Eagerly Awaited 5 Weight Shootut

[briansII]

Looks like this will be done twice this year. This is the mini shootout.

http://www.yellowstoneangler.com/gear-r ... rod-review

Expect the full blown..........totally unbiased, shootout later this year.

briansII

[Flatsix]

What are you doing reading rod reviews???????

Shopping maybe

[RiverRat]

What are you doing reading rod reviews???????

Shopping maybe

Busted

[duckdog]

O.K.- so has any one out there fished one of these Hardy Zenith rods ? If so what weight and what did you think of it ?

[NorcalBob]

YAWN!!!!
More marketing BS from a hardly unbiased source!!!!

[garypullings]

has any one here fished any of these rods mentioned.

[briansII]

YAWN!!!!
More marketing BS from a hardly unbiased source!!!!

Grumpy! You're just mad because the H2 scored last.

I think this was a great idea to generate traffic to his website. Like it or not, I'm sure it has done what was intended. For the record, I threw in "unbiased", just to spice things up.

And no, I wasn't shopping....no, honest. A 5wt would be close to last on my shopping list.....hey, how about that $1,300 5wt! I already own the best(unbiased opinion) 5wt, the XP 905-4....and have some backups if I ever break it and have to send it in for warranty. The 8wt Shootout gets my attention, but I'm currently a little top heavy in that category. Should they ever do a switch or spey rod shootout, I'm dead meat.

briansII

[NorcalBob]

<<<Grumpy! You're just mad because the H2 scored last>>>
Orvis rods will never do well in their shootouts because their "expert" testers all want specific action rods that Orvis does not make. And that's the glaring fault with their shootout, they are telling you (with their bias') what they want in a rod. And most people don't cast with the same skill and stroke they have. All useless info for me, because I cast differently. Everyone should toss these "reviews" in the trash (whether from here or any other biased source), and actually try out some rods before buying to find the one that is best suited for them.
<<<I think this was a great idea to generate traffic to his website>>>
And that in a nutshell is what this "shootout" is all about, and why the same rod company wins every year (he's one of the few Hardy dealers around). And I'm sure he gets lots of rewards from Hardy also! All marketing BS!!!
I've cast the Hardy and it's a great rod. But then again so is Orvis, Loomis, Sage, Winston, Scott, etc etc etc. They all have great rods!!!

[Sasha]

YAWN!!!!
More marketing BS from a hardly unbiased source!!!!

This!

[midger]

NorCalBob pretty much hits the nail on the head. It's amazing (not) that the more expensive rods always end up on top. Would you expect anything else? You won't sell many $800-1200 rods unless they are rated above the others and unless your store stocks them. I suspect the raters are happy when folks buy the hype and the rods they recommend.

I've never cast a Hardy rod. I'm sure they are just fine, but not for me at that price point. You need to cast rods and decide for yourself what works for you. Everybody casts differently and the rod you like for closeup, small creek work probably won't be the rod you prefer for medium to larger sized rivers even if the fish expected are roughly the same size.

I like the actions of the older SageRPL and Light Line series of rods. I also like the SLTs, but I've found that the rods I make from the Batson IM6 blanks come close to the actionof the slts at about 1/5 the cost. Would I rather pay 5X the amount for the Sage just to say it's a Sage? Not particularly, and I won't cry when I break the cheaper rods, so those are what I usually fish locally on those brushy small creeks.

Try as many rods as you can lay your hands on. Don't let the names on the blanks control your "best" rods.

And BrianII just for you, I hope they do a spey/switch rod shootout.

[briansII]

And that in a nutshell is what this "shootout" is all about, and why the same rod company wins every year (he's one of the few Hardy dealers around). And I'm sure he gets lots of rewards from Hardy also! All marketing BS!!!
I've cast the Hardy and it's a great rod. But then again so is Orvis, Loomis, Sage, Winston, Scott, etc etc etc. They all have great rods!!!

Remember when Tom Morgan's rods won the Shootout. Now let's see........how many shops carry Tom Morgan rods? Hmmm.....

briansII

[NorcalBob]

<<<Remember when Tom Morgan's rods won the Shootout. Now let's see........how many shops carry Tom Morgan rods? Hmmm..... >>>
EXACTLY my point!!!!
Hardy has a pretty decent dealer network in CA. Maybe 25-33% of flyshops are authorized dealers for them (I think there are about 30 CA Hardy dealers). But walk into any of those shops and see how many Hardy rods they actually have. Now walk into George's flyshop and see how many Hardy rods he has in stock and you will understand exactly why the winner was the winner!!!!

[tyingfool]

Thats why I build my own rods.At a 1/16 the cost of those high dollars guys.Catch just as many fish also.

David

[Pete]

A real shootout is a blind shootout would entail painting all the rods black and testing them. Then you could judge the appearance on a new rod.

I don't care what a tester says, we all have a bias toward a certain brand, color or something else that could influence the results no matter how small.

Besides it's all BS... they don't throw Bamboo in the mix. Then there would be no question which rod is the best

Pete

[briansII]

A real shootout is a blind shootout would entail painting all the rods black and testing them. Then you could judge the appearance on a new rod.

I don't care what a tester says, we all have a bias toward a certain brand, color or something else that could influence the results no matter how small.

Besides it's all BS... they don't throw Bamboo in the mix. Then there would be no question which rod is the best

Pete

A blind test would be the best way, but the guys(fly shop employees)testing the rods would still be able to see the hardware, and know what rod it is. I don't work in the FFing industry, but I bet I would be close to 75% accurate, just by seeing the lock rings and guides. A black bamboo rod would stick out like a sore thumb. The absolute best way is to poke the testers eyes out, and put gloves on them.

FWIW, I love reading the advertising for new rods. It's fun, and entertaining. I don't take it personal that they think I'm in the 3rd grade, and have never touched a fly rod before.

briansII