Hi - If you have fished these blanks I'd like to hear your impression - particularly regarding comparison to commercially available finished rods.

Also if you've built them any comments regarding the quality and characteristics (flex, tip action, etc) of the blank would be appreciated.
I'm interested but would like to get some idea of how these blanks fish before buying one.

Thank you

Hi Ed,

If you are referring to the ones announced and released a few days ago. I don't think anyone will have a feedback that soon given the (~90 days) for deliveries.

I've fished two rods from another brand that happens to source their blanks from NFC. I am not entirely sure I can disclose the name but all I can say is, if these new blanks from NFC are the same then YES it's going to be a hot item!

If the core strength is sitting in the lower part of the rod and the tip is soft then you'll be in for a treat at a much lower price than any other blanks out there. The durability will certainly be what sets them apart and that will only be tested over time.

When I think about my Sage ESN 3wt, it is durable but it is a total pasta noodle. Fish will do whatever they want. Do I even have to say it's expensive?
My Cortland MK2 3wt is on the "dated" side but I find it better at handling fish than my sage ESN.
I chose to throw my money at a Maxia rod rather than a T7T contact2. My Maxia was a nice overall rod, but it broke. I will never buy from Maxia again, the lead time to get the blank (9 months) then it's expensive and their customer service is just awful.
Idealnymph from Diamondback, I only have a 10ft 1wt but it's definitely a nice rod, durable yet has been able to handle some decent size fish. Their customer service is really good, my only issue is the price of the blanks.
NFC FANY 1102 is stiffer than I expected at the lower section of the rod, the top section is fine, I would call it a 3wt more than a 2.
The other 2 rods I won't name are the most expensive rods I own and they served me really well in competition fly fishing, one of them broke but if NFC is now marketing those blank under their own name then yeah I am going to count the days until I get my hands on these and if they are what I expect them to be, they will become my main work horse!

Ben - Thanks for the detailed reply. I have used the Orvis Recon extensively and briefly tried the Contact2 and Ideal. Was getting ready to get the Ideal blank but got the news from NFC regarding their new models.

How do the NFC-sourced rods/blanks compare to the Ideal nymph in your experience? What length line weights did you use in these rods? I am intereested in the 10' 2 or 3 wt. most fish around here are in the 10" - 14" range but do get the odd 18" now and again.

Thanks a ton for the info.

I've been fishing the FANY 1102 quite a bit the past few months; I'm using the Diamondback reel with one 10gram weight... I built it with the REC ultralight single foot size 1 guides. I am generally fishing for 12-20" trout, in 1-6' deep water, in rivers around 50' wide with this rod.
I've had a couple of "oh crap" moments either dropping the rod or hitting a branch without any evidence of damage. The rod has landed a respectable number of trout over 18" in the few months I have been fishing it, with two earlier today...

I regret being in such a hurry that I did not weigh anything.
In general, the rod is lighter than I expected and that has been the sentiment of everyone who has wiggled it.

I think the rod may be more powerful than a lot of other 2 weights in this category, but it still casts the light nymphs and even small dries, easily and with accuracy.

I have only wiggled the longer DiamondBack 2 wt and Orvis blackout 3wt, so I can't make any in depth comparisons, but I don't think the FANY is any heavier and it may have a crisper feel in the tip than either of those rods. Again, I have only wiggled the long Diamondback 2 weight and Blackout, but I felt like the blackout tip was a bit softer and the diamondback may be a more powerful rod overall even though it is also a 2 weight...


I'm trying to decide which of these recently released blanks I should try next. I definitely need a 0wt or 1wt 10' rod for the smaller creeks. Based on how the 2 weight feels, the 0 weight is probably the ticket, but I feel like I should probably order one of each. I also want to try the 11' 3wt for jig streamers and 11' 1wt for light nymphs and dries... This 11' 2wt has been so much fun, I also feel like I need to order at least one more as a backup, if not two.

Harry

Ed Rose Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> How do the NFC-sourced rods/blanks compare to the
> Ideal nymph in your experience? What length line
> weights did you use in these rods? I am
> intereested in the 10' 2 or 3 wt. most fish
> around here are in the 10" - 14" range but do get
> the odd 18" now and again.
>
> Thanks a ton for the info.

Take what I will say with a grain of salt.
I fish 6x sometimes, most of the time 7x and depending on the condition I'll go 8x. The water condition will define what I chose for my go to rod, I often come to water system I have never fished before so I'll only go up in tippet material IF I keep breaking off.
With time I find myself reaching for the 10'6" or 10'8" rods.
In my 10wt I'd stick to 1 or 2wt, the longer rods I tend to go 2 or 3wt.

Having said that I have an 11ft in 1wt which took me a while to get used to. It is not my favourite because it is seriously lacking casting accuracy beyond any other rods I have BUT the tip section has landed me some nice 13 to 15inch fish. But there wasn't much current for the fish to really over-power the lower section of the rod.

From what I have done with the ideal nymph 10ft 1wt, I did land 12 inches rainbow on it and the rod still had plenty of horse power. If I had to chose and money wasn't much of a problem I'd pick the ideal nymph in the 10ft range I'd go for the 2wt to give myself some cushion for larger fish in average river flow. Again that's all about the river flow and tippet size you'd be using.

If you're more on a budget then you could get the NFC blanks and get yourself at least two rods for the cost of one ideal nymph build.
I am currently eyeballing buying every single one of the Euro blanks NFC is releasing (just so I can test them all) but that's becoming an expensive hobby. My budget for all the fishing competition event is getting out of hand as the years are going by...

Thanks again guys.

Harry - what type of leader setup are you using with the FANY 11' 2wt? Also what kind of flies/weight of flies are you fishing? double nymph weighted rigs, dry flies, streamers, etc? Sounds like you fish nice waters with trout in the 18" + range!

I think ESN rods, like most blanks or rods, are a personal choice given one's rod blank action preference, rod weight, and softness factor of the tip. Some nymphers seem to really like a noodle, others want a little more stiffness and fish-fighting ability. They are pretty hard to discern just by holding or wiggling, and most shops are not really set up well for an ESN demo, and a casting demo will only relate casting capability but not sensitivity, fish fighting performance, etc.

So building from a blank is a bit of a crap shoot, of course, but with NFC blanks on sale for $95 it's not much of a roll of the dice. I have yet to wrap any NFC blank I did not think delivered well above its price point, so I doubt they got the ESN blanks wrong, but would suspect they may be a bit more on the faster side of action than those that are noodles.

If I did not have another full blank and two other blank sections(from rods I broke) to wrap in the weeks ahead, I would probably buy one of the NFCs and give it a shot. Several years ago I bought on a ridiculous sale a Hook and Hackle 10' 3-wt. I have yet to wrap it. But when I put the sections together and hold the rod I can tell the tip is pretty pliable and soft.

I learned to nymph fish in the late 1970s early 1980s in a highly technical tailwater before the era of strike indicators and multi-fly rigs, and way before dedicated nymphing rods. I used the straight line technique with split shot and a single fly and caught lots of fish. For that type of fishing it was all about the rod tip's sensitivity, which I think relates to ESN as well. The best 9' standard type rods I own today that for me are best in straight line nymphing are not my best overall performance rods, rather they have a certain sensitivity or softness in the tip which translates down the blank.

If I am only nymphing, I have been using the Micro (.007”) Umpqua butt section with 3’ of same sized sighter. If I think I will have a chance at throwing size 20 midge dries at rising trout, I will run the Heavy (.013”) butt section which gives me a little more distance and accuracy... I am still experimenting with which butt section I like with heavy jig streamers.

I almost exclusively fish TroutHunter 7x flourcarbon for tippet, but have been trying to use 6x with jig streamers…
I may try 8x just to see if I notice an increase in fish like I did going from 6x to 7x…

I’m generally running a 2mm-3mm tungsten nymph on a dropper with a 3mm-4mm tungsten nymph on point. I sometimes run a third fly in runs deeper than 6’, normally another 2mm or weightless on a dropper up higher. If I’m in fast and deep water, I won’t hesitate to run a pair of 4mm.
My jig streamers are normally 5mm inverting beads with some .030” lead wire.

I think this is a great all around rod for my style. I can fish jig streamers, two nymphs or a pair of dries with the same setup. I do prefer micro leader when nymphing, but need more practice to cast dries farther than the rod top with the micro.

If I wanted to carry two rods, something with a slightly easier loading tip in the 2 weight power of this rod would be perfect for the more delicate work, while a 3 weight version of this 2 weight would be perfect for the jig streamers I like…

I do have the CTS Eurox 10’6” 2weight blank in my possession, but I’ve been waiting for components since the beginning of December. I’m hoping to have the guides and cork to make the grip this week. Not sure how long the REC reel seat will take; I know Christmas is slowing things down so I’m being patient…

Ed, All,

I expect that we will ship the pre-orders at the end of February. We have been working on the individual parts for a few months, with the ferruling to go.

Best,
Aleks

The 2wt has surprised me, significant low end power to go with the light tip. I haven’t used the 10’ 4 wt as much as I finished it last. Really a multipurpose blank for nymphs and streamers. Too early to pass judgement, but so far so good. Ymmv, I have only been nymph fishing a couple years.

Glad to see all the options coming out.

Maybe some more moderate rods n upper weights, even though no one buys them but boomers. The Gamma Alpha series is very underrated.

Thanks Alex for forum feedback and info

Tim

I suspect they may build out the carbon air offerings in the next year and beyond, and maybe to include ESN blanks.

The Diamondback blanks get a lot of love for how an ESN rod should be. Designed afterT&T Contact. Unk on how it compares to NFC