Euro Rods T&T Contact II and ESN Rating

longputt

Steelhead
I am sure some folks think that Euro is not fly fishing so I put this in gear fishing!

About 7 years ago I limped in a low cost Euro rod and really enjoyed it..but I lost a lot of flies, missed fish and caught a ton of small fish. Fast forward 6 years and a few folks who work for me did a great job so for bonuses I bought them bought ESNs and did a camp out on a fun blue line.

The ESN was crazy...I could land my flies on a dime (between roots and rocks) and my average fish size went up...a lot...and far fewer lost flies.

So I did the big cast comparison (thanks Red's) and I found that for me the ESN 10' 6" 3 wt and the T&T Contact II 10' 9" 3 wt were the best...I opted for the T&T but both were great. The T&T seems more durable, cost $100 less and I like the fighting butt and wooden reel seat...but that is cosmetics.

To me small vibrations in the rod cause your fly to land out of control. If you fish the Yakima it is not too important, you're not fishing pockets, but for some streams accuracy is everything.

BTW the T&T 10' 3 wt did not seem as stable as the 10' 9" so be careful about about making generalizations about rod makers...be sure and try them. I fish many small streams and the 10' 9" is no issue. My son has the 10' 6" 3 wt ESN and we switch rods and argue about which is better..bottom line both are great...but the T&T is greater to me!
 

jaredoconnor

Peabrain Chub
Forum Supporter
The guy who designed the T&T Contact rods (Joe Goodspeed) recently joined Diamondback Fly Rods. He has made new ESN rods, for them, that are quite a bit cheaper and said to be just as good. The only down side seems to be that they are very much specialized rods; there's no do-it-all 10ft 3wt or 10ft 4wt.
 

longputt

Steelhead
That Diamondback reel is interesting. The offset seat and weights are pretty fascinating.

My T&T 10' 9" balances (upward) with a very light reel. My sons Sage requires some weight in the reel.

I should add that the T&T "stripping guide" moved closer to the grip really helps I really hadn't noticed how often I had to hold the rod high to avoid grass catching the line until I used the T&T.
 
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