Since I am turning the half century this year I decided that a new rod was in order. I have a thing for #4s and thought that one more in the armoury would not be a bad thing. I am pretty good at convincing myself on things like that....
It comes in an alloy tube with a really nice threaded cap that seals well. Inside the tube is a four section bag that Hamish thought was a Helios bag. They are very similar.
The finish is really well done, in a dark green with dark brown whippings. The varnish is clear with no flaws. the handle is good cork with three darker, harder bands on it for aesthetics and wear. The reel seat is SWEET! Lovely bit of burl with an uplocking alloy seat and a mayfly engraved on the butt cap. You will not want to be resting this on the gravel in the car park that's for sure!
So how does it fish? Really nicely is the answer to that. It tracks well, rewards less effort than some of my other rods and still puts out a fairly long line. With an SLX it will do the distance thing just fine but with a Smallstream it really comes into it's own. It can still put out 20+ yards but there is less of a "thump" than the SLX. Rivers, lochs, float tubes, banks it does everything that I need. It is just sublime with two dries! It is light in the hand (around 2.7oz) and a good reel puts the balance at the back. My old Teton just found the rod it has been looking for all it's life.
And the best bit? £360 to you sir. I bought it from Angus Angling and Neil hand delivered it to my house. Top bloke, even better shop.
Overall, very happy troot fisher.
