Goodbye to the Hardy Zenith?

Recently, I have heard that my favorite rod, The Hardy Zenith is being discontinued.  Like all great rods before it, it has come time to replace it with a newer material, a newer idea. While I have done many "experiments " on different rods over the last two years, I found that this rod is just a perfect all around rod for me.  Specifically, the 9' 5wt rod is perfect as an all purpose rod that can handle anything.  My favorite rod in the series is the 8'6" 4 wt. rod.  Perfect for the dry fly fishing, it is delightful.  The rods will be going on sale at your local Hardy dealer, so I'd try to find one if you can. Otherwise, you could wait for the latest and greatest to be announced.  I it appears that there will be two new line ups in the Hardy world.  The Hardy Zephrus is what I assume is the replacement for the Zenith.  It uses Sintrix 440, which was used in the Zenith series.  I am assuming that these rods will be similar in sizes and price.   Hardy has not released any information yet, so this is only speculation on my part. (I have confirmation that this is the case).
One other rod that will be released is the Hardy Wraith, a high dollar, ultra fast action fly rod.  Think Sage one and Sage Method style.  This is based off of Sintrix 550, which is the best material available in the Sintrix line up.  If you remember, Hardy used this material in the Hardy Artisian, which was featured in the Yellowstone Angler a couple years ago and got awesome marks for feel, even better than the Zenith.  The Artisan was produced in England so the cost was prohibitave to most of us and I've never even seen one.   So hang on and go grab a Zenith rod or wait to see what is coming out later this year.  I am sure they will be something special.

 

Fooling the Fish: A Colorado Angler's Road to the River

I was approached last month to do an interview with Colorado Collective, a local online magazine.  I gladly agreed and made plans to join up with the writer and photographer on the water.

That was followed up with a tying session at my office and an interview.  I really enjoyed the interview and wish there was a transcript of it.  I touched on a lot of different points and poured my thoughts out about fly fishing and the industry.  If you click below, you will be taken to the article.  

Thank you for following this blog and for supporting me over the years.

http://www.colorado-collective.com/stories/2015/5/31/fooling-the-fish-a-colorado-anglers-road-to-the-river