Every once in a while you get this smile on your face when you start casting a rod. I ran into this (no name) 8 weight rod on a sale some 10 years ago. I rarely fish with rods this heavy, but I bought it because I was amazed how well the rod cast.I have cast quite some 8 weight rods from various brands, both high end as well as up coming brands like Guideline, but none of them really struck me as a rod I would like to cast for hours on end. Most of them are simply too stiff for my taste. This rod has a really nice medium-fast action that feels very smooth. Very light in hand as well.
What I didn't like, and this goes for nearly all other rods from 6 weight (salt water versions) and up is the size of the full wells grip. They are just too large for my taste to feel really comfortable casting all day. Maybe the manufacturers assume heavy weight lines are only used by guys with big hands? I tried to slim down the grip using sandpaper, but eventually the grip got wasted… I found out I'm no rod maker.
Last year I asked my friend George Minculete of Tight Loop Fly Rods to put a new grip on it, but a shorter (13 cork rings equals about 6.5 inch) and slimmer grip. There was no hurry, so I didn't expect the rod being taken care of any soon. This week George sent me some pictures of the final grip. Simply outstanding as usual. Thanks George!Update August 2, 2015:
The grip looks absolutely top notch. The thinner grip makes the rod feel much like a trout rod. The dark red/brownish anodized reel seat matches the translucent dark brown blank. Can't be happier!
