The Scott Heliply

  Over the years, I have referenced my love for the Scott Heliply series. I can't exactly put my finger on what it is about this rod that I love, but I can tell you that part of it is because it was the first perfect rod that I had an opportunity to cast. The first time that I held a Heliply in hand was probably in the mid/late 1990s, just shortly after I started fly fishing. Back then, San Antonio didn't have a multitude of fly shops. So, when you wanted the good stuff, you took a trip to the affluent suburb of Alamo Heights to visit the folks at The Tackle Box. They just happened to have several Heliply models in stock, and the salesperson allowed me to cast the 8'8" 8wt in the parking lot. In all honesty, I had no idea what I was doing. I had only been fly fishing for a few months and didn't have but the most basic understanding of what the saltwater fly game was all about.

   Fast forward about 18 months, I had befriended an attorney over in Houston named Corey Hawryluk on one of the early fly fishing forums called reeltime.com. Corey was a well-seasoned saltwater fly fisherman who had grown up in Florida and had been in the game for many years. He was keen to find some spots where he could wade without a boat in and around Rockport, so I offered to show him around.

  The first time Corey and I fished together, he was gaming a Heliply 888-3 with a Tibor Everglades. I on the other hand was still slinging a mid-range Fenwick, which left a lot to be desired....but it was all I could afford at the time. Despite its shortcomings, I had learned to overcome the Fenwick's mediocre performance and could cast pretty well.

  After the bite had turned off and the summer heat started to rise, Corey offered to let me throw his Heliply.....I was shocked. Heliplys have never been known for setting any records for their weight or diameter, but they had an uncanny ability to load effortlessly at short range and shoot line like a demon. Part of this in my experience has to do with the helical layup, which seems to produce a "springiness" not seen or felt in traditional layups using a woven scrim for hoop strength. Anyhow, this was my moment of clarity. It was so far ahead in performance compared to anything I had cast at that point that I knew a change was in order. It would be only a year or two later that John Tebbetts would turn me on to the AllStar Austin series, which I would have an even deeper love affair with. 

  Last year I picked up a gently used one on eBay, and it's every bit as good as I remember. By today's standards, it's not the lightest or the fastest, but it still delivers the goods on every level. It's been 25 years since I first cast a Heliply, but it's still one of my favorite rods by far. And once or twice a month I pull out the 888-3 and strap on a Tibor with a Cortland Laser Line, and if it weren't for my greying hair and achy knees, it would almost feel like 1997 again.

Hope you all are having a great week,

Andy