Reply To: First Euro rod recommendations

Dave,

You might have read this already but I found this on the tacticalflyfisher.com site – Devon Olsen and Lance Egan site. They know their EURO!

I (Devin) was fortunate to fish prototypes of the longer rods during Joe’s development process and have fished the 10′ models as soon as they were available from the factory. Below is a quick rundown of my experiences with each model.

10′ 10″ 3 weight: This rod is very stiff/powerful overall but has just enough softness in the tip to protect tippet. Given it’s length, it provides very good reach and allows you to stay further from the fish. I like this rod a lot for floating the sighter methods where tuck casting is paramount. It is also excellent at fishing heavier nymphs and streamers. It does have swing weight that feels like most 11′ 3 weights so I suggest pairing it with a reel that is at 5.5-6.5 oz to provide balance in the cork. When I fished it with a lighter reel, I found it more difficult to make quick casts and hooksets and to hold the rod extended. With the heavier reel, it fishes much more comfortably.

10′ 10″ 2 weight: This rod very good for fishing micro leaders on wider rivers where reach is important but loading a cast with light nymphs is still necessary. It has plenty of power to fight large fish. So far, I have landed a carp of around 7-8 pounds and a rainbow that I taped at 25″ on this rod. The cushion in the tip allowed me to handle both of them on 6x tippet without much trouble. It is a very good all around nymphing rod as long as aggressive casts are not mandatory. The soft tip does recover slower than the 3 weight, and the shorter 2 weight, so I find I need to wait longer for the rod to unload on my back cast to maintain accuracy. This characteristic means that this rod also performs best in calmer conditions as it is difficult to punch accurate casts into the wind or to tuck cast with authority. Given its length, it performs better when paired with a reel in the 5.5-6 oz range for balance, but it does have a bit less swing weight than the 10′ 10″ 3 weight.

10′ 2 weight: For smaller rivers, this is a very good choice as an all around nymphing rod. It has more power than most other 2 weight Euro nymphing rods I’ve fished, and quick recovery, so it is possible to land large fish and accurately cast into tight quarters. I have enjoyed using this rod for floated sighter methods and dry/droppers on a Euro nymph leader on the smaller waters I frequent. It tuck casts well and is very light in the hand. With its shorter blank and light overall weight, a reel between 4.2 and 5 oz is sufficient for balance.

10′ 1 weight: This rod is a ton of fun for small water. I compared it to a couple of 10′ 1 weights that other friends have, and it has a lot more power in the lower end of the rod but still has a lot of cushion in the upper half of the rod. It protects light tippet very well and makes smaller fish a lot of fun on the line. It loads really well with lighter nymphs and propels them without a lot of effort. It does lack hook setting authority compared to the stiffer and longer models so it is not a great choice if you fish a lot of larger heavier wire nymphs and streamers. Similar to the 10′ 2 weight, it doesn’t need a lot of weight to balance it and a reel over 4 oz will probably do the job.