Mike;

I've got several quads in my stable of rods, and I have to say that I have a decided weakness for the type.

As to rods in general, I have always preferred a medium to a medium-slow rod in cane. That should give you a baseline... i.e. I like Granger, Orvis, and Cross rods in the more conventional lines.

My first quad was a 8'6" series 50 Edwards quad. The gentleman that sold it to me thought it was a 5/6wt. The rod arrived a day before I had to go and meet my wife in Oregon for our daughter's wedding in Canada. So bang, in the luggage went the rod with a couple reels with 5/6 lines. Got to Corvallis and headed out to the river. Rod cast OK except that it was tip heavy with the Medalist 1494s I had lined up. When I got home I wanted to try the rod with a heavier reel to see if it would balance better, so I put on my 1498 Medalist with a 7wt since it was the only "bigger" reel I had. I gingerly went to cast the rod as to not overline it.... and promptly threw 70+ft of line on my first cast. As I stood there slack-jawed I knew something had happened... I'd really gotten bit by the Quad Bug. (Yep, the rod turned out to be a 6/7wt).

Generally speaking the classic quads... Edwards/Winston/Carlson have a characteristic "kick" that comes on when you have the right line on the rod. There is a definite "feel" to quads that is not shared by hex's. For instance.... I have a Payne 7'9" Parabolic clone that I dearly love... it is a 5/6wt. I needed a 7wt for smallmouth and bonefish use that wasn't heavy in the hand. Kyle Drury took the Payne Parabolic hex taper and converted it to an 8'3", 7wt, hollowbuilt quad for me. BANG!!! Dead on! Great rod, throws 60-70ft of line all day long, light in the hand, easy to cast. 12 hours on the water fishing for smallies during the willow fly hatch... no sore shoulder, no tired hand. But it has that unique quad feel, and it casts differently than my hex's.

I've got Quads from 7'0"/4wt (Nunley) to the 8'3" Drury.... all great; but different. Caution: When you get tired, the quads are not forgiving, and your cast will start flying all over the place.... time to sit down and have a beer brother.

Ralph

[This message has been edited by czkid (edited 28 June 2005).]