Well - although I've been using canes and even graphite for the last month on the spring creeks, all this glass palaver got me thinking.

Today, SE PA decided to bag the cold for a few days and it got to mid 50?'s - checked USGS water levels at a spot that still gets Tricos this time of year.

Ffished the same situation last week with a T&T LPS 804, after using various cane for the last several outings. I paired the JET with the same DT4F Airflo I used with the T&T, to get a different perspective on the glass. Same leader and flies.

Even though the T&T is quite a slow stick for graphite, the JET with this line setup was slower yet. The T&T is almost as forgiving as some canes for 8X, especially when the bigger rainbows surge off on hot runs, but the JET is better yet in that respect.

Best of all, no breakoffs, even with a brown that I accidently hooked when I thought I was doing a roll cast pickup while I was wading upstream. I was going to false cast while I waded and wondered why the line was staying behind me. When I turned to look, I was probably more surprised than the brown - he was hanging on ferociously, though involuntarily.

This old Airflo is a line that prefers graphite - it feels a half size heavier and is denser in a different way than silk (or SYLK). Nevertherless, the JET didn't seem to mind too much.

I noticed that if I pushed the JET the way I often shoot graphite, I would generate an incipient tailing loop. But I never got a wind knot, since the leader would roll over in an interesting way.

Slowing the back and forecast to let the rod do the work was much better, to the point that I didn't need to false cast at all once I got the range to a pod of risers.

It's interesting how my impressions depend on the rod I use just prior. Sort of like sequencing steak and chocolate is different than the reverse.

With this in mind, I might try the Hardy Perfection, a modern 7'6" 4wt, in the next day or 2, to see how my impressions change. The first time I used the JET, the next 2 outings (on the same water too) were with a yellow Phillipson and a Fisher, both 7'6"5wts.; the second time it was followed by a Fenwick FF756. This all helps add a multi-dimensional quality to my perception of a rod's personality.

Another interesting thing - most of my English rods have snake guides that are tilted the other way. The JET's snakes are slanted like American rods. Wonder why?

tl
les