Holy Crap!!!

[Flyrodde]

So I have been trying to choose a new 5wt for my rod inventory and today I took a trip to the Orvis store in Manchester.

I stopped at the outlet first just to see if they had any good bargains, and found out the first shipment of Helio's refurbished rods will be there in less than a month.

Next I took a short walk to the main store. I looked over the new Helios rods. I picked up the 8'6" tip flex and asked for a 5wt and 6wt line. A trip out to the casting pond and that is where I fell in love.

My first thought was how light in hand the rod felt. My next thought was holy crap! On my first stroke I had 50 ft of line laying straight in front of me. After a few minutes of casting I managed to get the whole beat up WF5 wonderline laying in front of me, straight across the pond! This is the first time I have ever cast a whole line except when I tested my fathers new St. Croix 8wt last year with a DT7 on it. And that was one cast I was never able to reproduce. The rod seemed to cast the line effortlessly the only time I was really conscience of the line was when it was tugging after a casting stroke.

Next I tried the WF6 and instantly realized the rod was over loaded when I was casting for distance. I also found it wasn't necessary to over line this rod to cast short. For me this seemed like a perfect rod for open water, stillwaters or a large river. Since the casting pond is wide open, and the water is not moving to help load the rod with certain casts and lobs I can not say if I would like to fish this rod close or with branches above, infront and behind me. I just wish I could take this rod fishing for one day before sliding $755 across the counter.

For anyone that likes a quick responsive rod and has a chance, give it a try. I think I've got a few more trips to try this one, the mid flex and the 9 footers out without the wife so I can really give them some time. But I am pretty sure Orvis has acquired my future paychecks with this one. Now to find a reel to match it.