$299.00

A seriously underrated rod

I'm not the type of guy to buy something and then review it immediately after using it. I like to have some time with a rod before I give it my review. I bought this rod in a 3wt back in 2019 and have been fishing it in High Country Victoria ever since. I am on the water at least 100 days a year fishing the Ovens, Mitta Mitta and Kiewa Rivers and would say that I have been fishing this rod for at least 400 days since I bought it. You could say that I've had some time with the rod. I'm going to start with the lesser points on the rod to give you some perspective on the rod's performance. 1 - It doesn't have the greatest recovery. After you flick your flies forward, there's some wobble in the tip because of the fast action. This can also be an issue when you're fishing a double nymph rig as the extra action can induce some tangles in the rig, and the extra action and lack of rigidity then makes it quite a bit more difficult to undo the tangle. 2 - The ferrules aren't super tight. After a few hours on the water, I make sure to check my dots are all lined up and adjust the sections as needed to compensate for some slack in the ferrules. 3 - The reel seat is uplocking. It's not a major issue if you can put a good reel on the rod to make the balance right, but it can add some additional wrist strain when you're high-sticking for a long day on the river. 4 - There's no fighting butt. Not a major issue, but, again, after you've been high-sticking all day and the surprise heavy brown comes along, it can make things a lot easier. Now, for the good things. 1 - This rod is AMAZINGLY sensitive. The fast action drawbacks are a minor inconvenience when you consider how many more fish you catch based on the exceptional sensitivty these blanks transmit through the rod. In the 4 years that I have had this rod, I have not been skunked when fishing it. 2 - This rod can cast! You might think that a rod that's been built from less expensive (mass produced Chinese?) blanks to be specifically used for a euronymphing rig would have casting as an afterthought, but the grain envelope for this rod is right in the sweet spot. Casting a Rio Gold 3wt on this rod is magic and feels more like you're casting a fibreglass butter stick than a fast-action graphite rod. In the same vein, it has the mustard to easily roll cast heavy tungsten beaded flies with precision. 3 - The backbone of this rod can take a lot of weight. I've landed several big fish on this rod and put a lot of load on it in doing so. The rod has not quit or even given me the inkling of doubt that it will cope with the stress of the fight. 4 - The snake guides are excellent at passing bulky knots of the sighter and loop to loop connections from fly line to leader/sighter. It's seriously like grease almost. 5 - At this price point, you can buy several of these rods for the price of a moderately expensive rod from a more reknowned rod company. 6 - The cork in the handle, while not premium, is anything but economy and the cigar shape in hand is quite nice, I find. Buy this rod. Even if you think it's going to be a back-up rod you just tag along every once in awhile. I can, hand on heart, tell you that I honestly prefer fishing this rod over my ultra high-end rod from a well known American rod maker. This rod has the delicacy to present small dries or to load up and toss heavy nymphs.

Steve Zissou :: 22 Mar 2023, 14:37

Over 25yrs I have owned about 2 dozen fly rods

Over 25yrs I have owned about 2 dozen fly rods. I've finally got a chance to give these 2 a flick in the park since getting out of rehab. I must say I was impressed and shocked for how good they perform for their price. These 2 shoot line easier, smoother, and gracefully than any $800-$1200 rod I have had in the past. The only rods I can judge it against was my g.loomis GLX 6WT, and my old Strudwick TPS 5WT. that said, I'm really happy and using a $30 line lol. Thanks Mike Tenner. Leigh Bewley

Anonymous :: 19 Mar 2019, 06:53

6 days using the new Euro nymphing rod

at the end of November, I had 6 days using the new Euro nymphing rod I bought from you earlier that month, fishing the upper Eucumbene River between Eucumbene Dam and Kiandra, as well as the Gungahlin River, to the west of a little town called Nimmo. The rod was fabulous, and I managed to land 56 trout and lost a heap more over the 6 days. I had only tried Euro nymphing on a couple of days previously, so I was really delighted that I did so well. Most of the fish were caught on your PT Tungsten Jig Pink Tags. I even outfished some of my more experienced buddies who were using thousand dollar Sages! Best wishes for a safe and lockdown-free 2022! Rob Cummins

Rob Cummins ::

I wanted to send you a quick note of thanks for the 10 ft 3 wt you made me. I’ve been fishing with your rod for a few weeks and I love it It is great for a really long day on the water. I can take one rod with two reels; one spooled with a euro level line/ monorig and another spooled with a WF3W for dry fly fishing during an evening hatch. It handled euro fishing superbly. It is sensive enough, casts a mono rig well, and has enough backbone for heavy browns and suckers. Yet, it was just short enough for low hanging trees and tight runs. As the hatch came on in the evening I would switch my reel and start dry fly fishing. Here, casting out to 50 ft was easy, it laid down a nice soft line. I was surprised at it’s ability to present flies. I’m really happy I found you and love the rod

euronut ::