Which blank (9ft. 5 weight 4 piece)

[Griswald]

Hello All,
Last winter I built my first rod, a Sage VPS 5wt 4 piece that I got on closeout. With help from many here and some others, it turned out pretty nice.

My father in law is retiring This spring and in honor of that I am going to build him a fly rod and give him a reel a line, etc. The reel is a Ross Rythm 2 and I will probably put on an SA nice 5 weight line (GPX maybe?)

Anyway, my father in law is a really good fisherman, been doing it for 50 years, has a bunch of rods, and is not a gear snob. He has everything from old fenwicks to Sage RPL to TFO, to Orvis Boo...
I know he likes his Sage RPL and I am wondering if any of you know what types of comparable rods (4 piece) might be similar in action... I thought about gettnig a Sage blank, as they are so nice, and I want this to be a special gift. I also want him to fish with it. I really admire this guy, as he is really an amazing fisherman, and so loves the sport. He has been really cool over the years helping me along and also always asking me to join him.

Any help or feedback would be appreciated.

Best wishes and many fishes,
Griswald

[luckybalbowa]

check out the blanks made by dancraft. they are as good as the high end loomis and sage, but cost about $100. Since he is not a brand specific snob, this lesser known brand shouldnt bother him as they perform very well. Then what I would do, is take the money I saved on the blank and get a good struble reel seat, some good guides and cork etc.

http://www.dancraftent.com/category/index.cfm?cid=9&lvl=1

[James Mello]

check out the blanks made by dancraft. they are as good as the high end loomis and sage, but cost about $100. Since he is not a brand specific snob, this lesser known brand shouldnt bother him as they perform very well. Then what I would do, is take the money I saved on the blank and get a good struble reel seat, some good guides and cork etc.

http://www.dancraftent.com/category/index.cfm?cid=9&lvl=1

To further this discussion, I'm a big fan of the Sig V series as it's a bit more "forgiving" to cast versus the FT's. He also has a moderate action rod in the FTL series and they have the unusual feature of being a 6 piece blank. Very useful if you plan on packing rods around...

Also, if you want to look at other vendors with good sticks, the GLX series from Loomis is a winner. I also really liked the way the Batson RX8+ felt, as well as the SC V series from St Croix.

At any rate, in terms of bang for the buck, take a look at Dan Craft :)

[luckybalbowa]

I must admit that my last 9' 5wt 4pc I build was a Loomis GLX

[mediger]

I can also support the Dan Craft blanks. I have built a Sig V 8'9" 4wt and it is my go-to and favorite trout rod. I also have a 9' 6wt FT and it is a great rod, but I like my Sig V so much better. I also like the Loomis IMX line. I built a 9' 4wt that is a very nice rod.
I think balbowa might have a good point as well. If he isn't a gear snob he might really like having a rod built on a blank that not many people know about. And when he casts it he will really be impressed. For less than $200 he will have a top of the line, amazingly sweet casting rod that not many others on the water will have.
Let us know what you decide and good luck.
Mike