Hi all, has anyone built or fished either the 9 or 10wt Dancraft Sig V 9ft 3pce models?

I'm probably going to Mexico in July and am thinking of adding to my saltwater arsenal. I already have a 9' 8wt FT which I use for bonefish.

Would these blanks be OK for saltwater fishing? And which would be the best option for me? I'm thinking the 9wt would be good for Permit and should handle the Tarpon down there as they're not as big as the Keys etc.

Any opinions?

Cheers guys

Daniel

Daniel,

I'm a relative fly fishing novice, so my perceptions on fly fishing rod performance versus spinning or casting rod performance, is lacking. But I'll do my best here.

It's light-weight; a great travel rod; and it's well-made. Some of the more-experienced fly fisher folk I work and fish with don't care for the external, older-style scrim construction, but it doesn't bother me. I haven't found this feature to be an issue.
The color is an unusual dark-tone, at least the rods I have are. The newer rods might be different.

I built a Sig V 10 wgt a few years back, and it is my go-to rod for much of my Coho (Silver Salmon) fishing. It is one of my favorite rods to fish with. I even have another spare Sig V sitting in the corner waiting for me to start on when I finish a few other projects. I think it is a great rod, but I've haven't landed anything heavier than 15 pound Coho on it, so I can't comment on how well it handles anything heavier. It does cast heavier flies pretty well with 8 wgt lines. I love the fast action it imparts. The downside is that it seems lighter in construction than other 10 wgts I have built and used (GLoomis FR series). I'm not implying low quality, but rather it seems more "delicate" than I typical 10 wgt.

I plan to fish the Sig V for Chinook (King Salmon) in the 25-25 pound range in moderate waters this year, so I'll have a better idea about its fish-fighting capability later in the season. I truly believe that the Sig V makes a great Coho rod; I'm just not sure how great a Chinook rod it is.

I have built on the Sig V 9 wt. I use it for great lakes salmon fishing in the fall in Great Lakes tribs. It is very lightweight but has lots of guts and has good lifting power. It nicely handles salmon in the 15-20 lb range. No problems there. I built it with a 3.5" butt extension for a lower grip/fighting butt as are seen on switch rods. The butt is a bit unconventional for a 9' rod but it allows two-handed deliveries when extra power is needed and also comes in handy when fighting fish. It has been my go to rod for the last two years. That being said I recently ordered the Sig V in 10 wt. I have not had a chance to build it yet. It has more power than what is need for Great Lakes salmon but I have been so pleased with the 9 wt I could not resist adding another Sig V series rod to my collection. I don't think you can go wrong with either the 9 or 10 wt Sig V.

Daniel,
Largest fish I've caught on the 10 wt was 33 lb salmon that took me into some pretty heavy current before he was done, the rod worked great. I have the spiral unsanded blank, I think it looks pretty cool. Have fished Alaska, Tillamook Bay drainages for chinooks and chums and the Elk River in Nov. with this rod.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/2007 08:05PM by Spencer Phipps.