanks and perfect for the Striper Surf. I just ordered one to replace the 8'6" version I have. The extra length is a definite plus. The added heft is exactly what the Doctor ordered for punching through the wind. Many will mourn the passing of this awesome line of blanks. The factory rod sold for approximately $340.00 and Andy is offering the blank for $85.00. I have a feeling you'll be thanking me if you go this route.
Dave

Nate,

I just fished my FT 9' 10wt for the first time on a Fly trip to the Coronados Islands (off San Diego). I really liked the rod, and it wooped an 8-10lb barracuda with ease. The only thing I noticed is that it seemed slightly underpowered with my depthfinder 400 that I was using that day. I have yet to cast it with a full WF line, but the tip does seem light enough to make it workable.

I plan to try the rod with a full 30 ft of T-14 (420 grains) and see if the extra wt makes a difference. Hopefully picking up a fat Delta Striper. I would bet that you could go as high as a 500 grain head (to push through big wind, and fast current) with ease.

Overall, I like the rod alot and think it would be hard to go wrong having another slightly heavier version.

Hope this helps.

Barret

Why not match the line to the rod, rather than start with the line weight? Take a shooting head at least one weight heavier than the rod is rated, attach a running line, and head for a field. Double haul until you feel the rod "fold," mark this spot, and cut the line about five feet shorter. Sew the head and running line together, whip finish the splice, pliobond the wrap and you have a line exactly matched to the casting characteristics of both you and your rod.