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12'6 B&W 6wt?

3K views 10 replies 3 participants last post by  xgolfman 
#1 ·
LOL, so i wrote up this great review and deleted it by accident...so a more condensed version...

I am in love with the new B&W light weight series of rods, I started with the 13' two years ago...but have longed for and bugged Gene about a 14' version...and of course i recently got one and it's my favorite rod by far right now..best 14+ rod i've owned or cast....

SO, when Gene was telling me about the new 12'6 6wt trout spey i was intrigued but still, I have a few rods like it and the 7125-3 burkie is a dream rod...all the same he sent it to me knowing i'm a sucker for such and after i put it together and shook it i told him he wasn't going to get it back...

Wiggling is one thing but casting and FISHING a rod is what counts so even though this is not my good week i had to get out today and try it....

First off, it rained and i was not dressed or expecting rain...I get cold really easy now and it causes my hands to go numb so i was not only bummed but only brought a couple lines out to try, Second...i was trying out a new running line and decided with 5 minutes it was not for me...it constantly slipped out of my fingers in the rain and really pissed me off....Last, I forgot my dry tip wallet and only had a 10' dry tip when a 12' or 15' would of been much better...so started off in a bit of a funk...

My first line was a NC 5/6 w.a. ..... it basically sucked!! Now to be honest, i have not found a rod this line works on...I don't know why? i don't know if it was cut wrong but it was a line Gene really liked and i couldn't get it to do much but fly a** down and without much feel....
Next line was a gaelforce EEMT line @ 420g head...for as much as the NC line sucked this line is the exact opposite...My rods LOVE this line...so put it on hoping it wouldn't be too heavy...put on the 10' floating tip and almost broke the springs on my Taupo as it just ripped the line out there and barked my reel so loud it startled me...HOLY SMOKES...now this is what i was hoping for.... I ended up having to adjust my normal stroke and back off a bit to save my springs...damn this line is amazing and i found i was easily casting it way farther then any of my other 12-12'6 rods....Absolutely ridiculous what this rod was doing...
SO casting and fishing can tend to be two different beasts so i hiked up to the top of the run and fished it down ..... muddy waters fishing a waker so not a hope in hell of catching anything but i was dreaming of summer steelhead on a few rivers that this rod was just made for....
I cast so far just stripping more line out and more that i ended up having to reel in a bunch so i could see where the hell my waker was...and even then i had to shake the rod more then once to find it....

I didn't try any sink tips...I had some but to be honest i was having too much fun with it as it was....again, 12-15' dry tip would of been much better and i'll come up with that or a dedicated dry line in the future but for today i was blown away by this little gem of a rod!!!..

Talk to Gene or see him at Poppy's this sept...I told him he can have it back for the clave but otherwise this rod is mine and going to be on the G.R. while i'm down there!!!

B&W is killing it with these new rods....
 

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#4 ·
shazam...

decided to try some lines on the new 12'6 "summer run" ..
I have a 483g steelhead finder that was recommended to try...this is the old one, i loved those lines...i for some reason didn't really think it would work but was amazed at how it did work...very damn nice and my goodness this little rod almost feels like it has a "spring" in it...these lighter lines allow you to "flex" the rod a bit and when you do, it just springs or snaps back producing amazing line speed.....i looked at Lola and said, "well i think we found our dry line now"
Fished quite nicely down trying to temp the odd pink to bite but they just ignore me...

I had with me my 420g gaelforce head as per last time...I put on 13' NC dry tip and that set up casts a mile as well but those damn NC tips crumble like a bugger so took that off pretty quick...I had kind of made up my mind that i wasn't going to use this rod with tips...but then again.....so i tried a 95g OPST 12' tip on there and , well that thing flew like a rocket as well....finished up fishing that down the run again and hoped pointlessly for a bite .... none came..so threw the stick for Lola a bit more and headed home...

Damn this rod is sweet...looks like a toy, fishes like a weapon....
 

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#5 ·
update after fishing it on Sat.

i fished with the 480g steelhead scandi (not steelhead finder) in a bit of a wind...nothing we don't see regularly and it wasn't as good as i thought..kind of feeble, fluttered at any distance and didn't snake roll well...Hmmmm

went back to the truck and put my 420g gaelforce head on and a 10' airflo floating tip at 95g .... not as long as i would like but at least it turns over really well....
This combo was sic .... casts a mile...but more importantly fished really nice...I put a big orange moose turd on and pretended i was on the Dean..(a man can dream)
and fished it down through a run....i cast this set up farther than any other rod i have in 12-13' range...just so easy and smooth...didn't hook any Dean steelhead but a bunch of smolts and smallish whatevers seemed to love that orange bug and attacked relentlessly as it swung over a small ledge and into soft water...

Ah well...that's the story of my fishing lately...so be it...
 
#8 ·
i was scrounging around looking for one but haven't found one yet...I did find an old AFS head...way back behind my old packs etc. weird...it's 520g overall so might be in that window (420g +95g tip) what i'm interested in seeing is the tip is not super fine so should turn over anything...Really never fished these lines so will see.....rain and chemo bag on today so not till the weekend..
 
#10 ·
when i'm done with dry line fishing i will try more tips...i found a 425g skagit in my mess of lines but also the gaelforce EMT will handle that job no problem...

The AFS line was decent but no wow factor...something i found interesting last time out was staying with the 10' floating tip on the gaelforce head...not only does this combo cast farther then any of my other rods this size...it's very precise....There are overhanging downed trees and branches on the far side of my local ditch...as it widens that's a fair poke...but i can put my line in right in front of or behind these branches with ease....
It's a little weapon...and could probably handle most fish in that river...
 
#11 ·
fished weds on the local mud hole...lots of pinks around, hooke a couple, rod has no problem at all with them..(though a better test would of been hooking one in the tail...)
Was almost surprised at how well it handled this size fish...actually was able to bring it in fast as rod is much stronger then you might think..
anyways, check that off the list...
 

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