Anybody have any experience with these rods? They are fairly new. They come in one size only- a 7 foot, 11 inch eight weight. They are four piece and sell for $99.99. Decent looking and have a nice feel, though I’ve had no opportunity to cast one.
Dave
Haven’t seen one, but 7’11" rods make no sense to me. Supposedly the are tournament legal (as in bass tournament) but I have yet to see anyone fly fishing in a bass tournament. I have a 7’6", 8wt that was built on a St. Croix spinning rod blank. It is great for tight quarters in mangrove canals, but anywhere else it is pretty useless. I would be interested in hearing what people actually use them for.
I have all three of the original Sage Bass rods as well as the new Sage Bass II Peacock rod. I also have the 7’6" TFO TiCrX rods. Aside for fishing in tight quarters, shorter rods are easier to stop helping to toss tight loops loops and hitting small targets at short to medium range. These shorter rods are also reduce the fish’s leverage advantage so are very useful when trying to quickly move fish away from coverage. I use my short rods extensively when fishing for many species in or around heavy cover where I need to quickly get a fish’s head moving my way. I use them extensively when fishing for bass and panfish around heavy overhanging brush and flooded brush, and when casting to holes in weedbeds or floating vegetation. Use them quite a bit for fishing for many saltwater species around in kelp beds, docks, and over wrecks and reefs. I still use my nine foot rods for most open water fishing and for distance presentations. I also prefer them when fishing from a float tube or kayak, even in open water.
I have checked out the Heat rods at a BPS store but only a couple of casts. For 100 bucks they seem to a good deal. Not as refined as the Sage, Ross, or Redington models of similar configuration but they cost much less and are a great way to try out a shorter rod without expending a lot dough compared to similar sized offerings from other sources.
I am also a fan of the shorter rods. I only own one 9 footer after selling all my longer rods for shorter sticks. Like tailingloop, I fish a TFO TiCr-X 7’6" rod for most all my river bassin and for throwing big streamers for trout. It is a short, powerful rod that can throw a heavy fly with some gusto into a pretty tight window. I hear lots of people say they are for casting short distances only but I’ve not found that to be my case as I can dump practically the whole line off the reel, and I’m not an expert caster. My favorite trout stick is a 8 footer, and my casting stroke, while sometimes quite unorthodox, the shorter rods fit my style of casting like a glove.