I can only give a subjective opinion, having built an FT905. The rod casts like a cannon with a variety of lines, and it's very fast in action. I wouldn't recommend it for in close fishing with small flies and stated line weight- to my mind it lacks "feel". Dan makes many other blanks more suitable to your purposes.. Charles
Forum: rodboard

Can't find Dan Craft FTL's in his catalogue, though I understand they're available. Could someone post what's available? I'm looking for a multi-piece 9ft., 4 weight that's light in the hand medium-fast in action, and not too pricey. Any suggestions? Thanks.. Charles
Forum: rodboard

Last fall I built a 12 1/2 foot, 7-8 weight rod from a forecast blank, and fished it with a DT8 on the Salmon in Pulaski. Being new to the double-handed rod, I took a lesson from a local guru, Pat Muira, who taught me the basics and suggested I buy a spey line, though he didn't say which one. These lines are quite expensive, and I don't have the opportunity to try them, so any feedback would be
Forum: rodboard

I have a 10' 8wt. 4-piece switch rod built from Dan Craft blanks. Bob Meiser suggested the Rio integrated shooting head Outbound 11 weight floating line. The head is 460 grains, which both he and Dan Craft felt the blank could handle. The line handles beautifully, and casts a mile on my Albright EXS 9', 9wt., though I find it a bit much for my 1008; however, it would probably fit the 10 weight
Forum: rodboard

I built an FT 10' 8 weight, which I use as a "switch" rod for salmon and steelhead, and a 9' 5 weight FT. The rods actually feel and cast quite differently. The 10 foot is perfect for the job at hand, seems to flex more through the blank and handles the 8 or 9 weight perfectly. The 9 footer is light and FAST, with what I guess to be a less progressive taper than the 10 footer, and I fis
Forum: rodboard

I recently built a 10', 8wt. "switch" rod from a Dan Craft FT blank, which I've used for salmon fishing in Pulaski. Great fun! I've learned the basic spey cast and caught some fish. Now I'd like to move up to a spey rod, hopefully in time for steelhead in November. I noticed forecast makes a 12'6" spey blank for an 8 weight that would be perfect for steelhead, or smallmouth on my h
Forum: rodboard

I recently built a 10', 8wt. "switch" rod from a Dan Craft FT blank, which I've used for salmon fishing in Pulaski. Great fun! I've learned the basic spey cast and caught some fish. Now I'd like to move up to a spey rod, hopefully in time for steelhead in November. I noticed forecast makes a 12'6" spey blank for an 8 weight that would be perfect for steelhead, or smallmouth on my h
Forum: rodboard

For all the experts: who makes the best snake guides? I'm building a 9 ft. 6wt. rod from a winston blank for a friend, and, largely for aesthetic reasons, he wants to use snakes. Which company's product gives the best performance in terms of lightness and "shootability", and any other other relevant criteria you can think of? How about materials (coatings)? First time posting; any help
Forum: rodboard