Hallo,
I tired to interprate the CCS Data from the site on the left.
For example the following blank:
Dan Craft FT 906-4, 6, 9, 4, 9.38, 77 (New 2004 Model)
So who can help me to interprate ERN.

Thanks for helping me

Pascal

Pascal,

the firts number 6 stands for the line rating by the manufacturer (according to him the rod is a 6 line weight), the second number is the length (ft) this is a 9', 4 is the number of pieces. All those information belongs to the manufacturer and you can find them again in the rod reference FT 906-4.

Then you have the "9.38" which is the ERN, that is to say the "real line rating" according to the Common Cents System, the line weight is thus 9.
The last figure expressed in degree stands for the action of the rod, 77 degree means that this is a fast action rod.

Pascal have you read and understood first the Common Cents System before trying to interprate the figures in the data base? Once again do not hesitate to ask me if you need any help.

Frantz

No, the ERN is not the "real" line rating. The ERN is a relative power rating. The higher the number the greater the power. Yes, you can take a line number reading from it, but "9.38" could indicate a #6 line as easily as a #10 line. This depends on the amount of line expected to be aerialized.

The AA is action expressed in degrees. The higher the number the faster the action.

Go to www.common-cents.info and read the first part of the article series and I think this will all make sense to you.

.........




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/06/2006 08:37AM by Tom Kirkman.

Hallo,
The FT is a fast Taper, so it's performed for large distance, that means a big amount of line to be aerialized.
But if i read the ERN correctly, if i just cast with 30ft. line aerialized the line shall have around 9-weight or about 235grains.
Is it correct or totally wrong?

Pascal

That may be correct and is certainly a great place to start. It will depend somewhat on your casting skll and style. Also, because it is a very fast action rod, there is a greater range of weight that it can comfortably cast. The DBI (Defined Bending Index) comprised of the ERN/AA, is a more total picture of what a rod can do.

You may find that for you and your fishing and casting requirements, you may use ERN = ELN+1 or -1. Or you may fall right on the ERN = ELN equation.

At some point as you become more accustomed to the ERN of the rods you already own and have a good feel for what works best for you on those, you'll be better able to determine how to use the ERN to select the lines that work best for you. Unlike the manufacturer ratings where one company's 5-weight rod may be more powerful than another company's 6-weight rod, you'll find the ERN scale to be truly relative. A higher ERN always indicates a more powerful rod. And two rods with the same ERN will have the same relative amount of power.

............

I am sorry Tom,
your definition of the ERN sounds much better than mine.....

Frantz

Frantz, I was like you and thought the ERN was indicative of the optimum line weight to use if you had around 30 feet of line in the air. Apparently not. As Tom says, I guess the best way to use the data is to test some of the rods you already have and then go to Dr. H's web site and see if a blank you are considering buying is listed and then see if the numbers match up.

Dave

Yes. Once you test some rods, you will know what the numbers mean to YOU - and that is what you need to find out. Different people prefer different things. Some people like to use ERN of 3.5 to cast a 5wt. line 30ft (Orvis Superfine and Winston WT users, for example) and others like to use ERN of 5.5-6.0 to cast a 5wt. line 30 ft. (St. Croix Legend Ultra users for example). Still others prefer even more power for the same line and distance. No one formula can possibly factor in personal preference - that you have to determine for yourself. But, once you know what you like, you can easily select blanks with more or less power and faster or slower action. I think too many people are just reading and talking instead of actually testing and casting. If more people would do the very simple CCS testing and post their data, many of these misunderstandings would disappear.

Regarding the 9' FT series specifically, the AA and ERN really work together to create quite a unique fly rod. The actions are so fast that the tips really do load with the rated lines. However, in my opinion, they work best with the rated lines for those who have a short, quick, and well-timed casting stroke. They have so much power, coupled with the soft tips, that they allow quite a range of lines to be used. They also appear to have quite thick blank walls and I expect time to show that these are durable blanks as well.