Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Hardy Fly Rods


Recently, I was able to pick up a new Hardy Zenith fly rod.  This is the same rod that was hailed as the best 5 weight in the every once in a while "5 weight shootout" done by George Anderson.  While I have only fished it once, I cannot say with a definite answer that it is better than any of my beloved Scott fly rods or any of the other rods that are out there right now.  Give me a few more times with it and I can give a better opinion as far as the fishing goes.  As far as the casting goes, it is a great rod, no doubt about that.  Again, I cannot say it is better than any of the other high end rods I have now or have cast in the past.  What I can say is that it certainly feels good.  While it is a 4-piece, which is pretty much the industry standard, Hardy has now come out with new models of this rod.  While at the recent Fly Fishing Show, I was able to check them out.  They are 1 piece rods and they only come in 1 length, that I know of.  The length is 8' 10".  An 8'10" 1 piece rod is probably not going to be a popular rod, especially with the traveling fisherman.  But once I took the 4wt. to the casting pond, I was blown away!  On the water, whether you have a 7 piece or 1 piece rod, it is assembled and fished to be a 1 piece so if you can get over the idea of having to transport it, then all things will be equal.   This rod felt like no other rod I have cast before.  It was light and had some touch to it.  It felt great in my hand and I was able to hit all the spots I wanted to hit.  I wasn't trying to cast all 90' of line, but just any where from 15' to 40', as I would while fishing.  If I could, I would love to have one of these rods.  I would get the 4 wt. as that seems to be my favorite dry fly rod.  I know this rod could lay down a dry fly perfectly, I just don't know how it would do slinging lead.  I would assume that it would have no problem since it has a very powerful butt section.  The issue of having a 1 piece rod would limit your travel, but for me, I only fish around here so it's not a problem for me.  A 9' rod fits well in my car or if you happen to have a rod rack on the top of your fishing mobile, that wouldn't be a problem.  To me, a 1 piece rod makes sense.  It's only when you have to store or transport the thing when it becomes an issue.  But on the river, we all have a 1 piece rod!  I just might have to trade this 4 piece rod for a 1 piece rod.     




6 comments:

  1. Juan, I was in the market for a quality rod when I first read about the Hardy Zenith in the shootout. I saved my money and bought the exact rig used in the shootout including the Ross reel and the SA line. I have not had any regrets at all. It's an amazing rod and handles dries, lead, and streamers perfectly!

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    1. That is a fine set up for sure. I think you have it all covered.

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  2. Hi, this is Carlos, from Spain, Nowadays I go fishing with a Vision Rod, line 8... for carps, bass...But I have a Hardy rod, 10 years ago. It is a rod for trout, and the casting is perfect for river, but it is no easy to cast long distance (it is no tip action) But the finish of this rod is perfect.

    Check it out my blog...
    http://pescarlitos.blogspot.com/

    my Hardy rod:
    http://pescarlitos.blogspot.com/

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  3. Rod Vault or a drift boat will get that one piece around. Tell me they made it in a six weight, the best drift boat rod EVER.

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