A couple of new rod reviews,

[fly addict]

At the fly fishing Faire in Bishop I got to cast various new rods from several rod manufactures including Sage, Redington, Hardy, Fenwick, and others. One rod that stood out from all the rest was the new Hardy Wraith. The 9’ 5wt was the finest casting rod I have ever cast. It is a fast action rod without being overly stiff and felt very light in my hand while casting. The swing weight compared to the other 5 wt rods I tested felt much lighter even though they weigh about the same.

One of the casting exercises I like to do is close my eyes while casting, and just go by the input of the rod during the casting cycle. It helps to have someone else observe what the loops are doing while I do this. It communicated well what was going on with the rod and line while casting. It loaded up well up close which most fast action rods don’t do very well, and I could easily cast 65’ of line beyond the rod tip with very tight loops without hauling. When I did double haul, it was easy to add another 20’ of line beyond the rod tip and shoot the rest of the line along with a lot of backing. It also was very precise and accurate; we had targets 20’out to 50’ that were the size of paper plates. It wasn’t hard to constantly hit the targets cast after cast. I’m a firm believer that you need to practice a lot to become a good caster, but this rod may help make you a better caster. That’s not really true but if nothing else it was a joy to cast and you may think you are a better caster with this rod in your hand!

Several members of this forum I fish with have the Hardy Zenith rods in both 4 &5 wts. They are great casting and fishing rods. Most of the time Rod manufactures comes out with new rods that are touted as being an improvement over the last generation of rods they made. In this case I think Hardy did make an improvement over the older rod.

I don’t need another 5 wt rod, but I want this rod in my collection. It was hard to stop casting it because it was so much fun to cast. The other CIs and Master casters that also tried this rod were also very impressed with this rod and I bet I’ll see a few also adding this rod to their collection. I also predict this rod will win George Anderson newest 5 wt shoot-out.

Another new rod that I enjoyed casting and want to add to my quiver is the new Fenwick 7’4wt fiberglass rod. It looks just like the old Fenwick glass rods from a bygone era. It is a very slow rod and you better adjust your casting stroke to it in order to get the most from it. I was very surprised how much line I could cast and still maintain a tight loop. You can cast 50’ with this rod without it completely falling apart or end up with tailing loops. This rod is perfect for small streams where 10’ to 30’ cast are the norm but it will reach out farther if needed. I think it will be a blast to catch any fish with this rod. It is priced at $220 and I think Fenwick will sell a lot of these new glass rods.
So should you go out and buy these rods because I like them? Probably not, but you should go out and cast them when you get the chance.

[stanbery]

Mark

Thanks for the review.

jon

[flybob]

Mark, great info!

All I need to do is subtract about 30% from your distance, and that is what I can expect for me! LOL!

All kidding aside, I still practice and consciously think about all the things you have taught me over the years.
It has all made a big difference in my accuracy and deciding which cast to use for the approach....not to mention not many lost flies to the trees and foliage.

Double hauling is still a pipe dream......

[briansII]

Thanks for the review. I enjoy reading unbiased reviews of gear. I got to fish the 9' 5wt Zenith for a day, and thought it was a great rod. So if this one is better, it sounds like a winner.

briansII

[flyster]

Great report. I have half a dozen of those older Fenwick glass rods and all are smooth casting rods with the proper line. I will have to look into those new era glass rods. Thanks for sharing.