Now in my 72nd year of fly fishing I have become content to anchor up more, watch a bobber, the birds, wildlife or just the clouds and be grateful that I am not in a rest home watching game shows or worse yet-pushing up daisies. To this end I have modified my Predator to accept a 3rd rod after using only 2 for over 30 years. This will allow me to keep a chironomid rod rigged at all times while my sinking lines are also in play. Most of my buddies already do this and do it quite well.
In searching for another rod I came across a 6wt shootout with rods up to $1100 included and found that the modestly priced Echo Carbon had earned an Honorable Mention among all of the heavy hitters. Further research showed almost unanimous praise for this rod with the general consensus that it was the greatest sub $200 rod available. It was exactly what I was looking for in a 3rd boat rod-competent and affordable with a good warranty. My only other 6wt is a Loomis IMX that I built over 30 years ago specifically to nymph fish the Deschutes with. It has only been fished once in the past two decades so I got it out last week in anticipation of comparing it to the soon arriving Carbon. Rigging it up with one of the new(and much maligned) Okuma SLVb reels and a GPX WF 6 wt I found that it balanced perfectly, better than with a lighter reel, and felt really good in my hand. Casting it was a real surprise after all these years, it is really accurate and very powerful, I had forgotten.
Today the new Carbon arrived and loaded up with the same reel and line it too balanced perfectly. The new rod weighs in at 3.6 ounces, the old one built at the height of my rod building abilities and with premium components weighs 3.55 ounces. Pretty much a wash. Casting the rod was a pleasant surprise as it lived up to the hype casting far and accurately. Careful inspection revealed that the rod was definitely built to a price point and lacked the attention to detail that I gave the old rod 35 years ago. The cork is certainly suspect with a lot of filler and some of the guides have a bit too much epoxy on them but I don't fish with any snobs so it is unlikely that any one will care including me.
Do I think it was worth the $180 tariff? Oh, hell yes! $180 for a new fly rod is just mouse nuts nowadays and to build one that seems this good at this price point is just exceptional. I join the legions that are praising Rajeef for this rod, building a quality piece at an affordable price that has everything but bragging rights. In over 70 years of fly rodding I have caught thousands of fish in at least 100 places and not a single one of them was ever caught on bragging rights.
In searching for another rod I came across a 6wt shootout with rods up to $1100 included and found that the modestly priced Echo Carbon had earned an Honorable Mention among all of the heavy hitters. Further research showed almost unanimous praise for this rod with the general consensus that it was the greatest sub $200 rod available. It was exactly what I was looking for in a 3rd boat rod-competent and affordable with a good warranty. My only other 6wt is a Loomis IMX that I built over 30 years ago specifically to nymph fish the Deschutes with. It has only been fished once in the past two decades so I got it out last week in anticipation of comparing it to the soon arriving Carbon. Rigging it up with one of the new(and much maligned) Okuma SLVb reels and a GPX WF 6 wt I found that it balanced perfectly, better than with a lighter reel, and felt really good in my hand. Casting it was a real surprise after all these years, it is really accurate and very powerful, I had forgotten.
Today the new Carbon arrived and loaded up with the same reel and line it too balanced perfectly. The new rod weighs in at 3.6 ounces, the old one built at the height of my rod building abilities and with premium components weighs 3.55 ounces. Pretty much a wash. Casting the rod was a pleasant surprise as it lived up to the hype casting far and accurately. Careful inspection revealed that the rod was definitely built to a price point and lacked the attention to detail that I gave the old rod 35 years ago. The cork is certainly suspect with a lot of filler and some of the guides have a bit too much epoxy on them but I don't fish with any snobs so it is unlikely that any one will care including me.
Do I think it was worth the $180 tariff? Oh, hell yes! $180 for a new fly rod is just mouse nuts nowadays and to build one that seems this good at this price point is just exceptional. I join the legions that are praising Rajeef for this rod, building a quality piece at an affordable price that has everything but bragging rights. In over 70 years of fly rodding I have caught thousands of fish in at least 100 places and not a single one of them was ever caught on bragging rights.