Anyone build on these blanks? Any truth to their claims?

What are the claims??

Beautifully finished, Thin walled, Walls are same thickness throughout - very little spine "jump", if any at all.
Nice actions but most designed for light work. I had a saltwater #8 and (, PA series.
Herb

I built a 9 wt. 2-piece Gatti five or six years ago. It was the most powerful, longest casting fly rod I have used. It was also quite fragile . . .

What did you use your gatti's for Herb, what happened to them?

How fragile Phil? Any comparable blanks you can think of?

Thanks,
Ken

Ken:

"How fragile" is a tough question. My Gatti shattered when a redfish 50' or more distant made a run; no high sticking here, but I had been casting clousers in the wind and may well have "ticked" the blank. Still, I have to believe the power, light weight, and thin walls come at a price.

Comparing the "feel" of blanks is highly subjective: I think a lot of the perceived "feel" is generated by the caster's unique stroke. To me, the Gatti felt lighter and quicker than an IMX or an SCV. Gattis are made in Italy. Service and repairs can be problematic, but I suspect you would be pleasantly surprised if you built one and casted it.

I just built an 7'6 3 peice 4wt G5 this month. It was very straight and I could not detect a spine but this is only the 5th rod I have built so someone else might of.
I used single foot recoils and it is one light rod. I have fished with it several times now and I like it. When I just held the blank in my hand I thought it was going to be to fast for me and I like a fast rod, but after the build and with some Rio grand 4wt line it is a very sweet rod that can cast well up close or at a distance.

I am sure all the blanks in the range of lenghts a wieghts are different but for a small stream rod it is nice and makes small fish feel big.

Bob

You might google, (Gatti USA) and get some more info. I believe they are US dealers.

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

For the price, I would want it to cook me breakfast.

Bill - willierods.com

All gatti blanks can't be lumped into one. There are several series. the G series are the lower end. The FRHP II is the high end super light weight premiums. I have a 8'6" 4 wt in the original FRHP version which is supposed to be the fragile one that they improved on with the second series. I've hit overhead branches while casting, caught the tip on branches walking through the woods, landed 20" fish, had it fall offf the back of my truck on the road, and just about every other abuse except closing the car door on it. I'm amazed it hasn't broken in 5 years. It is a very fast action but not too fast a taper. Weighs almost nothing. deadly accurate near and far. just goes where I cast it. I wasn't crazy about it casting it on the lawn, but when I fish with it, all I think about is the fish, I don't have to think about casting. Brian, the owner of Gatti USA is a good guy and a custom rod builder. He can answer Gatti questions about blanks, rods, or warranty services.

Ken,
For some reason my post got abbriavated.
I had a 3pc #8 and #9 PA line of rods (Progressive Action). I used them for redfish, snook in FL and stripers up North.
The #8 was my favorite - faster than the #9. The #9 was a little too willowy for me. They were factory rods and did not care for the shape of the grip - cheap looking.
The #8 was a great clouser rod. The #9 flexed too deep - almost to the grip - for my taste.

I moved on to other brands and my own builds so I sold them. And, the people who bought them are very happy. I would build on a Gatti blank if I could wiggle it first. But only the PA line.
I spoke to Sandro Gatti many times and he is quite honest about the limitations of his rods/blanks. "They are not designed to lift (sounding) fish from deep water". If you you use the rod in shallow water and do not high-stick you will be fine.

BTW Ken - your email is hidden if one wanted to send you a message.
Regards,
Herb

I can appreciate why a progressive action 9 wt. rod might be found lacking, since a common duty of 9 wt. rods is to make long casts into the wind with large flys. For me, tip action rods are better suited to this task than progressive action rods. My late, lamented 9 wt. Gatti was built on a 909TA (tip action) blank, and I certainly had no issues with it being too willowy.
Mudhole, where I bought my Gatti blank, currently has a 20% off sale on Gatti blanks, but even at that they are quite pricey. Still, I believe Gatti TA blanks compare very favorably with the best salt-water fly rod blanks on the market.

Read this post on that pricey blank - [rodbuilding.org]

Bill - willierods.com

Thanks guys for your impressions...I ordered a 7wt FR3PA from Mudhole at the 20% discount, and I got it today...it is very straight, straighter than any other blank I've built on...the tip has a spline, but it does not have a "dominant" spline for lack of a better word...there are two directions it will jump to, but it doesn't favor one side to the other...the middle section doesn't appear to have a spline...nor does the butt section...the walls do seem to be very uniform...and it is easily as light as a 5wt from another maker...they leave the area of the butt section where the reel seat goes unsanded, which is kind of nice...

I'll let you know how it feels once it's all put together...

BTW Bill, there was no mention of Gatti blanks in the link you gave...

If you look in the archives of Fly Anglers Online you'll see all kinds of product tests from Sage, Dan Craft, Gatti, and many other companies. The rodbuilding articles are worth looking at also.
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