[Hammer]

was talking with a gent online and asked him about a rod and if he'd had any handle time on one and he stated it was a beast ;you'd have to be 6-6 250 pounds to throw this rod all day !! took it back to the manufacturer after an hour or two. What is the BIGGEST, BADDEST rod ?,,which one has the most power ,reserve,huevos rancheros,is it actually a rod that is quite uncomfortable to use or,can a big,distance rod be used all day or just a couple of hours at a time,,,,,??what is the longest graphite rods produced,ever??:devil:

 

[flytyer]

There are several of us who use 16 ft or longer 10/11 rods for winter fishing or for Thompson River fishing. And we fish them all day long with the big long-bely lines without killing ourselfs. Some of us are over 6' and weigh in the 225 to 250 lb area and others are of average height. These rods are not just for tournament casting, they are very fine fishing tools.

There are quite a few rods available now that are 16'+ that can be fished with the big long-belly lines, and they are available in all actions from slow to medium to fast. I like fast rods so I have a T&T 1611, Kush likes a bit slower and more progressive rod so he fishes a CND Thompson Specialist (16'7"), Fred likes a more traditional, slower, progressive rod and he fishes a B&W 18'.

You have a number of fine 16'+ rods to choose from. Just pick the type of action you like, and then get the rod. T&T, Sage, B&W, Clan, and CND come to mind as makers of these rods. Robert Meiser, as he posted elsewhere in the forums, is working on the design for a 17' rod of this type as well. Remember to use a reel with some weight to it to ballance the extra length of the 16'+ rods, otherwise they will feel tip heavy and tire you quickly.

 

[Hammer]

BEAST !

Thank You!, really appreciate response from someone who obviously has thrown a very long line,and keeps great company as well!!although still in the dark as to the LONGEST ever made,it's a deal where when i started flying i had a 9 ft. ten wt.,I did things with this rod that i haven't done since,i'm quite sus pecting that rod was a 12 wt.as I have purchased,10 wts. since that just didn't have IT,and i'm sure you know what i mean,,so an 18 ft.er won't kill me after all,,where's Fred ?he mentioned an 18, B-W

 

[BCOrchidGuy]

Hammer not sure if you read Willie's post "interveiw with Scott Mckenzie"

Back in the late 19th century, Alexander Grant gave an exhibition of Speycasting on the Thames using one of his own greenheart rods and achieved a distance of 65 yards, a remarkable feat considerable the advances in technology over the past 100 years.

Greenheart is a dense heavy wood so I imagine that this rod would qualify as a beast.

Gardner has this to add...

O'Gorman, writing in 1845, mentions rods for the Irish Blackwater of up to 26'. According to WJM Menzies, an 18' greenheart rod was suitable only for 'a comparatively puny man'.

Wow... a puny man??

 

[Hammer]

yes,i intend to capture one ; so as to advance my studies,always wanted a vibrater,er, Vibration, finally figured out where a man could use one:hehe:

 

[BCOrchidGuy]

:eyecrazy:

 

[Hammer]

the beast of witch i speak of is a b-walker ,walker,16,hex,carbo,anyone use one??

 

[speybum]

16ft Hexagraph Bruce and Walker

The 16ft Bruce and Walker Hexagraph
I have owned both Actions.
Most common
The Bruce action was quite mellow and slow suited for long dry line.
Very rare
The Walker action is built for brute strength and for those who care to throw the entire Salmon line. What was commly called a Sunk line rod.
These rods were built for Those 3 inch Brass tubes and full sunk lines.

Both Rods weigh a ton.

Witch action is it.

 

[Hammer]

it's the walker,AHA,i'll take the coment about weight to assume the scotsman was telling the truth!!,thanks ,they Do look awsome though,almost purchased one last winter,but the condition was a little to rough,e-mailed the company for a catologue,aswell as several other u.k. manufacturures,no response,anyway probably a great way to blow someones mind that pissed ya' off,,think about it!,`here boy ,try this ,you been wanting to try a two hander',then just get WAY back:hehe:

 

[kush]

I had a pair or of 18' Bruce & Walker Experts - they were true beasts - big, slow and powerful - with an extended long belly like Derek Brown's Speydriver it was spectacular. Sadly, I finally broke both of them ... However the 16'7" CND Thompson Specialist I now use would blow the doors of the B&W's, it is lighter, faster and probably outcasts the B&W's by 30'.

Nobuo recently made me a 17'8" Specialist that he called the "Beast", I haven't used it much yet but will give it a go soon, it is a little more like the B&W.

If you want the ultimate beast you should contact Scott Baker-McGarva at the Steelhead Society of BC - he has a 20' Hardy that was donated to the Society for sale. I had it for a while but never got it to the river. The night I was setting it up Steve Choate wandered over to look - neither of us felt we were up to "challenging the Beast" :eyecrazy: so I took it apart and gave it back to Scott!

 

[Hammer]

hey Kush ;any e-mail address ,this learning curve is getting steeper:hehe:

 

[flytyer]

Kush,

I didn't know that you were also looking for a rod over 17' that was lighter and faster than the Scottish rods for fishing, and not just tournament casting. Perhaps you will bring it down to one of Speybum's mini-claves this winter so some of the rest of us can give it a go.

Speybum,

It seems that you were right about several rod makers working on rods over 17' for those of us looking for long, large line rods for fishing. Meiser is working on one and now CND is working on one. Perhaps we have truly entered into the "golden age" of spey!

Now we need some good, light, fast 15' 8/9 rods. I get more dissatisfied with my 13' 8/9 GLX all the time because its length makes it far more work to fish with a long-belly line.

 

[SSPey]

I don't know squat about rod design and materials, but I wonder whether 15' 8/9 rods don't get close to the edge of current limits. Seems that the risk of blowing up a rod with gets worse with long light line rods. The extra length automatically allows the caster to carry a longer line, which puts added strain on the rod. SNAP !!

I know that the only rod I've blown while speycasting was a 15' #8. Few 15' 8/9 rods have ever been marketed, and even fewer are fast action. Sure, you could beef up a rod to cast farter with more power, but at what cost in weight, and at what risk of turning it into a 10 wt? Our fastest lightest rods are also the most fragile, and there seems to be a real trade-off here.

Given time, I also trust that rod design and materials geniuses will prove me wrong.