Howdy - I'm looking at building/having buildt a 9ft 5 wt (2 or 4 piece) to replace a rod I just broke. I ' m looking for an all around setup for fishing medium and large streams and rivers in the golden triangle (ID, MT, WY) and am pusuing mainly trout. Action wise, Im looking at fast. Any suggestions on what you would build and why? If I was buying off the shelf I would probably by a Sage launch or Winston ascent, so I really would like to build someting a little nice in power and feel, but still does a decent job presenting dries. A color other than black would be nice, but not a requirement. Do I have to bump my price range up? My only other rod is Scott 7'6" SAS that was also built (the blank was closeout half off).I have heard good things about cabelas (don't know which on) and rainforest blanks. Any and all input is appreciated. Thanks



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/04/2006 07:45PM by Brian Davis.

Dan Craft Sig V. A very nice crisp blank. WIll out perform a lot of 6 weights.

Joe Luebeck
Butte, Montana

Rainshadow RF 905-4 would be in the same category as the blanks you discribed.

IMHO the Dan Craft SIG V or FT blanks are comparible to the best name brand blanks out there,even though they are a fraction of the price.I like them as much or more than my high end big name rods(Loomis IMX and GLX,Sage XP,SLT,and VPS to name a few that I have) and they are FAR better than the Launch or Accent..

Do a search in the archives and read what others have said about them.Sounds like they are exactly what you are looking for,though they are matte black/grey color(sometimes not a bad thing though as every thread color goes great with them).The finish on the SIG V's is actually really nice for a grey blank.

Brian,
Have a look at AmTac Matrix. Quite fast and crisp. Good looking blank too.
I recently built a #5 and I fell in love with this rod.

The Dan Craft Sig V and FT are in the $100 range. If you want a fast action and a versatile rod that casts well with a short length of line as well as longer line beyond the tip the FT series is outstanding at any price. The Sig V is a bit lighter but more one dimensional with a little slower action.

Stan Grace
Helena, MT
"Our best is none too good"

i've written this before, sorry. i have a sig V 3/4 wt 8'-4" rod i wrapped. i wrapped a 9' 5 wt FT rod for a buddy. the FT might be what you're looking for; many people love theirs but i prefer my Sig V. the FT's blank diameter is MUCH bigger and overal it feels heftier than my Sig V which is a dream to fish. fast recovery action. now i never actually fished that FT, so there might be a big difference in actual fishing qualities, but i prefer the Sig V. the new Sig V, in four piece, could be something to check into for your intended 5 wt. i imagine it would be difficult to find one of these rods to test cast, one of the bad aspects but consider the CCS system for chart-based evaluation. call dan craft and discuss what you need. he's very friendly and helpful on the phone. these blank srea listed at $100 or just a tad over if i recall.

eric
fresno, ca.

If you like fast rods, you'll like Dan Craft Sig V 9' 5 wt. but be prepared as to what you ask for, you will get a very fast rod with this series.

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. I did some more research and I like what I hear about the Dan Craft blanks. I sent him an extensive email list of questions, and he replied promptly to all of them (nice guy, good advice and even suggested a casting exercise for me to try). He suggested the Sig V for the diversity of situations here in Idaho. Will order in a couple of weeks, after wildfire season calms down.

I don't want to be argumentive but I often see folks describe the Dan Craft Sig V as fast action blanks. If one looks at the information provided in the CCS databank you will see that the Sig V "Action Angle" groups around 65 degrees. Not a real fast action as compared to the Dan Craft FT blanks that over all group at a plus 75 AA.
The Sig V's blanks make into nice light and crisp rods but are at best only medium fast in action given the available data.

Stan Grace
Helena, MT
"Our best is none too good"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/06/2006 01:07PM by Stan Grace.

i don't have any blanks which are traditionally known to be "fast" but i've cast one or two like that. i have some personal rods which are faster than the others for sure. i agree with stan, i don't really consider the Sig V a "fast action" blank, although i think it would be good to clarify, the Sig V i have has a "fast" recovery. i say this because i think some people may be put off when they hear "fast action." others look for that. in fact, many say ther Sig V casts great inclose, which is hardly what i consider the mark of a true fast action blank.

i think you'll really like that Sig V brian. if it's like my older 3 pc, it'll be very light in hand. let us know how it turns out for you.

eric
fresno, ca.

Stan and Eric thanks for your input. I can't say I was looking for a fast action rod, but the ability to cast in close is a plus for me. The rod I am trying to replace was a mod-fast, but truth be told I have only been fly fishing a short time and have not become biased towards a certain action yet. Would it be more correct to say the Sig V is a somewhere between a mod-fast to fast action with a fast recovery?

you'd need more experienced to fill you in on that description. i'd guess yes. personally, i find a bit of trouble fishing/casting in close (15/20 feet) with my older Sig V using a rio selective trout WF4F line. i much refer my new 8' 3wt FTL for those distances (and more). but others say it works for them. this is all subjective of course. "fast, "medium fast, "inclose," etc.

i hate to come off as a dan craft flack, but these are truly nice blanks.

eric
fresno, ca.

My experience is that the faster action rods cast short lines the easiest as the fast limber tip loads with a shorter and lighter amount of line than a medium action rod which loads properly using the amount of ine they were designed for.. Rod loading and feel are somewhat dependent on the individuals prefered casting stroke. I have a 9 ', 3# FT recently finisherd that will cast a three weight line very nicely as well as a 5# line with ease. Given the taper and power of the blank I wouldn't hesitate to use a 6# line on this rod in windy conditions. I have a three piece Sig V that is 8' 9" long and it casts a 5# line extremely well but isn't as veratile with other line weights using my casting style.

Stan Grace
Helena, MT
"Our best is none too good"

The Sig V's that I've built on in the past (3 piece) were definitely faster at recovery and flexed more towards the tip then say Batson's RX 7 line up or Pac Bay Rainforst series, rods that I consider as defining moderate fast. But hey, that's just me and the way I define Moderate fast vs. fast. I haven't found a lot of rods that are that fast other than a few from Sage and Winston. Now please understand, being faster or slower does not make a rod better or worse, only that it might favor one casting style or stroke speed more than another.

Brian,

One thing that is the MOST important that may not have been mentioned is the "TAPER" of your WF flyline. Fast action slow action, IMO has NO relevance at all. (I have taught fly casying for many years now.) Generally speaking, short cast's=shorts rod strokes as mentioned! Long casts=longer strokes/longer pause.

Reason why i say this is that shorter WF taper flylines load the rod sooner than a longer bellyed WF line. Now, I know that that a flyline is measured for weight in the first 30' from the tip. But, a "nymph" taper line will load the rod sooner than a "steelhead" taper will. And, if you are fishing in close, less than 40' or so, don't buy any manufacturers long belly fly line. You will hate it!

Stick to a bass bug taper or a Mastery GPX!

Paul

Brian,

Or a short bellyed WF will work better for your needs it sounds like. Distance tapers, steelhead tapers and even the ole' Ultra 3 have long belly in the 'weight forward section. Hope this works for you and I hope I explained it well enough for ya. The reason why the long bellyed lines do not load the rod is say you have 15-20 feet of line out of the tip of the rod and you are false casting. Well, the line still on your reel is thicker and heavier. The line out of the tip of your rod, does not have the weight to pull the remaining line out unless you double haul and sometimes have to false cast more just to get 40-50 feet of line out. The Mastery GPX is a good "all around" line and is quite durable as well.

I'll shut-up now.

paul

Amen, brother Paul :)

Thanks Rob...I just hate to see a guy buy a rod "for fishing in close", when all that is needed is a quick flyline change. I think SA has made the flyline "decision making process" somewhat confusing for people. I used to see people come into the shop and walk down the "long" flyline isle with the "dear in the headlight" glare..

Hope I helped out...

Paul

Paul - Thanks for the advice. So if I understand correctly, the Sig V is more of a mod-fast in that it does not perform as well at short distance. To compensate in situations that call for short casts I should use a narrow tapered WF. Does the reverse logic hold...if you have a short, light fast action rod (say 7'6" 4 wt) and you want to get more distance out of it you should use a wide bellyed WF? Short casts are not the #1 priority, I am mainly looking to build a 9' 5 wt "workhorse"...a sort of "if you only get to have one rod" rod.