Edoardo Scapin is an Italian bamboo maker, although building bamboo rods for more than 25 years, I discovered only a few years ago. It was his classy video that caught my eyes. Unlike many European bamboo makers, Scapin's rods have a vey nice balance of the looks of classic American rods and more contemporary European details.
Recently Edoardo generously offered to send me one of his demo rods for a review. The rod he sent was his Catskill Homage, an 8ft #3 rod in two pieces. While most of the rods he makes are for 4 to 6 weight lines, this light and long rod caught my attention. Rather than using classic tapers by famous rod makers of the past Edoardo designed all of his models and tapers himself. Designing long and light rods require dedication and lots of R&D. Scapin describes this rod as "... my tribute to Catskill Ideal rod for ultra-light fishing. It’s dedicated to advanced casters who want to fish trouts and graylings with a very sophisticated rod".
The first thing I noticed is the straw color and especially the dramatic swell just above the grip, similar to the individualist series by Thomas & Thomas. The wraps on the rod are translucent giving the rod an elegant and clean appearance. The varnish applied has a very glass-like look. As some might know by now, I am very picky about grips. This rod comes with a 5.5 inch cigar type grip, a length that matches the size of the rod very nicely. The reel seat has a very nice burled olive wood and a very 'statuesque' bright cap and ring made by Scapin himself.
On my scale the solid built rod weighs 4.1 oz, slightly heavier than the similar hollow built rod by Cris Carpenter I've tried in the past. The rod has a positive progressive action that's on the fast side of medium-fast. The dramatic swell certainly adds to the power in the butt section (a 'swelled butt' stops the bending of the rod past the swell allowing the action to be 'beefed up'). Scapin says about this rod's taper: "The rod has a fine tip, but I like to have a little firmly but section with good reserve of Power. I don't like too parabolic action".
I tried several lines on the rod. Rated as a 3 weight rod, with several 3 weight lines (Sage Quiet Taper II DT3, Orvis Hydros WF3 and 406 DT3) due to the strong action I felt the rod casts best after about 25 feet. I would use this rod if I need to fish at longer distances with long leaders and small flies (nymph or dry fly), especially in the 30 - 50 ft range.After changing to 4 weight line (Orvis Hydros WF4 and a Sage Performace Taper II WF4) the rod really came alive, now also at short casting distances (15-20 ft). I even tried a 5 weight line (Hook & Hackle WF5) and thanks to the strong butt section the rod handled it without a problem. Swapping back and forth I liked the rod best with a 4 weight line as I could feel the rod load and unload more pronouncedly.
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| The swelled butt is clearly visible |
A final note about the taper: my preference would be a slightly softer butt section and maybe a slightly shorter length (7.9 ft vs 8 ft) as this will soften the whole rod's action a bit too.
Thank you Edoardo for your generosity and friendship! Hope to visit you one day and cast more rods from your hands.
Update 21 Sep 2019:
Here's a nice interview with Edoardo. The influence of the famous American bamboo makers of the past is very evident.
Update 10 Oct 2019:
Here's Edoardo talking about his passion.
