Review: Douglas DXF

Just did some casting this evening with the new Douglas Outdoors DXF 4864 (8.6ft #4) which was kindly sent to me for a review by Qflyshop.

This rod is made for dry fly fishing. The action is delightfully moderate. Slightly more powerful than their superb Upstream series yet not as beefy as the Upstream Plus series. I particularly liked the rod's delivery between 6 m (20 ft) and 9 m (30 ft). That's probably the distance most dry fly fishing is done. The DXF couldn't match the superb feel of the fiberglas rod by Chris Barclay at 20 ft, but that can't be considered a flaw 😀

The rod has some surprising back bone at the butt section but it's surely not the rod for casting double hopper rigs at 50 ft from a drift boat. For gentle delivery to a sipping trout at 25 ft, it's a winner.

The rod is finished in a matte metallic green color and comes in a codura rod tube. I'd prefer the handsome aluminum tube of the Upstream and the Upstream Plus.

At $349 (in Europe € 349) it's definitely a rod that won't break the bank. Give the rod a test at your local fly shop. You won't win the distance casting competition but surely enjoy some great dry fly fishing on your favourite stream!

Ps.
I did do some distance casting before wrapping up. I ended up casting almost the whole line at around 80 ft. Sorry couldn't help myself! 😀