I recently purchased a 10' 6wt fly rod made by Dan Craft on his FT series blank. I made the purchase for Great Lakes steelhead. First, the fit and finish is A-1. Fishing the rod is a pleaure. It worked wonderfully: easy to cast short and long distances; roll casting was no problem; though the rod has a strong butt (important for fighting steelies), the tip is sensitive enough to detect light steely strikes.

I have fished a Scott A2 - the A2 pales in comparison. I have also fished (but do not own) a Winston BIIx 7wt 10' for steelies - a $615 rod. While not a BIIx, the FT held its own as an EXCELLENT steelie rod. IMHO, it is hard to justify spending what would be almost 2.5x the cash (or more if you build your own) on a 7wt 10' BIIx. You'll get a bit more, but not 2.5x more. In no way am I knocking the BIIx 10' 7wt - many feel it is the best Great Lakes steelhead rod in existence. It might be. When I look at the cost/value, though, I am shocked at the FT blank. Dan has hit a home run.

The word must get out on these blanks. I am tempted to build a 9' 6wt for bass fishing!