10ft Echo Ion XL Input

[jaredoconnor]

I am considering a 10ft 6wt Echo Ion XL, for lakes, patriot nymphing, single hand Spey/Skagit and general streamer use.

Does anyone here have one? What weight reel is required, for balance? Any general thoughts?

 

[Long_Rod_Silvers]

I am considering patriot nymphing

This is how I read this.

Welcome to the dark side good sir. Welcome aboard.

 

[jaredoconnor]

This is how I read this.

Welcome to the dark side good sir. Welcome aboard.

I already have a 9ft for that, which barely gets used.

Here's how you should read this: I want a 10ft lake rod that can also be used for all the things I rarely do, so I can offload the 9ft.

 

[BriGuy]

I already have a 9ft for that, which barely gets used.

Here's how you should read this: I want a lake rod that can also be used for all the things I rarely do.

I have a 10 foot 7 weight and love it. I use it mostly on the sound for SRC. The extra foot is nice and helps keep the line off the beach behind me. I've also used it for throwing poppers to bass, but haven't yet caught a decent sized bass to test it. That extra foot also helps when sitting in the boat and casting.

I use the Echo 7/9 weight Ion reel. The rod feels a little heavy in hand, but I suspect that's due more to the reel than the rod. The combination can tire the arm a bit after a few hours of casting into the wind.

Overall, it is strong and nearly bullet proof. It has to be considering my spastic casting. Even so, it has plenty of backbone and power to get the line out there despite the wind and poor operator technique.

 

[jaredoconnor]

I use the Echo 7/9 weight Ion reel. The rod feels a little heavy in hand, but I suspect that's due more to the reel than the rod. The combination can tire the arm a bit after a few hours of casting into the wind.

Does it balance well? The rods are heavy, on paper. My hope is that most of the weight is in the reel seat area, so a medium weight reel results in an acceptable combined weight.

Edit: I just noticed that the 7/9 (7.9oz) Ion reel is significantly heavier than the 6/7 (5.5oz). I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that my existing 4.8oz 6wt reels aren't going to cut it.

 

[Divad]

I have a #7 10’ as well and can attest to its swing weight, it’s a little on the heavier side. I’ve used it predominantly as a backup to nymph steelhead, has enough grunt to throw a 240gr head just fine. Would definitely recommend the 6 unless you need the 7 for larger fish since the 6 can probably throw your 7 wt lines and any streamers w/o problems. As BriGuy said the nice part about the extra heft is it’s a strong rod and casts into the wind just fine.

I run a CW Young 3.5” click n pawl with a lot of backing to fill the arbor, a heavier reel is helpful for counterweighting.

 

[BriGuy]

Does it balance well? The rods are heavy, on paper. My hope is that most of the weight is in the reel seat area, so a medium weight reel results in an acceptable combined weight.

Edit: I just noticed that the 7/9 (7.9oz) Ion reel is significantly heavier than the 6/7 (5.5oz). I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that my existing 4.8oz 6wt reels aren't going to cut it.

Although a little heavy, it does balance well. I'm throwing an 8 weight line, so that makes the reel and line combo even heavier. Even so, I can balance the rod on my finger placed just above the cork. If I could double haul and had a more relaxed casting stroke, I don't think the weight would be a problem at all. I just use way more arm muscle than I really should.

 

[BriGuy]

I have a #7 10’ as well and can attest to its swing weight, it’s a little on the heavier side. I’ve used it predominantly as a backup to nymph steelhead, has enough grunt to throw a 240gr head just fine. Would definitely recommend the 6 unless you need the 7 for larger fish since the 6 can probably throw your 7 wt lines and any streamers w/o problems. As BriGuy said the nice part about the extra heft is it’s a strong rod and casts into the wind just fine.

I run a CW Young 3.5” click n pawl with a lot of backing to fill the arbor, a heavier reel is helpful for counterweighting.

I got the 7 weight because I already had a couple of 5 weights and wanted something that could handle a chum, coho or big bass if I ever luck into one.

 

[Wanative]

Does it balance well? The rods are heavy, on paper. My hope is that most of the weight is in the reel seat area, so a medium weight reel results in an acceptable combined weight.

Edit: I just noticed that the 7/9 (7.9oz) Ion reel is significantly heavier than the 6/7 (5.5oz). I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that my existing 4.8oz 6wt reels aren't going to cut it.

Your 6/7 Ion will work fine on the 7wt.

 

[clarkman]

Does it balance well? The rods are heavy, on paper. My hope is that most of the weight is in the reel seat area, so a medium weight reel results in an acceptable combined weight.

Edit: I just noticed that the 7/9 (7.9oz) Ion reel is significantly heavier than the 6/7 (5.5oz). I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that my existing 4.8oz 6wt reels aren't going to cut it.

depends on how the weight on the rod is distributed......but no, it's not gonna cut it. most likely. I would guess. An educated guess. An educated guess based on a fair bit of experience. But still a guess. But also still educated.....the guess.

 

[Vandelay Industries]

I have this rod and use it primarily for SRC fishing. However, it is currently not my primary rod for SRC.

The extra foot can be nice on the beach.

I use a 5/6 Ross Rapid reel and it balances the rod fine.

 

[jaredoconnor]

I have this rod and use it primarily for SRC fishing. However, it is currently not my primary rod for SRC.

The extra foot can be nice on the beach.

I use a 5/6 Ross Rapid reel and it balances the rod fine.

Thanks for the input! Can I get some extra info?

• Where is the balance point, roughly, with your reel?
• Have you used it on lakes or rivers at all?
• Any line preferences?
• Any other comments?

 

[Vandelay Industries]

Thanks for the input! Can I get some extra info?

• Where is the balance point, roughly, with your reel?
• Have you used it on lakes or rivers at all?
• Any line preferences?
• Any other comments?

• Where is the balance point, roughly, with your reel?
  • Right at the end of the cork handle or right in front of it.
• Have you used it on lakes or rivers at all?
  • I have not but will use it on lakes this summer from a canoe.
• Any line preferences?
  • Intermediate Coastal Quick shooter
  • Floating Outbound Short
  • Sink DI7 Forty Plus
• Any other comments?
  • Pretty good rod for the price. I can cast it all day without issues.

 

[_WW_]

Big fan of 10' rods. As for the weight, well I don't worry about it and it doesn't worry about me.
Years ago a fishing buddy and I were comparing rods and we discovered that mine was a 1/2 oz heavier than his. I pointed out that what we were talking about weight wise was a half bag of weed. "When I can no longer handle it feel free to pull my man card and send me to the old fogy's home."

 

[Buzzy]

Big fan of 10' rods. As for the weight, well I don't worry about it and it doesn't worry about me.
Years ago a fishing buddy and I were comparing rods and we discovered that mine was a 1/2 oz heavier than his. I pointed out that what we were talking about weight wise was a half bag of weed. "When I can no longer handle it feel free to pull my man card and send me to the old fogy's home."

I don't understand the concern about balance point, reel weight, but rod weight - maybe, but not in terms of how physically heavy the rod is but more about how the rod feels. I have two Ion XL's (690 and 890); they're both great rods; they just feel right. I wanted a 10' rod for bobber fishing so I went to a fly shop looking at the Ion XL 5100, the salesman brought it out along with Lago 5100. I don't know which rod physically was heavier but the Ion XL felt stiffer/heavier/more club-like compared to Lago. I bought the Lago and I like the rod; I line it with an SA MPX WF5F (Lamson Guru size 2 or Ross Evolution size 3).

The Lago is a replacement rod for a far superior rod (Jared), G. Loomis 5100 IMX Pro. I LOVED that rod but I broke it (my bad, not Loomis) and struggled mightily to get it repaired (the Shimano rep I dealt with was a ----). The shop I bought the Loomis from struggled with the Shimano rep as well but made it right with an exchange for a different brand rod I did not cast beforehand (my bad); I hated the replacement and got rid of it.

Go cast some rods.

 

[SurfnFish]

I've wagged both a 9' and 10' 6 wt, and due to the noticeable difference in weight and 'snap', two of the four rods in my skiff are 9' 6 wt XL's.

From a review of both rods -

• Literal Weight: This is not the lightest rod in its category, and all-day casting can be fatiguing. The 10-foot model feels significantly heavier while casting than the 9-foot model.

https://www.curated.com/journal/1197000/expert-review-echo-ion-xl-fly-rod

 

[Evan B]

Even after fly fishing for 30yrs, and working for fly rod and reel companies for over a decade, I still don't know what the hell "balance" is supposed to mean.

If it doesn't feel balanced to you, adjust your grip. We're talking about ounces here, not pounds.

 

[Jake Watrous]

Just my two cents, which may be worth less than that. The Ion is a very heavy rod for what it is. My son cast three different Echo 6wt rods the other day, and the Carbon seemed better than the Ion in every metric—especially weight—and they were about the same price.

I'd give the Carbon a look before buying.

 

[Evan B]

Just my two cents, which may be worth less than that. The Ion is a very heavy rod for what it is. My son cast three different Echo 6wt rods the other day, and the Carbon seemed better than the Ion in every metric—especially weight—and they were about the same price.

I'd give the Carbon a look before buying.

Carbon and Ion are literally the same rod in different sizes. The only difference in the 9' 6wts (the only overlap) is the Ion has a fighting butt.

 

[Tom Butler]

Just my two cents, which may be worth less than that. The Ion is a very heavy rod for what it is. My son cast three different Echo 6wt rods the other day, and the Carbon seemed better than the Ion in every metric—especially weight—and they were about the same price.

I'd give the Carbon a look before buying.

Wow, I just looked, the ion is 5.8oz. My 10' 6wt stillwater is 3.2. I use the fighting butt, and it balances with a lamson remix 5 . I had only compared it to the Lago at 4.1 oz. when shopping. Not to heavy to tight line or bobber fish moving water either. A six just seems to do so much better in the wind, otherwise I think that rod in a 5 would be great for most of the situations I come across.