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It took less than five seconds for me to make the
decision; go with the new Hexagraph rod. It was
mid-afternoon, Saturday of the Fish-In in central
Washington state. A few of the gang wanted to play
with some of the rods I had brought along. I often
try to have some new rods loaned to me from sponsors
so folks can get a chance to try rods their local shop
may not carry. I sometimes have some 'goodies' from other
sponsors to give out too. I don't have or try to sell
anything, the stuff all goes back after the event, we
don't auction off stuff either, I hate those things. It
puts unreasonable pressure on the sponsors for donations
(make that 'shake-downs')and who the heck needs another
framed picture.
Anyway, I considered who all was there. Some fine casters,
good double-haulers, short-line accuracy guys, some with
only a few years at it and some just starting out. Yikes,
one rod for the whole bunch, a sponsors rod at that and
I didn't want any rod to 'look' badly.
Truthfully, the cheapest rod I had with me probably cost
at least $500. The best topped out at $850. So why did I
pick the rod I did? I (wanted) needed a rod that would
load with a short amount of line for the 'newbies,' yet
would perform at all distances for the other casters. It
should not be so stiff that it would be hard to feel the
line unless it was loaded out to 50 feet or so, but with
enough reserve power to deliver a line to 90 feet when
asked. I had about a dozen rods with me and not an
entry-level one in the bunch.
Admittedly, there are many rods on the market these days
which might have served the purpose just fine. Almost
any reasonably priced 8 or 9 foot, 5 or 6 weight, medium
or med-fast rod would have the qualities I wanted. The
fact was, I just didn't have one with me. Most of you know,
for my type of fishing and style of casting, I do have my
preferences on rods and brands. There are many varying
situations which call for different rods if optimum
performance is sought. This time I was lucky to have at
least one that filled the bill just right.
Rather surprisingly, the Hexagraph not only worked well,
it worked very well; not just a few there may have
decided to purchase one. I fact, exactly that one. The
afternoon became more of a learning time than all had
expected. I think all who cast it not only liked it but
were able to modify their style, whether they had come
from cane or faster graphite, they either slowed down
a bit, smoothed out some or put a bit more firmness into
their stroke. A universal rod? No, there is no such thing.
Would a medium, or medium-fast 8 or 9 foot 5 weight be
close to one? Perhaps.
Try to understand and remember, there are no perfect rods
which will do the very best for each of us under all possible
situations. As our targets change so must our weapons. As
time goes on we learn more about casting and about how to
fish differing conditions for more and more varied specie
of fish.
These may open the door for you to, with some rationalization
involved, justify buying a few more rods. Nice huh?
You're welcome.
~ James Castwell
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