For those interested, here are the numbers which will be added to the database:

FTL 803-5 2.67/62 (4pc. version 6'5" 2.38/57)

FTL 803-6 2.97/65 (5pc. version 6'8" 2.97/63) (4pc. version 5'5" 2.97/62)

FTL 904-6 4.16/65 (5pc. version 7'6" 4.01/63) (4pc. version 6' 4.01/58)

FTL 905-6 5.05/66 (5pc. version 7'6" 4.90/65) (4pc. version 6' 4.90/62)

Blanks are nice and straight and feel very light with very similar (possibly identical) color to FTs. My test samples did not come with decals or anything printed on the blank. Dan can comment on whether he has plans for decals or printed inscription. 17" sections on 803-6, 20" sections on 803-5, and 19" sections on 9' 6pc. models. Typical Five Rivers great ferrule fit. These 4 blanks definitely add to the Five Rivers diversity and light liners and small water fishermen should be excited, especially since virtually every model has at least one viable dropped-butt alternative. By the way, I do that routinely knowing and accepting that I am tossing the warranty out the window. If you aren't comfortable with doing that, you should contact Dan before you do it. You might say I am a member of the society of recklessly curious rodbuilders.

Steve

Steve,
OK, I'm stupid and you can probably tell that I am not a fly rod builder. What do you mean by a "dropped-butt alternative"?

Emory, you sure as heck aren't stupid. I mean a rod where you discard the butt section and build on the shorter version. When you have rods with this many pieces, it opens up these possibilities.

Steve- I'm surprised that when you drop the butt, the power remains so similar despite the fact that the AA always decreases. I would think that with the shorter length and a lower AA, it would take a bit more weight to get to 1/3 deflection (even with a shorter total deflection needed).

Do all blanks (that you've measured) act like this? The implication would be that you can slow down any blank a bit by just chopping the butt- without affecting rod power. Seems to good (and easy) to be true.

Steve,
Ahhh, now I understand. Thanks for enlightening me.

Mike, most blanks do not respond this way when you drop sections. Most lose power as you suggest. Some of the 10' FTs models and these FTLs don't, but the vast majority of blanks respond just as you think they would. When I first tested the 10' FTs a couple years ago, I was surprised by the numbers but that's what they are.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/28/2006 11:24AM by Steve Kartalia.

I am a little vague on what your numbers mean.

Are you saying that even if you drop one section of the 9', 4 weight, 6 piece blank (down to 5 pieces), it will still effectively cast a 4 weight line? I would not have to overline the blank? I am looking to a true 4 weight.

Al

Al, if you drop the butt section of this particular 904-6, you end up with a rod that is 7'6" long, 5 sections, and has an ERN of 4.01 and an AA of 63. If you compare that to other rods in the CCS database, you can see how 4.01 stacks up in power against other rods, including other "4 weights". To my way of thinking, that's a nice amount of power to have for fishing with a 4wt. line. But considering that others like 6.5 and still others like 2.5, I am not prepared to call any rod a "true 4 weight". It just depends what you like and how you fish. Best advice I can give is look in the CCS database for rods you are familiar with, or better yet, test your own rods and you will know how these and every other rod compare.

Thanks, I went to the Database and learned quite a bit. Good idea to compare to other rods I am familiar with.

Any idea what Dan wants for the 9', 4wt, 6 piece FTL blank? His website is under construction.

AL

I'm not sure of his prices. I think his FTs last year were running around $80 but I don't know if these FTLs will be priced the same. Glad the database helped, it's helped me many times too.

Great info, Steve!

Just looking at the numbers it looks like the 803-5 breaks down to a "perfect" (number-wise)
6'5 2 wt (or 3)for small stream stuff.

Keith