Fly-rod “shootouts” are nothing new—the folks at Yellowstone Angler have been doing them for a while—but the gear junkies at Maine’s Trident Fly Fishing think they have a better way. Among their innovations are using “real” anglers, rather than a panel of experts, as their judges; blind testing, so no one knows which rod he’s casting; and allowing testers to use different lines to match their preferences.
The results are in, and the winner of BEST 5-Weight Fly Rod is. . .well, I won’t ruin it for you.
Click here to see the results of the Trident 2014 5-Weight Shootout.
In order to be able to properly test a rod, you have to be able to properly cast a rod. I see a lot of folks with Ones and Methods and H2s that cast like they’re throwing a softball made of Jello. They don’t have the ability to properly assess a rod’s strengths and weaknesses. It’s expensive and it’s at the top of the company’s range is all they know.
Work on your double haul, if you want distance. Don’t buy another rod.
Super-fast tip flex rods are like hair metal bands. One day we’ll look back and think WTF were we thinking?
Gimme a Beulah Platinum or your Clearwater. Both are fantastic casting rods. And mid-flex. And significantly cheaper. And just as delicate. And accurate. And powerful.
What I want to know — and this is the second shootout I’ve seen it noted — is why the H2 is so light, yet it’s swing weight is so heavy?
The winner is…. well, certainly an amazing rod, congratulations! Truth be told, I will never have $800 to spend on a fly rod, much and all as I love all things Orvis. I am thrilled to see that my Clearwater made the “Worth Casting” list… go team!
I use a Helios (1) and it is a great rod. My daughter’s Clearwater broke last time out and the store tried to upgrade me to an Access. After seeing this I’m glad I just got the Clearwater replaced.
Nice to see a shoot out done by ordinary folks. And congrats to Orvis and their H2 coming out on top. Unfortunately I am not in the postion to spend that kind of money on a fly rod. What I do find interesting is that the line used was a GPX that is rated a 1/2 line weight heavy. I suspect if they were casting a lesser weighted line they may or may not have rated some of those rods as high as they did.
haha. Joshua has got a point. Not all those participants are fly fisherman. Or at least they’re no good. haha.
Cool test though, keep up the good work. Great rod no doubt. Current Seams Fly Fishing