Looking for advice on two handed beach rods for Baja

adamcu280

adamcu280

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I looked through the previous two handed threads but they’re more about Spey casting, not overhead casting.

Seems like there are three two handed beach rods on the market, each at different price points.

Echo Boost Beach at $400
Lost Coast Outfitters at $650
Beulah Opal at $850

I’ve only cast the LCO once and haven’t even seen the others but I’m definitely curious about a two handed setup in the 9/10 range for the coming winter in Baja.

@Evan B mentioned the Boost Beach isn’t his favorite two hander in Echo’s lineup. Anyone else have any input/experience with two handed beach rods?

Edit: I'd be interested in building a rod like this if I knew what blank to look for.
 
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adamcu280 said:
I looked through the previous two handed threads but they’re more about Spey casting, not overhead casting.

Seems like there are three two handed beach rods on the market, each at different price points.

Echo Boost Beach at $400
Lost Coast Outfitters at $650
Beulah Opal at $850

I’ve only cast the LCO once and haven’t even seen the others but I’m definitely curious about a two handed setup in the 9/10 range for the coming winter in Baja.

@Evan B mentioned the Boost Beach isn’t his favorite two hander in Echo’s lineup. Anyone else have any input/experience with two handed beach rods?
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I think @Bagman is a salty two-hander.
(In addition, I believe he also uses two hand rods to fly fish the beaches.) 😹
 
I have a 7wt Beach Boost. I like it fine, it suffers mainly from the same thing that the other 2 handed overhead rods have in the PNW, which is that fishing to the rod tip is a challenge, but it hucks line without a ton of effort. I didn't have a ton of luck with it until I overlined it to 8wt airflow lines.

Haven't tried the other two although I looked at them before buying the echo and the price made the difference for me.
 
My friend has the beach boost and I found it too soft and did not cast rated line at rated weight well for my casting style. I have the beulah opal and it casts well. It reminds me of what you want is a fast single hand rod. It's about as fast as you get in a 2H rod. On the beach I overhead. I spey for steelhead too. I'm also a weird guy. I do not like the progressive flex of traditional speyrods that feel like a catapult lobbing a big rock. I like crisp and fast in my speyrods too. I'm a fan of the more scandi taper. I find that the beulah opal, while never mentioned to use as a speycaster, works great as a switch rod for all the basic speycasts especially T&G and underhand.
 
offensivename said:
I have a 7wt Beach Boost. I like it fine, it suffers mainly from the same thing that the other 2 handed overhead rods have in the PNW, which is that fishing to the rod tip is a challenge, but it hucks line without a ton of effort. I didn't have a ton of luck with it until I overlined it to 8wt airflow lines.

Haven't tried the other two although I looked at them before buying the echo and the price made the difference for me.
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I have no desire to fish this type of rod in the PNW. I'm going to be using this from the beach in Baja, so hopefully the need to fish to the rod tip won't be that much of an issue. I'm mostly hoping to be able to bomb casts out to baitballs and/or deal with wind.
fatbillybob said:
My friend has the beach boost and I found it too soft and did not cast rated line at rated weight well for my casting style. I have the beulah opal and it casts well. It reminds me of what you want is a fast single hand rod. It's about as fast as you get in a 2H rod. On the beach I overhead. I spey for steelhead too. I'm also a weird guy. I do not like the progressive flex of traditional speyrods that feel like a catapult lobbing a big rock. I like crisp and fast in my speyrods too. I'm a fan of the more scandi taper. I find that the beulah opal, while never mentioned to use as a speycaster, works great as a switch rod for all the basic speycasts especially T&G and underhand.
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My preference with single hand rods is fast like the Boost Blue, but my sample size with two handed rods is one, for maybe 20 minutes/a dozen casts with the LCO Golden Gate.

I also have very little desire to spey cast in rivers (so far, anyways).

This is the beach and the idea. At 11:49 you can see "Lefty Kreh" on the rod blank. I wonder if it's a TFO?
 
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Isn't Baja precisely what was in mind when the Beulah TH beach rods were designed?
 
Im taking my 5/6 Beulah Opal2 on our trip to LA Ventana in early June.
Love this rod for OH . Its my go-to pike rod lately. Im not too concerned about it technically considered under sized versus the 8 wght. These are very strong rods.
 
Hem said:
Im taking my 5/6 Beulah Opal2 on our trip to LA Ventana in early June.
Love this rod for OH . Its my go-to pike rod lately. Im not too concerned about it technically considered under sized versus the 8 wght. These are very strong rods.
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Seems like the 5/6 is the size they recommend to shoot OBS 8wt and 9wt lines. I guess I'd be looking at the 5/6 or the 7/8 if I went up to a 10wt line.
 
I've played with it. The line as with all flt fishing is the critical element. Beulah has a line called the serum if I remember correctly. That's a good place to start. Many Spey lines and heads are appropriate in lighter weights than you would Spey cast. In all honesty I just went back to single handed for the overhead game. Two hands areI useful for large stuff in specific circumstances like high surf and heavy rigs. I never personally experienced the utility other than babying my injured shoulder while it healed. Your mileage may vary but that was my experience. I would be interested in feedback on your experience. Rosters are an awesome fish especially from the beach. A quad set up for the task can greatly increase your chase to hookup ratio and allow more beach to be covered. I loathe quads for everything barring work and this specific task. It took me some time to get used to the idea of riding one on a beautiful beach to fish in a beautiful way for a fish and pretty as a rooster but it works. Good luck.
 
adamcu280 said:
Seems like the 5/6 is the size they recommend to shoot OBS 8wt and 9wt lines. I guess I'd be looking at the 5/6 or the 7/8 if I went up to a 10wt line.
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I use the 7/8 with a 10wt. int. OBS line. The rod has enough backbone to add 10ft. of T8 and cast it and a weighted fly. I have never needed more than that to get down. I also have given up the fast singlehanders flats boats. I can overhead the 2H rod all day long with just as good accuracy as the single without all the fatigue. The single is best at short range but then I never get tired casting short. It's a day of 60ft in the wind that is a killer. It's also cool with a 30ft head you can lift it off the water in one backcast and fire it back out with minimal effort. Better yet an aerialized snake roll stolen from speycasting is the hot ticket to redirect and lift the head off the water.

Once you get away from 9ft rods thinking is grain capacity or grain window makes much more sense than weight. So fishing a 7/8wt. rod in that switch rod length 11-12ft. is like a 10wt single in capacity.
 
adamcu280 said:
I have no desire to fish this type of rod in the PNW. I'm going to be using this from the beach in Baja, so hopefully the need to fish to the rod tip won't be that much of an issue. I'm mostly hoping to be able to bomb casts out to baitballs and/or deal with wind.

My preference with single hand rods is fast like the Boost Blue, but my sample size with two handed rods is one, for maybe 20 minutes/a dozen casts with the LCO Golden Gate.

I also have very little desire to spey cast in rivers (so far, anyways).

This is the beach and the idea. At 11:49 you can see "Lefty Kreh" on the rod blank. I wonder if it's a TFO?
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Yes, the rod in the video is a TFO. Based on the logo it's an older model, most likely one of the Pro series. They have quite a few 11' switch rods up to 8wt. Flip Pallot was a TFO ambassador for quite some time and designed several saltwater focused single hand rod series.
 
I fish in Baja often and have used the Beulah Opal rods in single and 2 hand versions. If you’re targeting medianos and grandes from the beach then you’ll want at least the 7/8 version but I’d recommend even heavier because the flies you’ll use are larger, 4/0 and 6/0. If you’re only in areas where’s there’s packs of small rooster brats then maybe the 5/6 would work. I still prefer a single hand and use a 10wt.
 
adamcu280 said:
I have no desire to fish this type of rod in the PNW. I'm going to be using this from the beach in Baja, so hopefully the need to fish to the rod tip won't be that much of an issue. I'm mostly hoping to be able to bomb casts out to baitballs and/or deal with wind.

My preference with single hand rods is fast like the Boost Blue, but my sample size with two handed rods is one, for maybe 20 minutes/a dozen casts with the LCO Golden Gate.

I also have very little desire to spey cast in rivers (so far, anyways).

This is the beach and the idea. At 11:49 you can see "Lefty Kreh" on the rod blank. I wonder if it's a TFO?
Click to expand...

Are you thinking the target locale is los barilles/ventana area?? I was north of mulege a month ago at san lucas cove, first time for me. was talking to some campers and they described some kayaking, with roosters in the bay..... which got my attention. san lucas has a barrier island/peninsula, with a shallower bay. apparently the roosters, and other fly targets come in and cruise the bay. one needs a kayak or small boat. the gear fishermen were going out, and having success on yellowtail. i didnt get a chance to fish - not enough time - but it seemed like an interesting bay.
 
goinoregon said:
Are you thinking the target locale is los barilles/ventana area?? I was north of mulege a month ago at san lucas cove, first time for me. was talking to some campers and they described some kayaking, with roosters in the bay..... which got my attention. san lucas has a barrier island/peninsula, with a shallower bay. apparently the roosters, and other fly targets come in and cruise the bay. one needs a kayak or small boat. the gear fishermen were going out, and having success on yellowtail. i didnt get a chance to fish - not enough time - but it seemed like an interesting bay.
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Pretty sure the gal and I are relocating to LV for most of the winter. Got a friend w/ a boat down there so hopefully I'll get some boat time along with the beach time. We'll drive down except this time we should have a bigger time window! :)

We'll probably be heading N by April-ish so we'll just get the beginning of the classic rooster season at the lighthouse, but that's ok.
 
adamcu280 said:
Pretty sure the gal and I are relocating to LV for most of the winter. Got a friend w/ a boat down there so hopefully I'll get some boat time along with the beach time. We'll drive down except this time we should have a bigger time window! :)

We'll probably be heading N by April-ish so we'll just get the beginning of the classic rooster season at the lighthouse, but that's ok.
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sounds great. we went to barilles last year. did not go that far down this year. in march.
 
I’ve used a NFC switch rod I built for the beach with good results. It’s the equivalent of an 8# single hand rod. I know you hate NFC, but many people have had success using other companies switch rods also. A rods a rod and for overhead you just need nice firm, fast action rod in the appropriate weight for the fish you’re targeting. Here’s an older conversation..

www.washingtonflyfishing.com

Let's Talk Two-Handed Beach Rods

Thought I would talk a little about two handed fly rods used for overhead casting on the beach. This isn't about single hand vs. double hand or any of that stuff. Just talking two hand beach rods. I've been using two handed fly rods for about four years now. Started using them mainly because I...
www.washingtonflyfishing.com www.washingtonflyfishing.com
 
Wetswinger said:
I’ve used a NFC switch rod I built for the beach with good results. It’s the equivalent of an 8# single hand rod. I know you hate NFC, but many people have had success using other companies switch rods also. A rods a rod and for overhead you just need nice firm, fast action rod in the appropriate weight for the fish you’re targeting. Here’s an older conversation..

www.washingtonflyfishing.com

Let's Talk Two-Handed Beach Rods

Thought I would talk a little about two handed fly rods used for overhead casting on the beach. This isn't about single hand vs. double hand or any of that stuff. Just talking two hand beach rods. I've been using two handed fly rods for about four years now. Started using them mainly because I...
www.washingtonflyfishing.com www.washingtonflyfishing.com
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Great link to lots of information! It'll take me some time to sort through all of it. And yes, NFC won't get another penny from me but I'm sure the folks at Batson can help if I decide to build a rod.
 
adamcu280 said:
Great link to lots of information! It'll take me some time to sort through all of it. And yes, NFC won't get another penny from me but I'm sure the folks at Batson can help if I decide to build a rod.
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I hope I’m not too late to add my 2cents to this I will give it a try.
Sage hat a web site the would give you the line best to try on your new rod as it turned out for the type of fishing I was doing the most of was in the salt some times good beach break. For what are looking for a rod the will overhead cast and bomb out over the waves but still land a nice fish. If a PM is excitable I will gladly give you a dump on what I’ve learned.
 
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