Reviews

John Field, Fly-casting instructor, writer and photographer. IFFF Certified Master Casting Instructor. Past president of the American Casting Association. 

Sexyloops Hot Torpedo 4wt, 6wt & 8wt:  I enjoyed casting these new rods on a hot day in Hungary, with Paul Arden, owner of Sexyloops. I´ve known Paul for about eleven years and he´s tough on tackle! Paul has made some serious high performance rods that will stand up to use like his. He´s designed these rods very carefully to give them the proper action to cast tight loops into the distance but still protect average tippets associated with their line weights.  He admits these rods are on the faster side and with plenty of backbone. The HT4 and 6 are especially suited for fishing nymphs and streamers. The HT6 is also available in white for demonstrations and instruction. The HT8 is designed for distance and strength to overcome wind. It can even be used with a 9wt line. This one brought the biggest smile to my face. The appearance of these rods is first rate with neat wraps and coatings and great components, sparing no expense.

Paul is proud of the ingredients he´s selected to make these rods attractive, functional and durable. Sexyloops- " We have our blanks finished in England using the finest components with an absolutely exceptional builder. Hot Torpedo rods feature the best Portugese cork, either H&H rings or REC recoils. Our reel spacer is our own, machined and black anodised in the UK. We use REC reel seat fittings and titanium stripping guides ."  Visit these rods at the Sexyloops store . You can even get them custom made for no extra cost.

Commments on Build Quality of Lee Martell our master rod builder: (Lee's serial numbers start from 100 and up)

Martin Lund: Hi Paul I got the rod today. It is perfect! Cheers Martin.
Lars Bentson: Rod received! The old Viking heart bleeds - it's bloody perfect!!! Thanks a million, Lee!

THE HOT TORPEDO PRO4

An Ren Tan, USA
"The HT4 is by far my favorite trout rod that I’ve cast this year. Besides being beautifully hand crafted by Lee, this rod is incredibly versatile."

Thomas Züllich, "t.z.", Norway. Flytying demonstrator and lecturer:
"My wife Konstanse and I both use the HT-4 for fishing. Pretty much exclusively. We fish primarily for Trout, Grayling and Char in Norway. The love for the HT began with me giving Konstanse a HT-4 (serial nr. 7) for Xmas. She had started flyfishing and should have only the best. We can not second the common opinion that one should not start with the best one can get. (honestly - I hoped I could borrow the rod sometimes) but she never lets me have it so I had to get my own (serial nr. 9). These two rods are pretty much the only ones we use in freshwater. They work very well and are a pleasure to fish, even when the fish are rather close!"

Lars Chr Bentson, Denmark. IFFF Master Casting Instructor:
"I have followed the development of the Hot Torpedos quite closely, mainly through curious emails, but also had the chance to try prototypes of both the HT 4 and HT 8. I know how much work, and how many prototypes went into these rods. I know how long, and how much, Paul fished the prototypes to fully evaluate each prototype, and I can certainly attest to changes made in both the 4 and the 8 along the way. What stands out in these rods for me is a very fast tip section that allows the caster to produce exceptionally clean and stable loops on both long and short distances. When you try one, pay close attention to the bottom leg of the loop - if you’re an experienced caster you won’t see any wiggles at all, if you’re less experienced, you might see one!"

Sean Geer, England
"The HT4 is not actually a fishing rod. It’s a time machine."

Andy Hathaway, UK. APGAI STANIC
"A light but powerful 4 weight. No problems casting and following the ripple line out, or in turning over long leaders. Plenty of backbone to hang on to fit quality fish, and yet at close range able to absorb the bucking of hooligans fearful of the net. All rods are a compromise. For me this one has it dead right."


THE HOT TORPEDO PRO6

Mikkel Hald, Denmark:
"Received the rod today and I am more than pleased. Especially with the grip! And the low weight! Tried it on grass today and it just makes me want to cast, cast cast and keep on getting better at it. Discrete looks and saltwater proof… I am in love ;-)
Now I have to start saving for the #4 and the #8."

Daniela Misteli, Switzerland:
"Fanstastic casting tool and fun to fish!"

Guenter Linke, Ireland:
"I just love this rod. I´m not a competition caster, maybe "advanced level" would describe my casting ability, so I won´t be able to give you an expert review. To me the most obvious thing is the feedback that this rod delivers. If you are able to get your timing right, then this rod is a power house and will help you to gain distance and precision. With 25 years of experience in rod building I was able to build rods on blanks from all the big names. I can tell you, when I finished the HT and it came to that moment to try it out the first time, it made me really happy to have finished such a superb casting tool. It is my firm favorite for the last couple of seasons and when I broke the tip due to clumsiness, I was in shock, because it happened only a week before a fishing trip to Slovakia and I thought I would be without my favorite rod. But the tip section was replaced within a matter of days, due to a brilliant service, thanks Paul."

Bernd Ziesche, Germany. Full-time fly fishing instructor and guide:
"The HT6 was the most liked fly rod in many of my fly casting courses when offering several (high quality) fly rods to the students. The HT6 is among the very best fly rods I have been fly casting, fly fishing and teaching both using."

Jan Larsen Smed, Denmark:
"If you only have to own one fly rod, it would be a Sexyloops Hot Torpedo PRO"

Lars Chr. Bentson, Denmark. IFFF Master Casting Instructor:
"If I was to own one rod only, HT 6 would be it :-)"

Christopher Rowe, Australia. IFFF Certified Casting Instructor:
"I love the rod, it has become my favourite for casting"

Tim Kempton, Australia. IFFF Certified Casting Instructor:
"Very smooth, great tip action. Throws very Sexy Loops"

Peter Hayes, Australia. IFFF Casting Board of Governors. Full time instructor and guide. Multiple times Australian Casting Champion:
 "Fast as hell and strong. The white is good for instructing. You will need lead boots if you use it for distance casting."

Ben Foo, Malaysia. IFFF Certified Casting Instructor:
"The Instructor 6wt is the greatest fucking rod ever!"

James Evans, UK. British Fly Casting Club records holder:
" I´ve won quite a few BFCC #5 events with the HT comp, with many casts over the 120ft mark.  I´m still hopeful about beating Paul´s record with it some day, given the right weather.  I´ve hit 138ft with it in practice and have lost count of the number of 130+ casts.  It´s got all the low down stiffness required for a great distance rod and a sensitive tip that recovers fast. It´s a really fantastic fishing rod too.  I use it with a MED #5, and this makes it my go-to outfit for reservoir trout and summer carp fishing where the matt finish is important."

Dron Lee, Malaysia. IFFF Certified Casting Instructor:
"I can only say that it´s a blardy good casting rod...I would have passed my CI test easier if I have the HT during the test."

Magnus Angus, Scotland, Fly Fishing and Fly Tying magazine chief reviewer:




Ronan Creane, New Zealand. IFFF Certified Casting Instructor. New Zealand and Ireland Fishing Guide:
"The HT6 has been my go-to 6wt since I received it nearly 2 years ago. It fishes, casts and handles fish like a fly rod should!! You need this rod!!!"



Ole Nord, Latvia IFFF Master Casting Instructor (Ole´s rod pictured above):
"Instructor Fly Rod is fast-smart rod with fantastic visibility of white color blank. That is so good for my students. Now I have only one rod for all purpose of my fly fishing and instructor life."

Zoran, Serbia/South Africa:
´SIMPLY, HT is the best graphite #6 rod  to up to date, period."

Stu Tripney, New Zealand IFFF Master Casting Instructor. Stu´s Fly Shop owner and fishing guide:
"Even though I push the boundaries and limits of all my tackle, the HT has amazingly handled it all. Many times the shear load I had on the rod, I was convinced it should break. It never did! Double figure brown trout, bull trout and twenty pound carp all landed very quickly with lots of pressure, a good drag on my reel and my Hot Torpedo rod bent double doing what its meant to do. The same HT rod that I use for my fishing, I also use every day for demonstrations during my casting lessons or at the NZ fly fishing School. I love the rod it is an extension of my arm, it feels good to cast, looks sexy and is great to fish with. Keep up the amazing work!"

Corsin Nodčr, Switzerland. IFFF Certified Casting Instructor (Corsin casting the HT6 in a magazine shot pictured above):
"I haven´t anything bad to say about the HT6. I love that rod! I use it for casting courses as well as for fishing. Recently I even fished in the Norwegian sea with it. Whatever I use the HT6 for, it just delivers. Thank you very much for that awesome rod!"

Andy Hathaway, UK. APGAI STANIC. Flyfishing Instructor:
"I am very pleased with both rods. I do all my teaching with the instructor with a Snowbee XS WF 6, and find it capable of everything I need. 
I catch a lot of fish on the black version. Too many silly questions if I fish with the white one, but it does catch fish!"

Alex Adams, UK:
"The HT6 is awesome... I refer to it as a beast of a 6wt, it is so fast and powerful. It´s outstanding with a long line but also still has feel closer in. A brilliant casting rod but so much backbone I´d happily use it fishing big reservoirs etc.. it would handle it no problem."

Aitor Coteron, Spain. Flycasting instructor extraordinaire:
"Three or four years ago I got an email from my friend Alejandro Vińuales from the Maxia Rods factory.
- Paul Arden is coming next week. We need an interpreter. Are you free?
- Yep. What´s it?
- He wants us to make some rods for the Sexyloops brand.
Less than a week later Paul picked me up in Bilbao to drive to Gijón and meet Alejandro. It was the start of a couple of days talking about rod designing projects, doing some casting, drinking all night long while discussing casting mechanics, and even doing some fishing.
What eventually evolved from that first meeting was the Sexyloops Hot Torpedo series of rods. As soon as the HT Instructor saw the light I ordered one.
Did I need to add a new piece to my voluminous collection of "Best Rod Of The World" sticks? Not really. However, being Alejandro one of the most knowledgeable guys around regarding casting and fishing matters, and Paul one of world´s top casters and the man who managed to run the best forum on casting ever, I said to myself: the product coming out of this combo must be good! The most important reason for my decision, though, was to support these two guys. On the one hand my casting mentor and the mate who over the years has taught me almost all of what I know about casting mechanics, on the other hand the guy that kept going the only internet casting resource worth reading.
Thus I got my rod. And good it was. Since then I use my HT Instructor for most of my training and video shooting and all of my teaching with no regrets whatsoever."

THE HOT TORPEDO PRO8

Glenda Bryson, Australia. Former assistant to Australian Fly Fishing Team:
"It is a great rod and I can use it all day without feeling tired. Powerful, well balanced and one which I would highly recommend to anyone who is looking for an 8-weight rod."


6KG Snakehead, Malaysia. Bloody big fish:
"I´m not happy about the HT8 at all!"

Irhamy Ahmad, Malaysia IFFF Certified Casting Instructor. One of the first pioneers of flyfishing in Malaysia:
"For my annual Maldives trip, I would rig up two rods. One for the flats and one for the surf, HT8 is for the latter. Hell or high water that´s the rod I trust!"

Trevor Spinks, UK. (Ben Spinks wrote the Sexyloops FlyTying section):
"In Ben´s hands the loops are like arrow points whatever line he uses but then he is a phenomenal caster, and casting heavy flies into a strong headwind is effortless. I made the mistake at first of putting too much power into the cast but the more I backed off  the better the rod performed, it´s deceptive and although I really love the TCR the Torpedo is now the go to rod, I didn´t really believe that would be the case but I have to admit the TCR hasn´t been out of the case since. It´s so light as well, overall I think it´s a terrific rod Paul but I would certainly over line it for normal distances such as we fish, I´d be interested in seeing how the five or six compares to the eight for use on the lakes here and for some distance fun in the field."

Andy Hathaway, UK. APGAI STANIC. Flyfishing instructor:
"The eight weight is a great rod. Does all the bullying of lines and larger flies in rough conditions that I need, but still plays fish politely. I mean it is forgiving enough. I treat rods as tools, and not always respectfully, but it´s still as good as new, and I use it maybe 4 times a week on concrete walls like the Grafham dam."

Viking Lars:
“The 4 is my knife, the 6 is my sword and the 8 my battle axe.”


THE HOT TORPEDO PRO10

Tim Kempton, Australia CCI
"This is a great rod, and has joined my collection of Hot Torpedoes (4,6,8 and now 10).  It has great feel and does not wear you out trying to cast and fish with."



You can find many more stories in the Hot Torpedo Owners' Club 
and you can buy from our shop here. 

For more information on these, or any of our products, please contact Paul Arden on paul@sexyloops.com