Hot Torpedo Owners Club

Of all the rods in the HT series, the HT4 is my favourite. This might be because it’s my primary dry fly rod of course, but also it is perhaps the most versatile. Originally it was developed for river fishing in Bosnia and Croatia. In Bosnia, the most used tippet is .10mm or 7X, fishing flies #16-20 so a light-line rod with a sensitive tip is a must. However I really wanted to keep the Hot Torpedo feel and action and the result has been surprising…

Most 4WT rods on the market have rather soft butt sections, the HT4 has a powerful flexible butt. This allows for distance casts on Stillwaters, in other words it can comfortably throw a team of buzzers 90ft across the wind. Since a 4WT flyline is 40% lighter than a 6WT line this gives us far greater sensitivity. Side by side, you might feel the pluck of a take on the 6 – and miss it – with the 4 you get to hit these delicate takes. The fish appear to mouth the fly for longer.

Even more surprising is that the HT4 is quite at home throwing medium-sized streamers. Being able to throw a streamer as well as fish small dries on delicate tippets is very handy if you don’t want to carry two rods around! It will French nymph too, but in this regards it is a compromise and another foot of length would be preferable.

So here we have a superb all-round trout and grayling rod, that gives considerable advantages over heavier lined rods. This is a really great rod for trout fishing on the flats of NZ or Tasmania, fantastic on rivers and a joy to cast. The powerful butt section allows for a strong fight too, which is particularly useful for me, because it’s also my Giant Gourami rod in Malaysia!

I fish this rod with a DT4 line. It should be exactly AFFTA conforming. Fast and furious and with finesse. If you’re a 5-weight man then try the HT4. 4 is the new 5!

It catches big fish too…

4_is_the_new_5

4 is the new 5

7lbs Brown from Kola

7lbs Brown from Kola

Carp in Jersey

Carp in Jersey

4.5kg Giant Gourami

4.5kg Giant Gourami

Bosnian grayling

Bosnian grayling

Kola Brown

Kola Brown

Back she goes!

Back she goes!

4KG Brown on Streamer

4KG Brown on Streamer

Jungle Perch on Dry Fly

Jungle Perch on Dry Fly

A few people have asked me what is the difference between the Sexyloops Hot Torpedo series and the Sage X since they cost the same USD price and have the same lifetime guarantee. That’s really where the comparison ends. This is not a price war, this is a quality war.

1. The Sexyloops Hot Torpedo blanks are better by design.

Blank feel may be subjective, tip recovery is not. Sexyloops blanks have the best tip recovery by far. HT blanks are fast but delicate, have both finesse and power. The HT blank is a smooth fast progressive action designed as for all-round mastery of both short and long distance presentation shots. Loop control is impeccable. There has never been such a finely tuned blank delivering so much power with finesse.

*Tip recovery is how the rod tip behaves as the rod unloads. An unstable tip will put waves in the rod leg of the loop. HT rods are designed to minimise this and in many hands will completely remove it.

Paul Arden leads the design, working with top casters and anglers all over the world, having his blanks produced in Spain. These blanks are not available anywhere else.

2. The Sexyloops Hot Torpedo finish is both immaculate and stealthy.

Sexyloops rods are built in the UK by our extremely talented rod builder who builds each rod to perfection. HT rods are built the long way, three micro-thin coats of epoxy for each whipping. This results in a thinner more-even finish. Only perfectly finished rods leave our workshop. If it is not perfect it is stripped and rebuilt until it is. This is no easy task and no factory in the world is going to pay such attention to detail.

Sexyloops fly fishing rods have a matt non-scaring finish. If you want to buy a glossy rod then buy the Instructor Rod. Glossy rods scare fish.

3. Sexyloops uses higher quality components.

We use the best cork money can buy. Stripping guides have titanium frames. We machine and anodise our own spacers. Big businesses cut costs at the bottom end to increase their profit margins. At Sexyloops we don’t do that and use the best fittings available, whatever the cost. On our HT10 for example we use Torzite Titanium rings throughout. A world first.

4. There is no 4.

5. Sexyloops has the same great Sage Warranty.

We know this a big selling point for many fly fishers, so we offer it too. However we offer a small but important difference; we will always rebuild your rod the way you want it and not replace it with different model.

But it doesn’t stop there, we also offer more…

• All Sexyloops prices include free priority shipping, anywhere in the world. That’s right, if you live in Timbuktu we will deliver your rod to you for free.
• We give a 7-day money back no-quibble guarantee. If you are not completely enthralled with your HT rod, then return it in 7 days and we will give you a complete refund. (This has never happened!)
• We offer a bespoke rod service at no extra charge. Don’t like recoil rings and prefer snakes? We will fit snakes. Prefer a Full Wells grip or a wooden insert? No problems – we have you covered.
• And finally, through Sexyloops, we give you unlimited lifetime support. Need travel advice? Need help in fixing an irritating casting problem? Want to know how to tie your flies upside-down? Any question, mainstream or obscure, we will do our best to help. After all we’re not just selling you a rod; we’re coming fishing with you!

We’ve had a price restructuring this week, since as you’ll all know, the GBP has experienced a small collapse which has seriously affected us, since we buy our blanks in Euros and most of our components are manufactured in the USA. The only thing that originates from the UK is our rod builder, Lee Martell!

So we’ve switched to USD which is a currency that everyone is familiar with and makes life simpler for our US customers.

For most of you it won’t affect your pricing, indeed when the Pound was strong i.e. pre-BREXIT the HT range was slightly higher than the current price in USD. For those in much of Europe it’s also come down slightly in real terms.

However with the new restructuring we can now give free global shipping on all orders. So happy days!

Four years ago, after a lot of work, we launched the Hot Torpedo fly rods. Initially launching with the HT6 which came in three models, the PRO6, the Instructor 6 and (confusingly for many people, as it turned out!) the COMP5.

About one year and 9 prototypes later, Sexyloops came out with the HT8 and shortly after the HT4. In about one week we will have the first HT10 on the market.

There are five other rod blanks in development.

I thought it would be a great idea to start a new section on Sexyloops keeping you up to date on the these and other tackle developments, Hot Torpedo Owners’ successes, where and how they are being used, as well as a way of bringing you the latest news from the Sexyloops Mancave.

It’s all about to happen…

Cheers, Paul