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3,042 Posts
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!
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!
