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SA System 6 vs FF806
Post 30 Oct 2022, 21:11 • #1 
Sport
Joined: 03/10/18
Posts: 86
I just got my System 6 back from archfly, who renewed the gap in the spigot ferrule. It's my favorite small-med water/ light streamer smallmouth rod. But Ive always wondered: how does the FF806 compare to the System 6? I find the SA a bit stiff for my tastes with a 6 wt line, but nicely sweet with a WF7 (and a weighted streamer.) (I think I was using a 1/36 oz barbell Clouser that time.)

Is the FF806 really a 6 wt,, or is it nicer with a 7? Does the casting feel comparable to the System 6? How about the sensitivity?

I'd love to hear from those of you who know both!

Fish on!
Peter


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Re: SA System 6 vs FF806
Post 31 Oct 2022, 16:28 • #2 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/20/07
Posts: 8920
Location: US-ME
Better cosmetics, better damping, better progressive action, crisper more responsive feel Best with a DT6, and thus very capable with a WF7. A WF 6 might feel a touch light. That's the SA System 6. Nevertheless it wouldn't be worth arguing with someone's preference for the popular Fenwick. If somebody likes one or the other, the grass won't be much greener on the other side of the fence.


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Re: SA System 6 vs FF806
Post 31 Oct 2022, 17:00 • #3 
Sport
Joined: 03/10/18
Posts: 86
Wow. What a great review right out of the gate. Affirming, too. Assures me I've got one of the good ones. . . .that I might not have to go to Fenwick looking for better. Just maybe there isn't better . . . .
Love to hear wwhat others think!

Fish on!
Peter


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Re: SA System 6 vs FF806
Post 31 Oct 2022, 21:58 • #4 
Master Guide
Joined: 01/04/18
Posts: 397
Location: Belair Maryland/Swanton Maryland
I have and fish both rods .
Both are great but very different..

The ff806 is quicker than the Sa but in a different way .
The ff806 is much more beefy in the Butt section . And with the ferralite ferrule’s overbuild up on the mid of the rod plays into the action difference .
The system 6rods are crispy in a very deceptive way ..that spigot ferrule !!!
Both great sticks that will do a multitude of great things upon the water .
But they really are in different ballparks

Best way I can break it down is:

The Sa system 6 rods are true 6.5wt rods and do better as a 7wt than they do as a 6
Not so well with some 8wt lines ..
So you cant underline these rods too much nor can you over line them too much.
I hate it with a 5wt..
The performance window on the System 6 rod is more narrow but arguably a bit better .

The FF806 I feel is more a true 7wt but will throw a 6wt just fine . Plenty of people throw a DT5
Just for laughs ive even used some 4wt streamer taper line that works great.
The fenwick butt section also handles an 8wt way better than the Sa system 6 rods
So the performance window for the Fenwick is much wider but won’t go 11/10ths the way the system rod does when dialed in with the Goldilocks line..
Throws absolute laser loops easier than the Fenwick.

Make no mistake both are fabulous rods but the Sa is more of a specialty rod when you need a 6.5 that will cast with precision plus distance.

The FF806 is a more general practitioner.
Does everything and anything you ask within reason .

But when inches make the difference I’m fishing my system 6.

If I’m Bass fishing though I’m grabbing the Fenwick !
Throws weight with a Belgian loop way better than the system 6.

I’ll let some of the more qualified rod gurus break down the tapers more scientifically…
Progressive vs semi para .etc..

I’m just giving you my seat of the pants description of what these rods do in the real world .

I’m just the idiot behind the cast :lol
But I do fish vintage rods 200 plus days a year so I’ve got a few thousand casts on each rod .
Sometimes even a few fish to show for it ;)
Get both you’ll find a deserving spot in the quiver .
I have revered spots in my Arsenal for both rods .
Scotto


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Re: SA System 6 vs FF806
Post 01 Nov 2022, 09:32 • #5 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/20/07
Posts: 8920
Location: US-ME
Like the follow up comparison. Essentially, a crisp progressive, best with a DT line, vs. the Fenwick "faster" action--more butt, less tip. That's in feel and flex profile, not necessarily in blank dimensions. I think the Fenwick is larger diameter at the butt, but never did lay them side by each to compare. The ferrule feel is, as usual, more pronounced in the feralite style than in a spigot-ferruled rod made from a one-piece blank. SA/Fisher had it down like no other. Having said that, there are a lot of great 'glass 8 to 8 1/2 foot 6 weights, what I call "river rods," a good topic to search here. The Fenwick would not be high on the list to me, and if I did want to check for greener grass, it would be Sceptre, Fisher, or a yellow Fenwick for 6 at 8 or 8 1/2 feet.

Apparently ottobahn has given the FF806 a very fair chance, resulting in a good description, too. I admit that I never did. But years ago I did cough up a few bucks for one, as new condition. The first time I tried it, I put it away immediately. I knew it would work, but preferred my usual Fisher. A few days later, since I still had the Fenwick in the car, I actually fished it. It worked OK, but I sold it afterwards and have never missed it.

Image

Here's one past discussion that gives a few of the other great 6-weights their due. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=65703&hilit=river+rods


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Re: SA System 6 vs FF806
Post 06 Dec 2022, 22:49 • #6 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 07/22/11
Posts: 1720
Location: US-TX
Whirl,

Your pics show fantastic brutes. They still around or sadly from days gone by?


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Re: SA System 6 vs FF806
Post 07 Dec 2022, 09:45 • #7 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/19/08
Posts: 1218
Location: Branson, Missouri
The build quality of the System rods was very good... most you see today are in very good shape as a result.

Price tags were very different on these rods also. OEM blank cost plus build out.


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Re: SA System 6 vs FF806
Post 07 Dec 2022, 15:15 • #8 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/20/07
Posts: 8920
Location: US-ME
That's a good point about the high quality of build/finish on the System Rods. To answer, yes those brutes are still around. but with more rainbows mixed in, and fewer landlaocked-salmon. I just haven't gone around to fish them much the last few years. Grandkids are at the age they need a start on panfish first.


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