I have been fly fishing for about 20 years and been a follower of sexyloops.com for almost as long. As many of you fellow fly fishermen know it is easy to get caught up in the gear-craze, the search for the perfect rod, reel or line and I too have been there. But the gear-craze, for me, stopped when I recieved my Sexyloops HT6 rod some years ago. Suddenly I had a rod that I could count on. That I could use in the salt and in freshwater, with a shooting head or a longbelly line, underline or overline it. I all worked! Some of you might say “other rods can do that” and you are right. But this rod puts my mind at ease, gives me confidence and relieves me of the described “gear-craze”.
I haven´t been fishing as much as I would like to with my HT6 (Kids, work and other “distractions”). But that doesn´t say much if you compare yourself with the other Sexyloops guys. Anyway I would like to share a fishing story starring me, a hungry sea-trout and my trusted HT6.
I was on holiday with my family and my mother in law in her summerhouse by a small marina in the south of Denmark. I was home alone minding the kids and as always I was frustrated by not being able to go fishing. I had been out on one small trip but with no result. I was constantly pacing the room looking at the water from the view from the house. There were many sea birds in the water diving and eating, Every time I thought that it was a sea-trout a sea-bird would pop up, from the depts. But suddenly there was a swirl that didn´t result in a appearing sea-bird. My heart jumped a bit…
In the next 1,5 – 2 hours I watched a hungry sea trout feeding casually right next to where I was sitting drinking coffee, feeding my kids and I had no chance trying to catch it… This was a pretty frustrating but also a fascinating thing to watch.
As soon as my wife and mother in law walked through the door I proclaimed that I had spotted a fish and I was going to go down and catch it. My wife is fairly used to me making such claims so she laughed and said “sure”…
I hurried down in my car and grabbed my trusted HT6 and as sneaky as I could approached the water edge. The sea trout was still there… I had a shooting head on the reel and had in my eagerness forgotten to do the obvious… to change the line from the shooting head to the Thunderbolt #6 line that fits the rod so well. Anyway I managed to make an somewhat acceptable cast at the area where the fish was last seen. Two jerks of the fly and STRIKE! But It broke off moving further out… Second cast also went well and BOOM… A really nice sea trout had (literary) swallowed my fly! A very nice sea trout that I almost felt like knowing personally since I had followed it for hours…
The sea trout was unfortunately hooked really deep so a release was out of the question but the fish served as a fine meal and education for my kids on what a fish looks like inside. And I returned 10 minutes later to the house with the fish that was promised. It is always reassuring to have a rod that you know and count on when the chance appears ?
Tight lines!
Mikkel Hald
Proud owner of the Sexyloops HT6 Serial nr. 102