My rod was one of the five limited editions George Minculete finished for Swift in 2016. I've had George finish several rods for me before and as usual the workmanship is superb. This series has a translucent grey (Epic calls it Slate) color. A bit less vibrant than their usual bright colors, but certainly equally striking. You might call it the stealth version.
George managed to build five of these buggers and I'm sure he was wasted after finishing the last rod. Creating five perfectly identical rods is no small feat. The stunning marble like wooden spacer really pops out. The grip on these rods is one could say George's signature snub nose grip. The corks used are obviously the best one can get. It feels super comfortable in the hand and looks very sleek too. The epoxy on the wraps is another of George's specialty that I've not seen done better. The (roomy) fiberglass tube that comes with the rod is a nice touch.
So, how does this good looking rod cast? The 580 (8 ft #5 3 piece) is probably Epic's most popular blank of the series and that's no surprise. Modern glass rods are much lighter than the old fiberglass rods from the past. This rod is barely 3 oz (86 grams). The action is quite different than its smaller brother Epic 480. Much faster without feeling stiff, it just delivers the line with amazing feel, authority and accuracy.The tip has the right amount of softness to be able to cast short distances (2-4 meters, about 6 to 12 feet) with good feed back well as well. The Epic 580 shines in the 4 to 12 meter (about 12 to 40 feet) range yet still able to cast a tight loop on longer distances. I also tried a 4 weight line on the rod and the rod had no problem what so ever. Obviously using a 4 weight line will make the rod feel a tad faster. This practically eliminates the need to get a 4 weight rod as well. Anyone used to fast graphite rods should have no problem casting this rod's medium fast action without any adjusting needed.
The feeling of the rod loading and unloading is probably the main difference between most graphite rods and fiberglass (and bamboo) rods. This feeling is very appealing and almost demands the caster to slow down the casting stroke to a bare minimum. When playing a fish, the more flexible characteristics of fiberglass rods makes it even more fun. If you haven't felt this, I urge you to try casting a fiberglass rod soon. It's quite addictive.I've fished this rod (with an Orvis Hydros WF4) last fall with a hopper dropper rig as well as a nymph with a small yarn indicator and I can't say anything than huge thumbs up for both the blank as well as the finished rod.
Here's a short video of a trip I made in fall 2016:
