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intro
design components
action
test cast
Last September I looked into getting my hands on a Burkheimer Spey rod. I'd heard good things about them from people who know their way around the long rods, so I was intrigued. I first heard about Burkheimer Speys a few years ago after a couple of members of the Brotherhood of the Black GP snuck across the border to the Seattle Sportsman's Show and bent a few on the casting pond. Tyler--a rod builder himself--raved about the overall quality of the rod, from the impeccably wrapped guides to the virtually pit free cork. Apparently Kerry Burkheimer designs and makes his own blanks, then custom builds each into rods. The attention to detail was evident. After a little hunting around I was able to connect with Kerry via his
website, and he kindly offered to provide a demo for me to evaluate. (Note: I want to stress here that I evaluated the rod from a casting standpoint--I did not actually fish the rod. Kerry tells me that several high-profile Pacific Northwest guides fish the rods for steelhead and swear by them, which suggests to me that they fish quite nicely). top
Last winter Kerry and I had a long discussion about the design
of his Spey rods. There is a tendency among rods designed in the US to favour
overhead casting. In these rods, the tip section is quite "light",
which is fine for overhead casting but deadly for the change-of-direction
inherent in the Spey casts: during the directional change, the rod tip deflects
out and away from the caster under load from the line, causing it to travel in
toward the caster before straightening out on the forward stroke. This causes the
all-too-common problem of the end of the line colliding with the main belly
during the forward cast. Burkheimer addressed this by carefully considering the
casts required of the Spey rod, ensuring that his
tips were stout enough to handle the change of direction while at the same time
ensuring that they had enough flex to handle short line tip casting. Under test conditions I was able to execute single Spey casts in excess of 45ÿý
change-of-direction with over 80' of line out. Many of the US rods really fall
apart under such conditions, but the Burkheimer handled this acid test with minimal tip
deflection.
To me 14' feels comfortable. I regularly fish Spey rods from
13'-to-16', and 14' feels just about right. With a 14' rod you can cover pretty
much all of the water you'd care to in a day without stressing your arms,
shoulders, and wrists. Beyond 14' the rods combined with the larger reels start
to get heavy. A good caster can cover the same water with a 14' rod as a
mediocre caster can with a longer stick. I think that it's worth noting that
many of the most experienced American Spey rodders regularly fish 14' rods
throughout the year. 14' is ideal on the Dean, Bulkley, Skykomish and Sauk
rivers, and can hold its own on the Skagit and the Thompson, classic "big
water" rivers. top
The 9143-3 is a beautiful Spey rod. Burkheimer's blanks are
sanded and finished in a deep cedar green. The rod tested came equipped with high-quality
components such as durable hand-made Tungsten snake guides, an option offered exclusive by
Burkheimer. Guides are wrapped with deep cedar green threads tipped with platinum.
A nickel-silver winding check
tops the upper handle, and a custom made Bellinger Delrin-lined reel seat
separates the grips. A rubber ball style butt cap flows
smoothly onto the bottom cork.
I want to make a special mention of handles. From their overall
design to the quality of the rings, the cork-work on the Burkheimer is first
rate. The bottom grip is actually long enough to be comfortable (which the grip
on some other US 9 weights are not) and has been shaped with a winter steelheader's cold
hands in mind. The upper handle is a reversed half wells
design that is chunky enough to instill confidence without being too blocky to
be comfortable. top
I would characterize this rod as having a
"traditional" Spey action: by this I mean that it is a medium action
Spey rod, with much of the bend during the casting of an average length of line
(60' - 70' in Spey rod terms) occurring in the mid section of the rod. This is
accomplished by having a fairly stout tip section that directs the load down
through the taper into the mid section. On longer casts the rod continues to
flex into the butt section, with plenty of what has become known as
"reserve power" for extremely long casts or heavier lines, or for
moving a heavy fish. Most medium action rods are fairly easy to cast as the
caster can feel the rod load, a sensation that is not as pronounced on the
faster action "European"-style rods. You can certainly feel the
Burkheimer load up, but it does not have that characteristic "mushy" feel that has plagued other US rods attempting to emulate the classic UK feel. Although
you can move a long line with the Burkheimer, it not a rod to muscle--the same
relaxed stroke is necessary otherwise you will end up with a very wide and/or
tailing loop. A smooth, easy casting stroke with an abrupt stop at the end of
the forward cast (as opposed to a heavy "snap" of the wrists) will
allow you to create smooth, tight loops. You can really help yourself along with
this by holding the rod lightly, gripping it tightly only when you are stopping
it on the forward stroke. top
line: Spey-Driverÿý custom 9 weight floating long-belly Spey line
reel: Hardy Marquis Salmon #1
The test casts were completed one early summer afternoon on a
local pond with the wind blowing in the direction of the casts. Test casts
included the single Spey, Grant Switch, double Spey, Snake Roll, Snap-T, Circle
cast, and overhead casts. As mentioned above, I was most interested in
the rod's ability to change a wide angle of direction, what I consider to be one
of the hallmarks of a superior Spey. I find that the best cast to determine this
is either the single Spey or the Grant Switch. In both cases the rod performed
very well, effortlessly executing the casts to 45ÿý, faring almost equally as
well to 60ÿý, and evidencing a slight deflection beyond 60ÿý (note: the single
Spey and Grant Switch are not commonly performed beyond a 45ÿý
change-of-direction; casters would generally select either a double Spey, Snake
Roll or Snap-T/Circle cast beyond 45ÿý). I felt that the rod really came into
its own with the Snake Roll, the Circle Cast, and the Snap-T, a cast I suspect is one favoured by
those that assisted in the design process. Like the best of the UK Spey rods made by Bruce
& Walker, Daiwa and David Norwich, the Burkheimer almost casts itself--all
you have to do is move it through the required motions with very little
effort. design top
The CF Burkheimer 9143-3 is a superior Spey rod. They aren't cheap, but when
you consider that you are paying a little more for a custom rod with superior
components and performance characteristics, the rods are a bargain.
So Kerry, any chance I can have the rod back for the Thompson in October?
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