Viking Lars | Saturday, 23 July 2016
The last three weeks have seen no fishing, and in fact only a little flytying, so instead, I'll talk a little about the new Hot Torpedo 10-wt that I had a chance to test cast Monday and Tuesday at Paul's in Essex.
The family and I have been camping in England for a good week and ended the trip with a visit at Paul's to end the trip. Castles, museums, shopping, London, the tubes, double decker busses and everthing that is London was a great experience for the family (and me, of course).
But also a little casting at Paul's place - I had a chance to test both the new 10-wt that's coming out, which I have been looking particularly forward to (for pike and BIG flies) and the coming 7'6" 3-wt.
The 10-wt was really interesting, and I think the one is tried is/will be the final prototype - I'm not if Paul was certain yet. But it's a great rod. Very, very fast tip, which I think is the hall mark of the HT's, that gives clean, crisp loops. The butt section is slim, I think, for a 10-wt and the blank itself is really nice. It's fast and stiff of course, but one thing I appreciate is the fact that the butt really bends. This is not a poker, even though it's stiff.
We cast it with a RIO 10-wt saltwater line (a Permit, maybe?), which suited the rod very well. With a relatively short head, the rod gave crisp, clean, steady, narrow loops with a relative compact stroke and even within a compact stroke, the top section held up well when casting very high line speed and hauling hard and fast.
I really look forward to casting it with a shooting head and a big pike fly!
The short 7'6" is also very interesting. Made for short to medium length casts and tight spots and light presentations. The rod flexes relative deep, I think, even on a relatively short line, which will make it perfect for dryfly on small streams.
I know I'll be getting one of each :-).
Have a great weekend!
Lars