Post by connorr on Feb 5, 2013 11:51:19 GMT -5
Well, thanks to William @ Flyspoke, I got hooked on the unbelievably versatile tool, the two handed rod. As a shore-based NE striper angler, the challenges are quite extensive and always changing. Whether its wind, current, other anglers, obstacles or flies the size of your head, it can simply just be difficult to get your fly in front of a fish. I can count the "perfect" days I've had last season on one hand. When William offered the 2H surf fly casting lesson, I signed up immediately.
A few hours and I was throwing into the backing. Okay, this is cool. Not only cool, but practical. We had the pleasure of having light offshore winds, so I sat and watched the loops float out to 130', unroll on the water and sit, ready to be retrieved. But as we did this, that was not what I was picturing. I immediately wanted a stick that I could throw in noreaster blows, where my fast 9wt SH rod would collapse at 20'. In these conditions, bait gets pushed into shore and big bass follow them. Two seasons ago in October, I stood next to my uncle, a long time conventional striper fisherman, while he caught bass ~20lbs that were simply out of reach of my fly rod.
On my most recent trip to the Salmon River, 2H rods were as (if not more) frequent than their one handed counterparts. This is simply not the case in saltwater. I have seen less than 10 two handed fly rods on the beach. Granted, I fish quite often from a boat and kayak, but there are spots that are absolutely perfect for this style of fishing that are populated entirely by single handed casters. Even smaller than the market for 2H rods is the market for what I want to do: stand in driving rain, wind, and waves casting 12" bunker patterns on the RI southern beaches. I know the fish are there. I just have to get to them.
So, I went to another great online striper resource, stripersonline. I started reading. It turns out, there are other people that want to do what I want to do. Just about three of us.
But they had some serious water time on their resumes' and knew what was working. The slower, deep flex profiles of spey rods were useless in the surf - they didn't have enough backbone to punch through the wind. On perfect days, they would throw 150', but who cares about the perfect days? The two real commercial offerings, the Beulah Surf series and the TFO Pandion (a relatively new addition to the TFO family) were much closer, but still lackluster. I will very likely end up with one of these rods, because they can hold their own in 15mph wind. But that doesn't help me when it's blowing 25.
Two members on there are building custom blanks, intended to be super fast with the ability to throw 700+grains with ease. They think they are very close to being there. At this point, I'm sitting back and waiting to see what they come up with, hopefully getting my hands on one of these within the next 6 months. If anyone is interested, there will be a meet up on the Cape in late May of a group of guys with very similar goals of finding a great NE 2H striper rod. There is more info on Stripersonline.
Oh, and might I suggest finding a spot on Brewster flats for those three or four big May tides, around the 27th. The tides aren't the only big things you'll find out there. You didn't hear that from me, though!
Connor
A few hours and I was throwing into the backing. Okay, this is cool. Not only cool, but practical. We had the pleasure of having light offshore winds, so I sat and watched the loops float out to 130', unroll on the water and sit, ready to be retrieved. But as we did this, that was not what I was picturing. I immediately wanted a stick that I could throw in noreaster blows, where my fast 9wt SH rod would collapse at 20'. In these conditions, bait gets pushed into shore and big bass follow them. Two seasons ago in October, I stood next to my uncle, a long time conventional striper fisherman, while he caught bass ~20lbs that were simply out of reach of my fly rod.
On my most recent trip to the Salmon River, 2H rods were as (if not more) frequent than their one handed counterparts. This is simply not the case in saltwater. I have seen less than 10 two handed fly rods on the beach. Granted, I fish quite often from a boat and kayak, but there are spots that are absolutely perfect for this style of fishing that are populated entirely by single handed casters. Even smaller than the market for 2H rods is the market for what I want to do: stand in driving rain, wind, and waves casting 12" bunker patterns on the RI southern beaches. I know the fish are there. I just have to get to them.
So, I went to another great online striper resource, stripersonline. I started reading. It turns out, there are other people that want to do what I want to do. Just about three of us.
But they had some serious water time on their resumes' and knew what was working. The slower, deep flex profiles of spey rods were useless in the surf - they didn't have enough backbone to punch through the wind. On perfect days, they would throw 150', but who cares about the perfect days? The two real commercial offerings, the Beulah Surf series and the TFO Pandion (a relatively new addition to the TFO family) were much closer, but still lackluster. I will very likely end up with one of these rods, because they can hold their own in 15mph wind. But that doesn't help me when it's blowing 25.Two members on there are building custom blanks, intended to be super fast with the ability to throw 700+grains with ease. They think they are very close to being there. At this point, I'm sitting back and waiting to see what they come up with, hopefully getting my hands on one of these within the next 6 months. If anyone is interested, there will be a meet up on the Cape in late May of a group of guys with very similar goals of finding a great NE 2H striper rod. There is more info on Stripersonline.
Oh, and might I suggest finding a spot on Brewster flats for those three or four big May tides, around the 27th. The tides aren't the only big things you'll find out there. You didn't hear that from me, though!
Connor
