I have a 9ft 5wt Dan Craft FT that I am having a few issues with as far as the guide spacings go and was wondering if anyone has built this particular rod(if not then the 9ft 4wt or 9ft 6wt would be similar if anyone has built on those)?

If so,would you be able to share the guide spacing you used on these super fast,stiff butt section rods?

I always use a guide spacing chart like St Croix,Sage,or a older Dan Craft spacing chart I got from him a couple of years ago(before the FT) for rough placements,and then do static tests to get things just right,but I just can't seem to get a good spacing on this particular blank with 10 guides.I think it has a bit to do with my ideal stripper guide location.

I am 5ft8,with short arms and have found that on some 9ft rods,if I put the stripper guide in the best location for me,it throws off the rest of the guide spacings so much that the only way I can get a good profile in the top 1/2 of the rod is to either add an extra guide(11 guides instead of 10) ,or space the guides in the stiff,butt section further apart than normal.I'm not sure how far would be considered too far in this situation though?

Most of the guide spacing charts I've tried and most of the factory rods I've cast end up having the stripper guide 6" or more above my average reach(when reaching up the rod to grab the flyline),so I usually put my stripper guide on where it best suits me,then try to get the spacing to work.I often use an additional line tamer guide on heavier rods and this helps me with my spacings,but I am building a 5wt right now with 2 Fugi Gold Cermets and single foot Recoils and don't really want to use the tamer on this rod.

I've spaced this rod out,with the 2 double foot guides and 8 single foot Recoils(down to size 1) for 10 guides total.The spacing looks "OK",but not as good as I would like compared to other rods(and that is after spending A LOT of time on it,moving guides).The top 1/2 still does not flow as well as I would like.I am contemplating whether or not I should just wrap it up as is with 10 guides,or whether I should add an extra single foot Recoil guide to get the spacing to suit my stripper guide location just right.I hate adding extra weight to such a rod,but a single foot Recoil guide probably wouldn't weigh much.

Anyways,I'm not sure if I made much sense in the above or not,but I guess what I am wondering is whether or not it is better for someone with a shorter reach to add an extra guide to get the spacing to work with their ideal stripper guide location,or whether it would be better to put the stripper guide a bit further away and adjust the rest of the guides to make the spacing work as best as possible(it might not be spaced as well,but would be a hair lighter with one less guide)?Which would be the best compromise?

I have heard others say that how tall you are has nothing to do with stripper guide location,but I think it does.If I was to follow the suggestion of placing it an inch or two above the spot on the blank where I reached up to grab the flyline,then my stripper guide ends up being much further away from the tip of the rod than normal(normal being where on a 9ft rod most factory rods or guide spacing charts would put the stripper guide),and obviously the guide spacings would have to be spread out more to compensate.If I placed my stripper guide where most charts suggest,or similar to where most factory rods have them located,then they would be well beyond my reach while casting.

Tony,

For me the most important areas of the rod to get right are where it bends the most. In a FT this is going to be in the tip section so get that bit right first. Then I would put in my stripper guide where I wanted it and then simply look at the space left between those guides near to the tip and my stripper. I would lay out the guides by eye. Tape them on do a static test if you must and adjust from there. You should still be able to get away with 10 guides if it needs 11 so what, You are putting on very light guides. Keep the wraps dead short and high build to the minium and job done. You should have bigger spacing between guides on the lower sections of a very fast FT blank. Main thing is don't get paralysed by worry and indecision. Rods are not that fussy about where guides go it is us. Stay as close to excepted wisdom as you can be don't be a slave to it. Jig it around. It will work out fine. You only have to please yourself.

Cheers

Mike Oliver

I'm with Mike, Bob Meiser built a few of the 10 ft FT as switch rods and used only 8 guides. These are very forgiving blanks.

Tony,

Here is the spacing I used on my FT 9' 4pc 5wt. 4-1/8, 9- 1/8, 14-3/4, 20-3/4, 26-1/4(ferrule), 36-1/8, 45-1/2, 53-1/4(ferrule, 66, 80(ferrule0, none on butt section.
Started out with a guide at each ferrule and then static test and test casting. Performs great. Fished it a lot last summer and it brought a lot of nice rainbow and browns to hand.

Hope this helps.

Bob Crook
Central Oregon






Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/03/2006 03:28PM by Bob Crook.

I've built on four of the FT blanks, but none was the 5 weight. Nevertheless, I am confident it is similar to the other blanks in the series. I worked out a spacing on the first blank that has been very close to the final spacing on the other three. Measuring from the tip: 4.125; 9; 14.375; 20.375;27.125; 34.75; 43.625; 53.875; 65.5; 77.5. I am 6'1" tall.

I also like to place guides on the ferrules when possible. In the FT blanks the third section ferrule is too close for my reach. There isn't a great deal of flex in the lower two sections, nd I think you could go beyond normal spacing. You might consider using taller guides like the Fuji TSVSG for the stripper and second guide to get some extra distance from the blank.

Thanks for the help guys.

I spent a little more time on it and got it looking pretty darn good with 10 guides,though the stripper guide isn't quite as close to the butt as I would like given my reach.

My end spacing from the tip was,

4 1/4 , 9 1/8 , 14 3/4 , 20 5/8 , 26 3/4 , 34 3/8 , 43 1/2 , 54 , 65 3/4 , 79 3/8