[stephenb]

I am looking for either a 16` or 15` double hander for spring and autumn fishing here in the UK.I have a 1409 which is great but have heard differing reports of the T&T big guns.
The 16`has been described to me as a "breaker",the 1510 is "sweet" but a 9 weight not a 10,and the 1510 5 piece is a completely differently blank from the 3 piece ,much softer.
Does anyone know anythink of these rods?

 

[inland]

Stephen,

I am not sure about the 16' rod however Flytyer will surely comment on that rod.

The difference between the 1510-5 and 1510-3 is not that much. But I do like the 1510-3 a little better as it is just a bit quicker. If you like the 1409 you will love the 1510.

Also do a search on the forums here as there is tons-o-info on these rods from previous threads.

William

 

[catskill]

Hi,
i know nothing about the 1510-3, but i have a 1510-5 and i guess it is somewhat deeper in it's actioncurve than the 3 piece. I would not call it slow though. It does, in my opinion, have a very fast recoverytime. -But then again, i'm used to the full flex rods.
If you haven't allready seen it, you might want to take a look at Danas "speypages", look for the rodreviews, and click on the T&T review. (it's on the 1510-5)
The only thing that ticks me (just a bit) with this rod is the very slim handle. But being British, You're probably used to that.

Eh, i almost forgot... - I do agree that the 1510-5 is more of a #9 weight.

Regards

G.J.Ryen

 

[flytyer]

Stephen,

I own both the 1611 and the 1510-3 because they are my favorite 15' for a 10 line and 16' for an 11 line rods.

The 1611 is a pretty stiff and powerful rod which casts any of the short (RIO Wndcutter 10/11/12) or mid-belly 10/11 lines with ease. If you like a little deeper bend in the rod when casting without putting a lot of power into your cast, the 11/12 (or 11/12/13 Windcutter) lines will do this. I use a RIO GrandSpey 9/10 line on it and have no problem casting 10 wt sink tips of any sink rate or flies of any size with it.

Prior to the availability of the GrandSpey lines, I used a 10/11 MidSpey with the 9/10/11 RIO Upgrade added to it because I wanted a longer belly line. I found the 10/11/12 Upgrade overloaded the rod for me and felt heavy, which is why I went to the 9/10/11 Upgrade. The combination of 10/11 MidSpey with the 9/10/11 Upgrade gave me a belly length of 79 ft and it cast all of my 11 wt sink tips with ease. I never liked casting short-belly lines on it because on a 16' rod, the short-belly lines felt like I was using a shooting head, which resulted in having to use a different casting stroke and double spey technique than with the longer lines to avoid pulling the anchor.

I have used a 10/11 GrandSpey on it (did so for several months); but I don't like the heavy feel the rod has when casting it; hence I tried the 9/10 GrandSpey and really like the way the rod feels with it. I also found a DT 11 works very well on it too.

With the proper line and technique, the 1611 will cast as far as you will ever won't to cast when fishing. Casts of 120 to 130 ft are within the relm of actual fishing conditions with or without sink tips of up the type 8's. It also will cast flies of any size you may wish to fish with and will easily cast flies #6/0, if you so desire. The 1611 is the rod I use from mid-November until April 20th for chum salmon and winter steelhead because it gives such a command of the water.

My 1510-3 (which is marginally stiffer or faster than the 1510-5, unless most people cast them side-by-side they would not notice the difference) is the rod I use on medium to large rivers for summer steelhead, although I do use my 1611 on the Thompson for its summer runs. It casts any of the 9/10 short (for the Windcutter use the 9/10/11) to mid-belly lines well with any 10 wt sink tip of any sink rate you desire. I use an 8/9 GrandSpey on mine because I like casting and fishing the ling-belly lines. This combination allows me to fish out to 100 ft without the need to strip line between casts when using the floating tip and out to 90 ft without stripping line with sink tips.

The 1510-3 (or 1510-5) is a pretty stiff and powerful 15' 10wt rod. It works very well with flies from #1/0 down to as small as you wish to fish (I use mine down to #10 low-water flies) with ease. It has the power to easily cast wind resistent deer hair skaters out to 90+ ft, although I almost always fish skaters at 85 ft or less.

Both the 1611 and the 1510 have a pretty low swing weight, even though they are not really light weight rods. If you would prefer a stiff and powerful 15 ft rod, the T&T 1511 casts like and feels like a slightly shorter version of the 1611. And the 1510-3 (or 1510-5), 1511, and 1611 have that same sweet casting action and feel of the T&T 1409, they are just longer and a bit more powerful. I only wish T&T would make a 17' for a 12 line (1712 I suppose it could be called) with the same casting characteristics as the 1611 and 1510.

 

[storlaks]

Stephen, I to own the 1611 and 1510 T&Ts. My 16fter is my Spring fishing rod i.e. sunk lines, fast heads and big flies, and the 15fter for summer fishing....floaters, sink tips, smaller flies.

2 points I'd like to make:

1. The 15-10 will consistanly get you 35yards no problem. I find when you try and extend beyond this figure i.e. 38-40y, it doesn't pick-up the longer belly lines as well as some other rods. Would still recommend it though!

2. The 16-11, as Flytyer said doesn't fish the GrandSpey 10/11 very well, but to be honest I don't think this is a fault of the rod. The 10/11 Grandspey is really far too heavy for normal fishing and casting and would overload most 16fters. It just doesn't feel a very well balance line. Try and Carron jet stream however and that's a different matter. It's a dream to fish.

 

[flytyer]

Storlaks,

I agree wholeheartedly with what you said about the 1611 not being at fault for being overloaded with the GrandSpey 10/11. It is not the rod's design, it is the weight of the GrandSpey 10/11 belly that is too much for the rod in the hands of a good caster.

This is why I would like to see T&T make a 17' for a 12 line (like I said it could probably be called the 1712). Such a rod would cast the 10/11 GrandSpey without overloading. I think the GrandSpey 10/11 is a great design, we just don't have a stiff, powerful, fast recovery rod available that is designed for casting its weight. If T&T would make such a rod, I would like to see it as a 4 or 5 piece rod because a 3 piece 17 ft rod's sections would be quite long (70-71 inches) and this would make the rod difficult to transport.

Sorry about getting off the topic of the 1611 and 1510. They are both great rods.

 

[stephenb]

Is the 1611 a breaker?Does it have a history like say the brown sage 10151?Thanks for all your advice.

 

[flytyer]

Stephen,

I have had my T&T 1611 since 1997 and I fished it exclusively from mid-November to the end of April each of those 7 years. The tip section broke in February of last year from a flaw in the graphite, not a flaw of the rod design. The break was 9 inches from the ferrule and it looked like someone had simply cut the rod section with a tubing cutter or saw, it was that clean. T&T replaced the section at no cost and I had the rod back in 3.5 weeks.

Since the break was the result of a flaw in the graphite, I would never characterize the rod as a breaker. And to answer your question about whether it has a history of breakage like the Sage 10151, the answer is no it doesn't.

I tend to really put the wood to a rod when casting, especially when casting long with a long-belly line, by using both arms (I apply underhand power with my low hand and tophand power with my top hand with virtually every cast I make with a 2-hander). This really loads up a rod and rods that are not as stiff, powerful, and fast recovering as the T&T 1611 don't like this much power applied to them. The 1611 takes this and allows me to regularly cast #1/0 and #2/0 flies 120'-130' when using type 6 or 8 sink tips on a 9/10 GrandSpey line.

I love this rod and even though I have cast a lot of other 16' 11 wt rods, I have not found one I like better. I'd buy another tomorrow if mine got stolen, lost, or damaged and never give a thought to it breaking. I have also recommended this rod to several folks who were looking for a big line rod and all of them have been happy with it.