[waynev]

... been casting and fishing bamboo spey rods for a while now and trying to think what I like about them most... Its not the beauty of the bamboo or that I make bamboo rods. Its the slower action that I like the most. Slower rods seem to be a lot less "stressfull".

Who ever proved that casting a boron/graphite/space-aged rocket-rod was supposed to be "better"? Why is the ability to cast with a 6 inch high loop at sonic line speeds considered such a positive?

Aren't some of the fundamental ideas behind fishing to: number one - relax, and number two -accurately put a cast out in the water and three - in a straight line ? - all of which are easier for me with slower rods.

Even todays trend to "medium" action rods is still producing rods that are a tad fast. It looks like manufacturers don't want to design rods as "medium" but rather "medium-fast" is the slowest they will make. I guess its an evolution, hopefully someday modern manufacturers will produce more rods that are truly "medium-slow".

I find myself wishing I hadn't in moments of temporary insanity sold the slow action graphite rods that I once owned.

Any other fans of slower rods out there?

 

[seasearider]

People are suckers for buying something new on the market. doesn't mean its better.
waynev (I find myself wishing I hadn't in moments of temporary insanity sold the slow action graphite rods that I once owned.)
They already sold that market and fiberglass they have to move on?
Soon there will be something else.

 

[Tailer]

Here is one!

If I had to make a choose between slow or fast. I would definitely pick the slow action rod. Reasons would be the same as you listed, but on top of that I find slow action rods better with fighting fish. I also find them much more interesting to cast. I get so much more feedback and feeling through slow action blanks than fast ones.
Well, on the other days I get that fast action madness.

 

[David1123]

David1123

I prefer slower action rods. I particularly like Meiser rods. I had a Sage but to me it was like casting a piece of re-rod.

 

[glcaddis]

I'm onboard with slow

I like Scott G-series SH rods and the ARC 2H version. I've recently been around the horn with several 2H rods and am headed back to the slower actions. For me, slow isn't bamboo slow, but IM6 slow is about right for me.

 

[fish0n4evr]

I have yet to cast bamboo. But, I like a slow-er action also - compared to fast rods (TCR & TCX.) I had a 9140 TCR and had to line it like an 11 weight in order to cast it. This was very early on though. None the less, I've turned away from fast actions since then.

One of the nicest slow action graphites I ever had was a Lamiglas LS - a traditional spey action designed by Mike Maxwell. But I'm thinking about bamboo more and more these days.

 

[waynev]

.... bingo on Mike Maxwell LS series.
There is 12 or 12.5 footer 6 or 7 weight Mike Maxwell LS series. I've been trying to find (and horde)

 

[montanafos]

All I own are Sage brownies (graphite III or iiie) for 2 handers and Sage RPL's and LL's for single handers...with a single SP and a XP slipped in there. For the reasons noted by the OP I am a fan of slower action rods. Life is too fast as it is and the river forces me to slow down a bit. Will have my 8150 and 9140 brownie's on the water with me next week.

 

[wrx_canoe]

Wayne,

Make me a bamboo spey rod and I'll let you know if I prefer the slower action...:chuckle:

I don't like fast rods but I'm guessing I'd have a hard time chilling out and going down to the pace of a slow bamboo rod.

With a few more grey hairs perhaps I'll change that perspective.

Preston

 

[MDGoodwin-Baird]

I am a fan. I am waiting for a bamboo two hander. In single hand rods I prefer the Garrison tapers---progressive actions. There are situations where faster is more useful---distance and wind for example. I think we should be careful thinking of bamboo as simply "slow actioned." Yes, the difference in material gives bamboo a slower feel than graphite, BUT within bamboo there are VAST differences in actions---including fast---so a Dickerson 8014G feels very different from a Garrison 212e.

 

[steelhead23]

fast - but

I don't own any bamboo spey rods, but do own an old B&W fiberglass spey rod and offer this. I prefer fast action rods most of the time. I seem to cast further with less effort with them. However, I have noticed that my faster rods are also a lot more persnickety about the lines they throw. Perhaps its me, but the slower action on the B&W seems to allow a greater variety of lines to cast well. I don't believe a rod has to be fiberglass or bamboo to be slow and I wonder why nobody is marketing slower graphite spey rods along the lines of Scott's venerable G series. I note that the old Fibatube graphite spey rod I have is in that category, but its at least 25 years old. When not trying to make hero casts, or throw 10 feet of T-17 plus a large intruder, slower rods can be very pleasant to fish - and as noted above, better fish fighting tools.

 

[xgolfman]

i have boo rods and i have "fast" sage methods and ones..

I like all of them for what they do and have never felt that the "fast versus slow" has really had any effect on my casting or enjoying a rod...

I like the boo because it's boo and it's pretty cool to fish with and can take a beating....i don't use it on the salt to single hand cast 100' out to the where the salmon might be...(on a really good casting day)...and i don't use the method on a small stream for SRC's...

So it's all good in my book..

 

[Matt16]

Big fan of rods like the Highlander, Deer Creek 5110 (didn't find the 8110 to be as mellow), Sage 9143 Z Axis, the Dredger series.

 

[Bignap]

Dredger

I love my 7/8 Dredger!

 

[roballen]

I don't think a rod has to be slow to be relaxing and easy to cast.. I do not think a rod has to be fast to develop a tight loop or cast a long distance or to develop high line speed.


At the spey clave on the Sandy last spring I went down the line up and wiggled as many rods as i could and found a couple things.

1. nearly all the rods were the same! they had light soft tips and stiff as a board through the bottom three sections.

2. the rest of the rods are heavy and slow and have no power.

in my opinion the best casting, most powerful and most relaxing rods to fish are.

1. the rod has a tip that is strong enough to cause the rest of the rod to flex then recover quickly... most slow rods are just that weak and full flexing, they are not relaxing to cast. they are just heavy and slow.


there are some really poor rods on the market these days, some of them are very popular because lets face it an 11 - 15 foot stick of graphite is going to move a fly line. people will spend tons of money to buy well marketed rods that are good enough so there is little incentive to hammer out every last detail to perfect a rod.

 

[glcaddis]

Don't be lulled by the Rod Maker

I've long been a fan of rods made in Colorado. I've owned many of them over the years. Currently I have five of their rods, all of which I love, and that I think are relaxing and easy to cast. But, I've gone through a lot of their rods that I fished for a season or two and sold because they weren't that relaxing and easy. Sometimes it was the whole rod series, but mostly it would be one or two rods within a series that I didn't like. My current favorite is an 11'9" 6 wt whose bigger brother, a 14' 9 wt didn't last a season.

Price doesn't dictate anything either. The most expensive two hand rod I've ever bought is no longer with me, because it just didn't pass the relaxed and easy test over time. The rod I like the best was 2/3rd's the price of the praised higher priced rods.

Bottom line for me is try it first, but just because it feels good doesn't mean you'll feel the same way about it after coming of a long day fishing. When I leave the water, I don't want the rod to be stumbling block to having a great day fishing regardless of how good the catching was.

 

[fish0n4evr]

Very well put.

 

[CaneCaster]

Reading this thread with interest....

On Fast Vs Slow... I tend to think/feel/classify rods more into
1. Rods that develop power for a longer time and rods that develop power for a shorter time
2. Rods that bend progressively or rods that bend regressively
3. Rods that have a strong tip and rods that have a soft tip.
4. Rods with a fast recovery and rods with a slower recovery.

There are rods out there in every combonation of the above. All can cast well, or poorly, be relaxing or a chore. Some have a defined "bottom" where you reach the capability of the design and others give the impression of being "bottomless". Many (most) times it will all come down to the line and the casters natural stroke (I define my "natural stroke" as a culmation of the things I do right and all my faults...

On the generalization that all bamboo rods being classed all toghether as "slow"... I do not fully agree. There have been a number of rods listed already in this thread witha much fuller flex, weaker tip and slower recovery than quite a few of the bamboo rods I have cast, and I have cast many that were the other end of the spectrum as well. It's akin to lumping every Graphite rod as Fast. When we all know there are/is every variation of speed, power, recovery and strength.

Food for thought, or at the very least a different opinion.

Cheers.
J.

 

[xgolfman]

i think everyone assumes that because a rod "wiggles" or has a deeper flex it's automatically slow James...The boo spey rods i've cast, if you cast it like a slow rod wasn't very impressive..(i.e. waiting on it and didn't hit it very hard) When I cast it like i would normally then it recovered fine and cast well and far if needed..

I feel the same with the single...but the difference i feel is it doesn't like to be false cast and double hauled a bunch...three false casts and go..I can't go longer as i might on a faster graphite looking for more line speed...it's all there at the beginning and i'm not going to get more from it...
Finding that out has greatly increased my pleasure or casting with the rod..once I stopped dicking around false casting/hauling and just took it back and let it go, the rod responds a lot better and gets it out there nicely...

If that makes sense?

 

[Black Zonky]

At the spey clave on the Sandy last spring I went down the line up and wiggled as many rods as i could and found a couple things.

Rob, I've heard(read) you say this a few times and I am wondering if your opinion of a rod has ever changed after you cast it with some line, whereas previously the wiggle test told you it was weak tipped and stiff butted. I know you work with rods everyday so you are probably quite in tune, but I have a hard time imagining I could really grasp a rod's casting characteristics without casting a line on it. Also, does your shop have any rods in the lineup you don't care for, i.e. soft tips and stiff bottom 1/3rds?