Cabelas L-Tech and LST rods

[The Famous Grouse]

Hi folks.

I'm looking for owner reviews on Cabels L-Tech and LST rods.

Specifically, I'm looking at 9 foot 8 weight 4 pc models, but I'll take all comers as opinions on the action of this rod, performance, and comparisons to other rods. I use my 8 weights for driftboat fishing for smallmouth and steelhead, so with heavy flies it's nice to have a rod with backbone to reach out, but I'm not a fan of overly stiff competition casting rods, I like some feel in the rod because I'm into fishing, not casting for show.

BTW, apologies if this has been discussed before, I did a bunch of searches and didn't see any threads.

Thanks for any feedback.

Grouse

[DarrinG]

I dont own either rod, but I have test-casted a friend's LST rod.
It's the closest thing I've ever cast to a Sage RPL. I would not be surprised at all if it isnt made by Sage using a similar blank to the RPL.
The LST I lawn cast was great. It was a 4wt.

[Brian Moffitt]

I own a 9' 6wt. LST and it is one of my favorite rods, right behind my Sage FLi 3wt. It is a fast action rod, but certainly not overly stiff (at least in the 6wt.). I haven't cast enough other rods to make a comparison but I certainly like it and in windy conditions (which we get a lot here in N Texas) it is my "go to" rod.

Brian

[randyflycaster]

I think Cabela's rods are great for the money. I'd call their tech department to get more infomation on the different action of the rods. The L-Tech I believe is a lighter and better-looking rod.
Randy

[Dave E]

We have three LST's ( 6, 7 & 9 weights ) they're all four piece models. Originally we'd intended for these to serve as gap fillers in my wife's arsenal. They've moved up in our rankings to one of the rods of choice in several situations and during this past fall and winter they've been getting the call often. We primarily use them for streamer fishing with shooting heads, B.B.T. & S.W. weight forward floating lines. In salt & fresh water for " deep " lake dwelling trout & salmon, black bass, stripers and flats species and in those roles they shine.
If you're looking for a fly rod with an easily deflected tip, the LST might not be what you're after.
These rods are fast, very light in the hand, crisp and a real joy to cast even in lousy conditions. As far as the looks go, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" but the fit and finish of these rods beats most I've seen in their price range and a few, well above it.

Can't help you with the L-Tech, I've seen them first hand and that's about it.

Hope that helps, Dave



The reason you see two LST tubes in the photo and not three, the third is on the road with my wife.
They get fished, a lot. Some of the rod cases surrounding those LST cases hold rods of the same length and weight costing three times as much.

IMGP0143_resize.jpg

[KeatonsDad]

I got a 3wt LST for a back up rod and one to use on the few backpacking trips I take each summer. It has turned out to be my favorite rod to cast of all those I own.

[Rocketfish]

My LST 3wt works great.

[NJTroutbum]

I have an LST 9ft 4-piece, 7wt that is my Bass outfit. EXCELLENT rod. No complaints here at all.

[The Famous Grouse]

Appreciate the feedback folks.

One of the main things I'm wondering about is the difference in action between the two models. The temptation is to assume the L-Tech is faster, but there's no reason why this should automatically be so.

As someone has alreday said, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So to that I'll add, to my eye the L-Tech is a little too Buck Rodgers for me, but I could live with the Rod from Mars looks if it was a substantially better rod.

I may have to visit the nearest Cabelas and see if I can talk them into a test drive of the 2 models head to head.

Grouse

[jcfly]

A very decent rod for the money. I have a 9ft 5wt that seems to work better with a Scientific Anglers GPX line. (half weight over)