Like most of the rods in this test: Airflo Euro Nymph, Baetis Precision 2.0, Echo Shadow X, Hanak Superb XP, JMC Pure Equipe, Maxia SX4 and the Thomas & Thomas Contact that are all real #3. This 4-piece rod is sold in a compartmented Cordura case (unconditional guarantee with participation of 75 ). The brown dull coating of the blank and the red wraps provide an original look. The other kind of common fly fishing rod is the bamboo rod. You do not have to ship the broken rod to Douglas. One thing that all of us here in the shop have noticed is how much fly rod craftsmanship has improved over the past several years. This rod is made out of IM8 carbon fiber, which is both strong and lightweight, for optimal performance. Hardy Shadow 9 #6 $389.95. With your new rod they include a FedEx call tag so that it does not cost you anything to return your broken rod.New this year, G. Loomis is offering an Xpeditor Tip Service. Obviously, on a technical level, the Thomas & Thomas is the most accomplished in this category : it is very comfortable given its classic reel seat, it is the most responsive of the #3, and it has the delicious moderate fast action without any hard point on the blank, trademark of the Contact series. Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Moderate-fast rods, some references in the review have an AA = to 65 which is typical for modern nymphing rods. A lot of friends come to mind. Everything here is made with strong and durable materials that can resist the effects of saltwater. The locking ring was not as easy to grip as some and had no nylon washer. There are no other rods in our Shootout that are as smooth, dampen as quickly, or track as well as the new NRX+ rods. We realize, however, that you are reading this primarily to see how the various rods we tested fared. Using a T-5 kept the weight down to a light 6.1 ounces, with the reel fully loaded with line and backing. It can handle some fast moving currents, it works well for long distance casting, and the guides are made for big line too. Grip section replacements cost $75. Perfect for summer conditions. I also own Reddington Predator 10 and 12 weights. Sage gives us their new Sonic, which performed as well as the Sage X, at nearly half the cost. To my way of thinking, the most important thing when you break your rod is getting it back quickly, not so much the price youll have to pay. We hope that this 6-weight Shootout helps you to choose the very best rod for your needs. Regarding the power, the rod reviewed in this test can be classified in two different categories: The action is characterised by the Action Angle (AA) and two categories are found in the bunch of rods tested. These trims are near the fittings and the first guide. The Redington Vice will surprise you with its fast action and incredible power. Most modern fly rodsincluding the majority of the rods in our testare designed with a medium-fast or fast action. A gray anodized double up-locking skeleton seat is used with an attractive burled blackwood insert. If you want to chuck some medium-sized steamers with a sink tip, a 6-weight rod makes this easy. The shorter the rod is, the more maneuverable it is, thus allowing for casting out of cover, plus this is good for short distance casting too. Sage tells us that this is a fast action rod like the X, built using their same Konnetic technology. The Sector brings breakthroughs in fly rod innovation to the market in more ways than one and is an incredibly durable and high performing rod. These new materials allowed Howard to give us a rod that is both lighter and more responsive, and allows the angler to feel the line load better during the casting stroke, providing better accuracy. The guide set up starts with a hook keeper just above the grip, then a single stripping guide, using a titanium frame and a thin wall SIC ring is used that is slightly smaller than the one used on the Asquith. Its a great back up rod for pros, but also one that beginners will like. This is a 4-piece 9 fly rod with a truly remarkable overall weight of 2.7 Oz. The wraps are very dark red, trimmed with some bright red on the butt section. The thing that surprised me the most is that this is a relatively stiff rod with more power than most of the other 6-weights. Last but not least, the handle ends with a fighting butt which will bring you comfort and balance while hooked on serious fish. Before you purchase any rod, check the manufacturers for updates to warranty policies as these are occasionally revised. The Orvis Helios 3F, another light rod, is at 9.2 and the Scott Centric is at 9.3 oz. On the 3F, Orvis uses a black anodized skeleton seat with a dark gray graphite insert that has the serial number of the rod on it. In case you were wondering, this is a fast action fly rod, which means that it is highly responsive to your movements, making it good for various fishing techniques and fast retrievals. The rod tracked well and gave me nice tight loops but it just didnt have the power I was looking for out long. Rods with a light swing weight are delightful and effortless to cast and fish all day. This Abel fly reel should provide a lifetime of performance. The perfect lines: SA Amplitude MPX (best all around) or the SA Anadro/Nymph (nymph and streamer fishing),both in WF-6-F. Good, but the 3F was much better in close. This means setting up the rods with the exact same reels, amount of backing, lines and leaders. They can take a basic design and fine-tune it to perfection, making a few tweaks and design changes along the way to end up with that perfect rod the situation and techniques demand. This is one of the most accurate rods I've ever fished with. He has fished for Golden Dorado as well as for big Rainbows at Jurassic lake. If broken from neglect or any other cause, you must use the Expeditor service. We hope you have enjoyed reading our 2021 6-Weight Shootout! The best rods will have the ability to carry a lot of line in the air, and throw very tight loops at this range with consistent accuracy. The T10s is only slightly heavier than the T10, casts just as sweet and is probably still the 2nd lightest 10 weight rod on the market. If you feel your rod has broken because of a defect, you pay to send the rod to their warranty department for examination. Like all the rods from the series, this model is equipped with a fighting butt made of cork that is removable. A black graphite insert is used with the serial number of the rod inscribed. As we have found in past Shootouts, there are some outstanding rods that score higher than rods that are two to three times as expensive. We dont take the manufacturers word for stated weight, (although this year most of these checked out to be true or very close). Overall, it finished higher than the Orvis Helios 3D that sells for $949.00. Regular price $ 499 INFO. Douglas was able to achieve this incredibly lightweight by using their proprietary G-Tec Youll find a way to sneak it into your stash without the Mrs. (or Mr.) finding out. The 10' 7# is possibly the most common rod size that we sell, its perfect for stillwater/ Loch fishing, If anything, the reel seat is a little drab for a rod in this price range, but certainly functional. Very nice feel and terrific accuracy in close. With more line out the rod loads better and now Im getting nice tight loops and great accuracy. Trout & Co : The flyfishing online magazine - Copyright 2023 - All rights reserved. What We Think Is The Best 10 Weight Fly Rod, 4. If Orvis determines that there was a defect, the rod will be repaired or replaced at no charge. This rod is finished with a flat, non-glare gray, which I do like. The rod size is marked just above the cork handle. The larger weight class the rod is, the thicker of a line you can use with it. Line Capacity Line capacity is another pertinent consideration when choosing the right reel for Salmon. This is the case of the Echo Shadow X, whose very long handle (7.4") associated with the down-locking reel seat makes it impossible to attach a Vivarelli reel. Yes, this rod has been treated to withstand the effects of saltwater. They include a high-quality cork handle (extra flor), an aluminium built and anodised reel seat with a burled black ash spacer and a titanium-frame ceramic stripping guide followed by 11 single foot RECoil guides. Tracked well and felt solid at long distance. Tip sections for multi-piece rods that are outside of their warranty period have varying prices depending on the series. cadan.com If you are looking for the best quality-price ratio, the Airflo Euro Nymph is the cheapest rod but definitely not the worse. At short distance, the softer tip gave me good feel and accuracy. I liked this grip a lot. He and Chloe Nostrant are also responsible for many of the great photographs youll find in our Shootouts. So lets talk about the ones we offer at 239 Flies in greater detail. The last rod in the ranking is the JMC Pure Equipe (5.9/10) which has a slight trend to go south. This particular rod is 9 feet long, which is a moderate length for fly rods, thus offering a fairly good combination of casting distance and maneuverability, although not as maneuverable as a smaller rod. Regarding the look, the Pipeline series is characterised by a dull olive blank, equipped with two starting SIC guidesfollowed by 10 tiCH single leg, a 4A cork handle and an aluminium reel seat with wood insert. The epoxy finish on the guides is especially well done. They are particularly multipurpose and very popular amongst anglers who like fishing in small to medium sized streams. In George Daniels excellent book, Strip-Set, George says that he now only brings one rod to the The main difference in the two is not so much the action as how the rod is set up. Only the Sky G and the two Loomis rods were better at mid distance. They are also some of the best dampened rods weve cast, one of the reasons they are such smooth casting rods. When used in the top half of the rod, this creates a thin diameter tip section with excellent swing weight, but more importantly helps the rod to recover and dampen quickly. A little heavier in hand than the 3F though. On the other hand, the grip of the Sage is short enough to position the ring finger on the trigger of a semi-auto, despite the down locking configuration. The Baetis Precision 2.0, whose reel seat is also in a down-locking configuration, completes the podium. The reel seat is a simple gray anodized, single uplocking skeleton seat, using a reddish brown graphite insert. The Echo Carbon XL, at the low price of $169, rated an 8. It has a Sage lifetime warranty. At 50 feet you want a rod that will be light and smooth enough to do a lot of false casting, which you will do fishing dry flies like hoppers all day long. Weve found that the Galvan Torque reels also have a wider range of drag adjustment than most other reels, making it easy to fine tune the adjustment, which is especially important when you are using light tippets like 5X and 6X. The best fly rods are not always the most expensive. The Sonic is a new rod from Sage, and put in an impressive performance at a far less expensive price point than their Sage X, which is $950. Fun to Fish/Got to Have 10 points available.