Fast Action with a Soul
I called the EDGE 890-4F action „fast with a soul” and you will see why the more you will read down the review. For starters, let’s say the action is fast, but the rod will provide ample feedback to the angler’s hand during bending under the casting stroke and the weight of the line. It’s so intuitive it won’t require your full concentration like a hyperultrafast telegraph pole, instead it will let you focus more on the fish in front of you and the fishing.

How much fast is fast? Having fished and cast with some of the fastest rods of their time, how does the EDGE Gamma Beta 8 wt. feel in terms of „rod action”? I’ve run some static deflection tests with the rod and it bends quite in the upper third of the blank, showing its true, fast nature.

Bend is just one way to assess rod action since the recovery rate is what makes the rod return to initial, straight shape, and imparts most of the speed to the line, along with rod movement, double haul speed and other factors. Here are some pictures to help you make an initial idea of how the EDGE fly rod flexes.

The top image is of the rod with a light load while the bottom one shows a deeper bend. The weight I used was 275 grams or 0.6 lbs.

The top image shows a deeper bend, corresponding to the point of almost lifting the 0.6 lbs. weight off the floor. In the bottom picture, the rod lifted the 275 grams weight completely off the ground.

Tip dampening or „getting rid of the parasite vibrations”
The EDGE 890-4F dampens so quickly after each cast and the residual vibrations/oscillations of the tip section are kept to a very low minimum, which means more energy is put into the cast to help you reach longer distances with less effort. Quicker dampening also translates into less wiggles on the bottom leg of casting loop. Lighter and advanced graphite blanks will perform like that because there’s less mass to recover after each energy storage (bending or loading) and release (returning to the straight shape after the stop of the casting stroke). This is PARAMOUNT FEATURE for a top performance fly rod and a true measure of the technology and cutting-edge design put into this fine piece of engineering. This also means that you won’t have to dampen the rod after each stop of the casting motions, back and forth – or at least, you won’t need to pay attention to that matter anymore.

Here’s a short video to see how the tip acts during the casting strokes – the Rod Tip Dampening footage:

I had so much confidence in the EDGE rods that I only brought them with me in Sudan, leaving the 9 wt. at home. Considering the conditions during the 6 days of fishing were the worst of the season, with strong winds around 20 to 25 knots every day, some would find that not very wise. Long story short: when others were already reaching for their 10 weights right in the afternoon of Day 1, I was fishing with the EDGE 890-4F, a true 8 wt., with an Airflo Tropical Punch WF9 floating – a line with a 40′ head that actually weighs close to a 10 weight (real weight is 9 and 3/4). How did I do?

Bruce Chard’s Tropical Punch fly line in WF9 is a is a very slick line (much better than the Airflo SuperDri GT one) with a heavier head. According to the more informed fishermen, the Punch is almost a 10 weight. Once the head is out, it will take some running line with it. Still, I recollect the days of the Scientific Anglers XXD with a very long head and belly for distance casting in the fresh, on my extremely fast 6 wt. rod. Maybe such a long head wouldn’t be useful in the salt environment but I’d like to try a some designs with a head around 50 ‘or 60’, half the length of the total line.

Except for guide’s requests in the first day to make some almost impossible long casts into the wind and without any previous practice with the EDGE rods, I didn’t feel bad for leaving the 9 wt. at home. Sure, a 9 or a 10 wt. rod would have been nice, but all in all, the EDGE 8 wt. handled the 10 wt. line with much more authority that I would have expected.

Laying some casts out on the windy side of Mesharifa (I’m not sure about location’s name for Thursday) proved impossible, so we moved onto the other side of the island that provided us with a bit of cover from the heavy winds.

Casting performance
A 12-year break from fly fishing leaves a mark upon anyone’s casting technique, especially if all he did before was trout fishing. Let’s put it this way: in saltwater fly fishing, if you can’t cast, you can’t fish. And the wind is ever present on the flats or at least that was the case during that week on the Nubian Flats. Tourette Fishing guys said that they had like 5 weeks of flat calm before we dropped in on Monday, 22^nd of May.

Wading on the flats of Shambaya was quite nice in the morning. In the afternoon, the wind gained in strength to the point that other anglers pulled out the 10 weight rods.

In the morning I was fortunate enough to not only land my first trigger fish, but also to have a go at a lot more others.

Well, since I’m no Rajeff nor Siem, finding myself in the waist-deep water with a 20 to 25 knots wind relentlessly blowing against your casts could be an overwhelming experience, at least in the beginning. The guide kept on spotting trigger fish feeding on the beautiful flats of Shambaya Island and he was insisting on making super long casts. If you never fished for trigger fish before, you should know they’re very spooky and in a way, I understand the guide’s urge to present the fly from as far as possible.

A parenthesis on the weather
The conditions were absolutely horrible with some very narrow windows during the first and the last morning of the trip. So, there I was with some rods I didn’t get to use them before, a right forearm muscle strain that’s still in effect to this day and a beginner in the „saltwater scene”.

The winds were so strong on Thursday, Friday and Saturday that water on the knee-deep flats had white crest waves. Fishing was only possible in the sheltered sides of the islands or sand banks but even there it was tough.

The best fishing areas were covered in white crested waves, such as these two deep blue holes, which I understand can be home to some nice predatory fish such as bohar snapper, baracuda and even some bluefin. Maybe on another day, on another trip and life.

The weather changed for the worse in the very afternoon of the first day of fishing, Tuesday (only the morning was „fishable”). Wednesday we found ourselves stranded aboard the My Scuba Libre 60-foot catamaran, which was already dancing on the rough waves. The head guide decided to cancel fishing that day because of the very strong winds and high waves, for safety reasons.

This is what happens when you fish with hand-lines in the back of the boat, on a very windy Wednesday: the guys have caught one of prettiest things swimming around in the Red Sea, a Picasso trigger fish. Ain’t that a beauty or what? Like some people in other parts of the world would say „We don’t need no scuba diving, ma’am. We bring the fish right to us.”

Everybody, meet Windy Wednesday – she’s a nasty:

These were the conditions we had to fish into since the Tuesday to Saturday, and then on Sunday morning gave us a bit of slack until noon, when it came back in full force.

The weather parenthesis above is important in a fly rod’s review or assessment, since the wind could be the no. 1 public enemy of the fly anglers especially on the open flats, where the winds are a constant presence. Still, what we’ve experienced during our trip was worse than the average you will encounter anywhere in the Tropics.

Considering all the above, the first morning session I caught my first trigger fish with the help of the guide. Then, I was left on my own since the guide went to assist the next angler in catching his first trigger. In the next couple of hours, I had the time to get better acquainted with the EDGE 890-4F, I’ve caught my biggest trigger fish of the trip and have landed that titan alone, then I’ve also hooked on another 3 or 4 good fish that got away while fighting them.

My first titan trigger put up some serious fight, but to my luck, there were no corals around. I was not only able to land it all alone, but very proud of my achievement, especially since the Day 1, I was the only angler who caught triggers. Me thinks the EDGE rod was there to assist and to make look a much better caster than I was after a 12 years long break from fly fishing.

Here’s also the video of my first trigger caught all alone <**()))))))<

I think I can say the rod literally gave me the edge on that day and the following ones: it was perfectly loading with the 40′ head outside the tip and another 5 to 10′ feet of overhang. As mentioned above, it was a „point & shoot” game. I was spotting the triggers dancing in the water, and laying a 60′ cast was a breeze when fishing with the wind on one of the shoulders or with it behind. Against it was a struggle in the afternoon with anything less than 10 weight setups, but I did manage some decent casts. Still, the best strategy was to let the wind help your casts and presentations.

Accuracy
The EDGE Gamma Beta 8 wt. is a FAST action rod with a positive bend and ample feedback provided to the angler. With the WF9 it was a „point & shoot” game: I was picking the line, making maximum 3 false casts, then shooting the rest of the line to reach my targets even against +20 knots wind. The EDGE 890-4F accuracy is as best as one could hope for and I think it will vary with one’s casting skills. Yet, the very quick dampening qualities, the fast action and the recovery speed are all responsible of the the EDGE’s accuracy.

Casting range
The rod casts effortlessly from close to medium fishing range, that would be between 10′ to 70′. It’s true I had a heavier line than the rod’s rating, but the EDGE didn’t seem to run out of steam at 50 to 70′, even with that „almost a WF10 line”.

As a beginner in saltwater fly fishing, I had an unbelievable first morning session, and the EDGE rod helped me in reaching those fish and fighting them. That’s a superbly balanced rod that will provide extended feedback, it’s what I call „Fast with a Soul”. EDGE rods made use of Temple Fork Outfitters advisory staff, including the legend Lefty Kreh, and the results are showing not in bright marketing and advertising terms, but in raw performance where it matters most: on the water.

Getting ready to step on the Nubian Flats for the first time. The weather couldn’t be better with winds in the 7 to 10 knots range. Then in the afternoon the wind raised to about 15 knots easily.

The guide’s reaction when he cast the rod for the first time was something like „Wow, that’s a nice rod you’ve got. You can leave it with me.” That was an overlined rod with a line weighing almost 2 AFTM classes in addition. This summer I will also test it with some 8 and 9 WF lines I bought as a backup for the trip.

I think this might make an incredibly fine bonefish rod seeing how Bahamas guys are so keen on 8 weight rods in their quest for the gray ghosts of the flats.

Fishing abilities
The EDGE Gamma Beta 890-4F is an amazing rod to cast and an extremely fun rod to fish: it has a powerful butt and mid-section to put the brakes and turn around just about any trigger fish. The guys were saying that pound for pound, triggers pull a lot harder than the bonefish, taking the 9 wt. rod to their limits.

The EDGE 890-4F fought the triggers with lots of authority and felt like a perfect mix of power and feel. It was also fun when I caught some coral groupers on Friday – even with such a small fish the rod was nicely bending.

„What a nice little fellow!” you might say. These coral groupers sure do look pretty and harmless until…

… you see the needle-sharp teeth in their mouth. They were attacking the Clouser Minnow fly quite aggressively.

Small but full of needle-sharp teeth:

Power
I believe that’s a real 8 wt. by AFTM (Association of Fishing Tackle Manufacturers) standards, with lots of power for saltwater use. The AFTM table is a scale of line weights. The heavier the line, the higher the AFTM number. The manufacturers weigh the first 10 yards excluding the level tip and rate the line according to the table.

Here is the table with the weights from 8 to 12 according to AFTM:

I was fishing a much heavier line yet the rod managed that with grace and energy despite the tough conditions on the Nubian Flats. The power is there when you needed but the rod doesn’t feel stiff, heavy or under rated.

Provided you don’t forget to tighten up the reel’s drag, the EDGE Gamma Beta 890-4F has all the power inside to put the brakes on even the most furious triggers dwelling on the flats of Magarsum Island.

Another yellow-margin bites the ugly fly – watch the video below>>

Ergonomics (equally important when you’re hurt)
I would like to insist on dynamic ergonomics of the EDGE 890-4F rather that its full wells grip, very comfortable to hold during a 6-full day trip.

First, when you pick it up and when you cast it, the EDGE 890-4F feels like a 6 weight at most. That also makes for a minimal swing weight, which translates into longer casting sessions on the water with less fatigue for the angler. I arrived already „damaged” in Sudan with my right forearm busted, still the EDGE rod didn’t cause any aggravations.

Fishing on the edge of the reel in the surf, on a windy day, was tough to the point of getting knocked down in the waves, against the sharp corals.

The only things that got hurt on the teasing were my feet and then on Saturday I went for another „walk in the park of bomies” and got a new set of cuts over the ones from Thursday.

Back on the boat, the guys sprayed the wounds with antibiotic but all these days of fishing in the saltwater with the open wounds left me with a nasty infection. As a result, I arrived back home with the feet swollen the size of scuba diving oxygen tubes. The last couple of days I fished with the legs swollen from dusk till dawn. The wounds would burn like hell for more than an hour every time I was beginning to wade in the morning or in the afternoon, but the pain kept me very alert and aware of the environment I would dare say

Beautiful but „gory” sunset on Thursday, as my legs took a beating on the reef and then some.

Thursday I had a really bad day and the forearm hurt a lot, but after putting the elastic bandage and some anti-inflammatory Diclofenac, the afternoon session I was casting the 11 wt. on the reef, against the waves and the wind. And the 11 wt. didn’t bring more pain on my arm at all – contrary to other people’s beliefs. On Friday I was almost like new, except for the cuts and bruises on my legs as a result of fishing from the coral reef. „Fishing” might be an exaggerated term when I remember the tumbles I took in the waves, but at least I tried.

The coral bomies look harmless, even inviting to get on top of them for a better vantage point in search for GeeTees. These are quite fine compared to the ones on the reef.

Pain check: OK! On the last day of the trip, no Geets were seen on the Magarsum Island flats, but I had the chance of spotting a large shark cruising along the bomies area. It was a big one, the guys estimated it at around 3 meters and then they went on with the rods to try and cast a fly towards it, but the shark had disappeared underwater.

Back home, after 10 days on antibiotics, I caught a cold morning on the water. Check the EDGE 890-4F’s fulcrum point with the Allen Kraken #4 reel. Even if you do not see it, the rod sits on just the index finger close to the upper part of the grip, right where you would put the thumb when gripping the handle.

Conclusion
One of the best things of this first saltwater trip for me was not the fishing nor the breathtaking scenery, but the surprise the 2 EDGE rods came to be every day. I didn’t hook into any GT, and out of the very few ones that have shown up, one encounter could hardly have been qualify as a shot. The boat was going too fast and the fish spooked right away. Now I’m constantly training with the 11 wt. EDGE rod so next year I’ll be better prepared for such encounters. Until then, I’m planning to catch some large pike with the 11 wt. in the New Hotel Egreta private waters that should hold the best population of 1-meter pike in Romania.

Trigger fish are nice from all the angles – the yellow margins here look more orange-ish. This was a feisty chap that put some pressure on the rod.

To me, the EDGE rods are „Nubian tested and approved”. The EDGE Gamma Beta 890-4F performed like a true, Nubian Flats champion.

Even so, the trigger fish I caught on the Nubian Flats were a blast from hooking to fighting, not to mention the ones that got away. The EDGE Gamma Beta 890-4F was there for me when I needed it and provided me with tons of fun, performance and a super reliable experience. In the past, rods built by Gary Loomis were nothing but the best. Nowadays, the EDGE fly rods by Gary Loomis are climbing directly on top because they carry some serious high performance with them, which in my eyes makes them some of the best fly rods in existence. I’m planning getting back to the Nubian Flats next year, and the EDGE rods will be right there with me, ready for more adventures on the edge of uncertainty.

EDGE rods deserve their place among the best because, in my opinion, they are some of the finest performing rods, built on the latest, cutting-edge technologies that you can buy in the present days. They’ve got super lightness & toughness, power to generate high line speed & feel to provide ample feedback to the angler, tons of features & high-tech design in a package signed by no one other than the Legend of graphite rods, Gary Loomis.

Articolul The EDGE Gamma Beta fly rods redefine top performance (II) apare prima dată în andreizabet.ro.

I quit my trout fly fishing more than 12 years ago. The mountain streams and creeks were too far from home for weekend trips and the rewards simply too small. Last year, because of a poorly planned holiday, I began dreaming of a different kind of fishing: saltwater fly fishing. After finding the perfect location (the Nubian Flats in Sudan, on the Red Sea) and at closer price for my budget, preparations were on.

I had the inspiration of booking part of the flights (Bucharest – Instabul – Dubai and return) with Turkish Airlines. They are just as good as they claim to be and the flights were perfect aboard some huge Airbus planes with tons of comfort.

I had to start with everything from scratch: wading boots, sun protection, long sleeve shirts, pants, neoprene socks, reels, fly lines, spare lines, backing lines, waterproof fly boxes, waterproof backpack, gravel guards (Tourette Fishing hooked me up with a pair that were waiting for me on the boat when I arrived, so thanks Rob Scott), and so on. I learned to tie every single saltwater fly from YouTube instructional videos, if available – some patterns like the Velcro Crab below were nowhere to be found so I had to figure them out from pictures of the finished flies. Even so, when I arrived on Scuba Libre, the reality proved totally different than the flies I was confirmed before that would work. Apart from the GT and other minnow-style flies (in the blue box), the guides told me that all the flies I tied (over 150) were not good because the hot orange in the legs or other parts would spook the heck out of the Nubian trigger fish. Bummer! But that’s a funny story I would rather tell you on another time.

The GTs and other bigger predatory species flies are in the large box: lots of fluff, feathers, hairs and synthetic fibers. These flies were A-OK.

The primary flies I was counting on, for triggering the triggers’ bites on them Nubian Flats proved to be useless. Why is that so? One answer would be: too much orange would spook them like it was their business. The other answer is part of a story that I have yet to unveil. It was hilarious and frustrating at the same time.

Almost all the fly tying materials were ordered off eBay while some came from the only specialty fly shop in Romania, Troutline. And I was seriously budget-limited, since the medium income in here is incomparably lower than in the rest of Europe and the civilized world. When I mentioned to Rob Scott from Tourette Fishing that my finances were stretched, it was a serious understatement to say the least. While I was expecting a stellar trip, the weather unexpectedly took a turn for the worse so the fishing results left a lot to be desired.

The 3 1/2 hours drive from Port Sudan to where the My Scuba Libre boat was, in Muhammad Qol port, was done in a rather fun small bus, on a road through the Nubian desert, where camels where obviously at home and we were the strangers.

The time to the boat passed in good fun as the interior of the bus was filled with all sort of groovy things. The rear-view mirror’s support was made from what seemed like a long time dead road-kill with furs long enough for quite a number of saltwater flies. I’m keeping more neat stuff to reveal with another occasion, when I’ll write mostly about the trip…

Before the trip, I’ve only got one short practice casting session with another 9 wt. rod while fighting a wild forearm muscle strain that was bothering me for almost a month at that time.

The shiny aluminum tubes with the EDGE Rods logo in red were not only a class act, but they also provided perfect protection to the rods checked for the whole duration of the flights. And that EDGE Rods logo – to me it’s one of the best logotypes I’ve ever seen, so yeah, I’m all over it!

Just a few days before taking off to Sudan, the rods arrived in their shiny aluminum tubes bearing the beautiful EDGE logo in red. One was an 8 wt. while the heavy one was an 11 wt., but almost a 12 wt., as per Alex’s description. Even though they were just finishing relocating the factory, my friends at EDGE Rods and North Fork Composites in Woodland, Washington didn’t forget about me. So, many thanks to Gary Loomis, Alex Maslov, Nicole Ivana Darland and Steve Pitcock and to Eric Dubouays and Goulven Dolle from Rodhouse as well.

Pairing the EDGE Gamma Beta 890-4F with an Allen Kraken reel was a thing of inspiration as well as of beauty, but both pieces of fine engineering proved more than fit for anything that the Red Sea threw at them.

I paired the EDGE 890-4F with an Allen Kraken #4 reel in Emerald color and the EDGE 1190-4F with an Allen Kraken XLA #5 reel. But this review is about the 8 weight rod so let’s get it started!

The saltwater EDGE lineup sports the distinctive markings of Gamma Beta (ΓΒ) name that stands for fast action rods, created for the harsh environment of salt.

Rod specifications
Manufacturer: EDGE Rods Company
Model: EDGE 08 90 4F
Series: Gamma Beta (ΓΒ)
Material: a blend of proprietary graphite – LMX, the blank is made by EDGE’s sister company, North Fork Composites
Aspect: Naked graphite looks for maximum lightness and stealth
Length: 9′ or 2.75 meter in metric system
Declared class: 8 wt.
Action: Fast
Pieces: 4 (fitting into each other by sleeve ferrules)
Rod weight: 4.1 oz or 116.4 grams
Guides: 2 large stripping guides, 7 snake guide + tip top
Made in: USA
Rod tube: aluminum, natural color
Rod sack: grey colored, with separate compartments for each of the 4 rod sections; the rod cloth comes with double laces, one at each end, which makes for a more secure system than the bags with just one lace

I individually weighed each section of the rod multiple times and in different positions. The digital scale comes with an error margin of 0.1 grams so it’s quite accurate (all the weights in the photo are in grams – metric system). The total weight of the 4 sections is 4.1 oz. or 116.4 grams, which is right in line with the other high-end manufacturers averages for the 8 class rods.

The combined weight of the 4 sections of the rod: 116.4 grams. It’s harder to keep them perfectly still and the digital scale is extremely sensitive to any change in pressure but after many attempts I eventually obtained another accurate measurement with the rod sections in upright position.

First impressions
The very first impression when you take the sections out of the sleeve: EDGE rods by Gary Loomis are built to perform and to impress. This is one beautiful looking rod from the ALPS reel seat, a show stealer, to the hand sanded, naked graphite smoky-grey colored blanks. I fished lots of older G. Loomis rods in the ’90s and seeing that raw graphite blank brings back some good memories and a familiar feeling of dependable, high performance.
Once you assemble it, the FIRST FUNCTIONAL IMPRESSION is „Wow, this thing is SO LIGHT in hand!” How light? To me, the 8 wt. feels like a 6 wt. – that would be the weight perceived in hand and during casting – the so-called „swing weight”, which is really kept to unnoticeable values.

4 pieces rods are a must for travel by plane nowadays. This rod feels just as great as it looks and the pictures don’t do it much justice, to be honest.

Build characteristics
For a rod with a price tag around $900, the craftsmanship quality is as good as it gets, from the tiptop to the fighting butt. No epoxy out of place and more important, no epoxy in excess. Gary Loomis is the parent of the „Weight is a deterrent to performance” mantra and they keep that weight to a minimum with every build. The guide wraps are very clean and uniform, the epoxy on the rod sticker is thin and the electric blue accents – Gary Loomis’ signature and the country of origin – points out the rod’s destination: saltwater fishing. Super cool!

Epoxy on the guides wraps is kept to a minimum and no drops are out of place.

North Fork Composites and subsequently EDGE Rods did a super job on the build, but let’s not forget the sleeve ferrules. Thanks to their precise and advanced construction, the 4 pieces fit together almost like a one-piece rod.

All the sections fit smooth and secure one into another and they stay that way during a fishing day: that’s key-feature since most of the fly rods today are made of 4 sections or more. One of the anglers, Chris Binnington, offered me some ferrule wax when we were setting up the tackle on Monday afternoon. I applied some on the 8 wt., while I left the 11 wt. dry. No section have come apart during the 6 days of fishing on any of the rods and upon regularly checking them (in the morning and over the day), I noticed no loose sections. The ferrules design is really top notch in the EDGE fly rods and I can’t stress enough its importance!

Features
I have owned a lot of fly fishing rods in the past, from U.S. top manufacturers such as Sage, R.L. Winston, Scott, Thomas & Thomas and so on, mostly ranging from 4 to 6 weights. EDGE are some of the richest-features rods you’ll ever get your hands onto. As a tackle junkie, I always appreciate a product that brings more to the game and the Gamma Beta series is jam-packed with real features. If you want to feel like you’re getting more for your money, these are the rods to get.

List of features include:
– ALPS machined and anodized aluminum reel seat with cut-outs to reduce weight. The inner composite tube also adds to that „space age” look, while the double up-locking rings will keep the reel firmly attached to the rod. The seat is branded with the manufacturer’s logo, too.

The ALPS machined and hard anodized reel seat is not only a looker…

… with its cut-out windows and the inner silver composite tube, but it also holds the reels very secured.

– Flor grade cork fighting butt comes with a butt of its own, made of conglomerate cork for long lasting durability. The fighting butt will provide you with the comfort during long fights with saltwater species.

The fighting butt is quite large in size.

If you look to the image below you will notice a sort of winding check providing a smooth transition between the metallic reel seat and the fighting butt. That angled machined piece will reduce line tangling in that section of the rod. It’s the small details like these that make for a great rod overall.

The metallic winding check is worth all the money alone for this ALPS reel seat – that smooth transition will help minimize line tangling in.

– The Full Wells handle is made from the finest premium grade flor cork that Gary Loomis imports it from a family farm in Portugal. While it doesn’t look as impressive as the carbon woven grip, it feels super velvety to the touch and upon using the rod for 6 days in a row you tend to forget you have a rod in your hand.

This is how the handle looks (and it feels just as great!) after 6 days in the quite salty waters of the Red Sea. The rods and reels got completely submerged in the water many times and except for a freshwater rinse back on the boat, after each fishing session, no other treatments have been applied to the setups.

The quality of the cork gets noticed every time I fish with the rod, while the full-wells profile is comfortable to hold all day long.

The cork handle fits just perfect in size and shape – this is critical because it will be your most used rod on the flats, unlike the heavier weights such as 11 or 12.

The shape of the handle is definitely comfortable and it fits, at least for my medium-sized hands. Full Wells grip is found in the Gamma Beta series of Fast Action saltwater rods while the freshwater Gamma Alpha comes with Wells grip and Moderate Actions.

Is this thing light or what? And it balances really good with the Allen Kraken reel in 4 size. Actually, a #3 would be a better alternative for 7 and 8 weight lines, but if you need lots of backing, the Kraken #4 is the logical, especially with 9 wt. lines. I’ve got the reels for 9 and 12 wt. rod a few months before the actual rods arrived.

– Going up the rod, the blank comes next in our list of features: the blanks are hand-rolled, hand-sanded made in the NFC (North Fork Composites) factory right there in Woodland, Washington, USA. Hand sanding is an accurate process that results in „raw graphite” or „naked-graphite” looking blanks that are 20% lighter than the painted ones. Sanding also makes sure the blanks do not hide any blemishes that would otherwise go unnoticed. That’s the traditional looks of Gary Loomis rods from the past and the new EDGE series look and feel even better than the sticks of the ’90s.

Having used lots of Gary Loomis rods in the ’90s, I grew very fond of the raw graphite looks of the blanks. After all these years, they still look sexy and hi-tech. If the appearance seem the same, much have changed and the new North Fork Composites blanks are truly the cutting edge of today’s technology.

The naked-graphite blanks look way much better in the sun and have another advantage to them: stealth approach either in salt or in freshwater.

– The LMX composite seems like a very strong material, too. On several occasions, I closed the loop too much and the clousers tied on 2/0 hooks hit the rod tip section. I feared the worst but it didn’t happen: upon checking the tip, I found no visual damage. The 4th day of the trip, that was on Friday, I was fishing alone over some bomies and catching small but fun coral groupers on 1 to 2/0 Clouser Minnow flies.

Large diameter stripping guides are absolutely mandatory to saltwater fly fishing rods for both shooting the lines and quickly clearing out the tangles when the fish strike.

The stripping guides are ALPS titanium framed with SIC inserts – the best in saltwater corrosion protection.

– Next up on the blank come the 2 ALPS titanium frame stripping guides with SIC inserts. Titanium is saltwater corrosion-proof while the large diameter will ease up shooting line or clearing tangles especially when you get sudden, wild takes from crazy SW fish.

The all-American Mike McCoy snake guides pack some hidden innovations, too that will help enhance the performance of the finished rod.

– The snake guides are just as special as the other hardware. They are made by Mike McCoy in USA, they are light, low profiled and the concave footprint reduces the epoxy needed to cover the wraps and require less threads in the wrapping process – that’s a small but smart feature if you ask me. Special E-coatings help out the line slip through them like a champ. The guides feel quite solid and reassuring of their durability.

The first trigger fish came in quite quickly, on the beautiful looking sand flats of the Shambaya Island. The morning session was productive for me, but in the afternoon the wind picked up by quite a lot… to the extent that the head guide canceled the fishing on the second day of the trip, on Wednesday the 24th of May.

The EDGE in action videos
My first saltwater fish ever came on the EDGE 890-4. That’s an experience words cannot describe to its full extent. Imagine how I was feeling an hour later when I caught the first trigger fish on my own!

Trigger-happy or not? I caught other triggers that took me into the backing of the reel, like the one below. The EDGE Gamma Beta 890-4F performed admirably every single time, covering my casting or fish-fighting mistakes. It’s truly something to use a rod that you’ll almost make you forgot you’ve got a rod and let you focus on fishing only. That’s just one of the many special features the EDGE fly rod embeds inside its cutting-edge graphite construction.

In the second part I will be reviewing the rod action, casting performance, fishability, power and other intrinsic qualities. Stay tuned for even more pictures and videos from the Nubian Flats in Sudan!

Articolul The EDGE Gamma Beta fly rods redefine top performance (I) apare prima dată în andreizabet.ro.

A month or so ago I took to blank and the components ordered from Rodhouse to my rod builder, Laurentiu „The Emperor” Andronic. During that preliminary meeting I told him the new theme for the build: a rod with silver composite woven handle to contrast with the „raw carbon” finish of the NFC blank. Every NFC blank is hand sanded after the baking process so that its raw sensitivity and performance are kept to their maximum – no gloss finish is applied to the blanks because, as Gary Loomis repeatedly says, „Weight is a deterrent to performance”.

After the first project called The Dark Side, the name for the new one came right away: The Lightsaber, not only because the handle looks like what I had in mind, but as a paradigm and modern dichotomy between the „light” particle in the name and the heavy duty designation of this rod. After all, I wanted it for tossing 4 to 7 oz. (113 – 199 grams) swimbaits all day long or for how long my muscles would resist.

One thing I didn’t pay attention and honestly I didn’t know at the time of the build was that the Texalium tube weighted 55 grams – something I have found out only after the rod was finished. However, the rod turned out very balanced due to its long and heavy handle and the perceived weight is quite reduced from the real one, 8.9 oz. or 255 grams. I wanted a full carbon handle because that I really like that feature in my EDGE rods – but these are very lightweight carbon handles, hand wrapped by North Fork Composites’ staff in their factory and not available as separate parts.

Without further much ado, let’s inspect the characteristics of the NFC blank, the „high energy beam” without whom The Lightsaber would not exist.

The blank
Blank model: BB809-1 IM (whereas BB stands for „Big Bait”, I suppose)
Manufacturer: North Fork Composites, Woodland, Washington, USA
Material: Next Generation IM (Intermediate Modulus) graphite blank
Length: 8′ (2.43 meters)
Casting weight: 2 – 8 oz. (57 – 228 grams)
Line weight: 17 – 40 lbs.
Power within its class: Mag-Heavy
Action: Moderate-Fast
Pieces: 1

Final rod weight: 8.9 oz (255 grams)

First impressions
Upon wiggling the blank without guides, wraps and epoxy, it felt somewhat reminiscent of the one found in the EDGE SB807-1 IM rod that I reviewed not long ago. That is a big bait rod with a soul – it’s not stiff despite the intrinsic power (casting 6.5 oz. baits like they’re nothing) and it fishes incredibly well both at long distances or in short, right at the boat. The BB809-1 IM tests out similar to the blank used in that rod, and moreover, it seems to bend deeper down into the butt section under heavy loads – it’s not a broomstick but a highly refined tool, made to accomplish a few things: help you cast all sorts of big baits with the minimum effort; help you fish more efficiently with its tricked-out action and inner power; make you a better angler at the end of each day on the water; last but not least, help you have more fun out there.

Blank castability
Together with the rod builder, we compared the EDGE Sb807 rod and the BB809 blank and the later looked a little more powerful in the tip section and in the middle one – and that’s exactly where I need the rod to REALLY help me toss out those big baits, with a powerful mid-section to store and release the energy in the most efficient way. In the video I recorded during the rod casting tests, I never put extra „oomph” in the casting motion, never muscled the rod out because I wanted to see how it performed with the minimum power input. It performed and then some, way beyond my honest expectations.

The build
In brief, I wanted a handle to remind of a lightsaber from the Star Wars universe, not only because of Obi-Wan’s quote from Star Wars Episode IV – A New Hope, but also because this is result of Gary Loomis’ expertise, who helped pioneering the graphite rods industry with products worthy of Star Wars in our times.

„Your father’s lightsaber. This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster. An elegant weapon… for a more civilized age.”

— Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars: A New Hope

Laurentiu took the brief seriously and he began working on the rod. He cut the rear handle to the length I wanted, 15.15″ (38.5 cm), used a black woven carbon tube for the exposed part of the Fuji ACS reel seat, made the butt cap to fit, and he set the spiral wrapped guides to the offset angles I provided him with. Steve Pitcock from North Fork Composites helped me out with the same „coordinates” they are using on EDGE rods. The guides are Fuji Titanium K frames with Torzite ceramic inserts, the lightest ever produced by the Japanese company. The whole set weighs around 3 grams (less than 1/8 oz.) and helps out to keep the extra mass to a minimum on the active part of the blank. The Emperor put out a great custom build as always. He knows how to build a custom rod and he worked wonders with my first project, The Dark Side.

The result – first tests
One Saturday I took my finished rod from The Emperor, the very next Sunday I was on Varlaam Lake, among at least 12 other anglers fishing from the bank. My objectives were to test cast the rod with baits from 2 to 7 oz., so catching any other fish would have been an added bonus. Since pike was still spawning and still is as I’m writing this, I didn’t count on medium to large fish to take a bite out of my offerings, but just in case I took the EDGE SB805-1 HM with me, my newly all-around rod for pike with almost any type of lures, soft swimbaits included. And I got just one on that rod, on a Sawamura One’Up shad of 6″ (15 cm).

Back to the tests: I paired The Lightsaber with my Daiwa Lexa 300HL, loaded with monofilament Sunline Machinegun Cast of 30 lbs. strength (0.43 mm). The first bait I tied was the Deps SlideSwimmer 250 slow sinking, a swimbait that brought me some really nice fish during my last trip to New Egreta private waters. That bait weighs in at 185 grams, about 6.5 oz. The EDGE SB807-1 IM had cast that lure for three days without breaking a sweat, mine or „hers”. Our assessment before building the rod was that the blank seemed more powerful than the EDGE SB807’s „core”.

I made the first semi-overhead cast without overloading the rod or putting too much force into the motion. The bait fired up into the air, on a slightly ascending trajectory, only to fall into the water with the „Big Bang” splash that I’m so used to (unlike the anglers around me, who were looking at those splashes and then at me like at some nuts job but I was on a mission). I can’t cast the SlideSwimmer 250 on dry land because the bait would shatter itself. But from the bank looked like I was consistently hit 25 to 30 meters mark on all the casts that followed. Again, without forcing the rod or applying any extra push. The BB809-1 IM blank cast the bait effortlessly, which to me translates into a less exhausting day out on the water, in actual fishing.

Here is the video that I made during the first casting tests.

It’s my supposition that the NFC blank achieves that kind of performance thanks to its somewhat flexible nature for the power ratings. The tip is not stiff, which is paramount for working those big gliding baits the right way, yet the middle section has all the power one needs to cast effortlessly and to set the hook with authority even at long distance.

The first day I subsequently tested The Lightsaber with a few baits: Deps SlideSwimmer 250 O.G. (original model, 185 grams or 6.5 oz.), D.R.T. Klash Low-Float (weighing 4 oz. or 113 grams) and the lightest of the bunch, a SlideSwimmer 175 (2.8 oz or 80 grams). The Lightsaber „sliced” through all of them with smooth power and I’m sure it could cast 1 oz. baits just as well – will test that, too, next time. I’ll have to get some 30 cm big baits that usually weigh around 10 to 11 oz. (300 grams range) and test this baby out some more. Can’t wait for the first trip to New Egreta in the search of big pike, but Sudan comes first this spring.

My conclusions
Star Wars theme and Comic-Con playing aside, if there’s anything that shines brighter than any blade of light, that’s the North Fork Composite BB809-1 IM blank. It packs incredible power and it delivers it all in a smooth performance curve that means it will make an extremely „fishable” blank.

NFC BB809 stands for effortless casting of the biggest and baddest baits in my box, I can’t believe how smooth it’s throwing them out there. It also brings the benefits of a flexible blank in the ecuation of Big Game Fishing and that means more positive hookups and less fish lost during the fight – a sine qua non feature when fishing baits with treble hooks. At the same time, the Moderate-Fast action and the powerful mid-section make for a perfectly balanced blank when fishing soft swimbaits with either offset or exposed single hooks. The power is there to drive the hook home even with soft baits and get it done time and time again.

NFC BB809-1 IM makes my new custom build a true Lightsaber of big bait rods.

Articolul The Lightsaber of big bait rods apare prima dată în andreizabet.ro.

In short, I was dead set to get the EDGE SB808-1 IM factory rod rated up to 8 oz. Despite Alex’s repeated feedback that the rod was too stiff and too heavy for my current swimbaits, I repeated and insisted like a broken vinyl caught in a loop. However, when he sent me the EDGE SB807-1 IM model rated up to 5 oz. he also assured me the rod could easily cast 6 oz. and even heavier and backed it up with a comforting line: „If you break the rod, I’ll send you another one for free!”. Now this is what I call CONFIDENCE in the company’s products! With that being mentioned, let’s start the actual review of what I call The Heavy Beauty Swimbait Rod.

Two and a half days of filming with Malin Musatescu and the camera crew from Fishing & Hunting Channel. That’s a thematic cable TV channel currently being broadcast in 6 European countries.

This is a DEPS Slideswimmer 250 that weighs 185 grams or 6.5 oz. Do you think casting such a big bait all day long could injure your shoulder or your wrist? Think again: not with the right rod and the proper technique!

Rod specifications
Manufacturer: EDGE Rods Company
Model: EDGE Swim bait 807-1 IM, individually numbered
Series: Black Widow
Material: Next Generation IM (Intermediate Modulus) graphite blank built by North Fork Composites
Length: 8′ (2.43 meter in metric system)
Casting weight: 1/2 – 5 oz. (14 – 142 grams)
Line weight: 12 – 30 lbs. (approx. 0.28 mm – 0.43 mm diameter according to Sunline products)
Power within its class: Heavy
Action: Moderate-Fast
Pieces: 1
Rod weight: I have yet to measure it
Guides: 8 + tip (first 4 double-foot, last 4 single-foot)
Made in: USA

The rod specs are stated clear and simple. I’m no fan of „blingy” and shiny rods so I prefer a more elegant and understated approach. Gary Loomis’ signature in red over grayish-black raw graphite is what I’d call a touch of class.

First impression
Upon receiving the EDGE rods, the amazing SB805 that I reviewed here felt „deceivingly” lighter, while the SB807 seemed more than able to handle its upper limit of 5 oz. It didn’t feel stiffer, like a broomstick, yet it made the impression of being more than up for the task at hand of tossing baits around 6.5 oz., my main swimbaits for pike fishing this fall. The balance point with the reel on was impressively good, too, only 2″ (5 cm) from the middle of the reel seat.

Straight as an arrow blank with spiral wrapped guides. If you haven’t used a rod „acid wrapped”, you don’t know what you’ve been missing. I think this system is the way to go with both heavy swimbait and bait finesse casting rods.

Build characteristics
Just like in SB805-1 HM’s case, I was in for a BIG surprise, because these two rods hide some major technology and innovative design under their quite discrete and „all black” appearance. I got used to them so much that I can’t imagine having another custom rod without these two main features: full carbon tubular handle and spiral wrapped guides. Build is clean, no epoxy is out of place, guides are perfectly aligned and the rod blank is as straight as you can get. You get flawless yet understated looks and personally I like the red accents of Gary Loomis’ signature on the rod decal.

Features
The SB807-1 IM displays all the goodies her slender sister SB805-1 HM came with: full carbon rear grip measuring 35.5 cm in length, full carbon foregrip, split & triggerless reel seat and Fuji K-guides with ceramic inserts.

Full tubular carbon woven grip is a treat not only due to its intrinsic sensitivity, but also because the grip won’t crack with time like cork, won’t become yellow or get shiny like the EVA foam grips.

You may think that when slinging +6 oz. baits the triggerless seat would make your rod fly out of your hands uncontrollable. After a summer and a fall of casting everything but the kitchen sink with that rod, and that includes lures around 7 oz., I have yet to notice any attempt from the rod to leave my hands, even when wet, after releasing a fish.

Next Gen IM (Intermediate Modulus) construction means that the blank offers tons of high performance while still retaining all day toughness and durability. For big baits and tough fighting fish, this graphite should be better than the HM series.

Split reel seat with the absence of a trigger? Yes, it’s possible and yes, it works like a charm. IMHO, it’s quite comfortable and I didn’t miss the classic designed seats with the use of such a heavy swimbait rod.

Rod action
The rod might seem stiff at first wiggle test, but trust me, it isn’t in fishing. And it lives up to its rating of a Moderate-Fast action stick. Actually, I found it perfect to set the hook with authority when using 30 lbs. monofilament line at distances as far as 15 to 25 meters. I also got some very short bites right at the boat that I recorded on my action camera, and if the rod would have been too stiff in the tip and mid-section, I could’ve lost those fish. Instead, I landed every one of them. The rod has a perfect action for casting large baits and tons of backbone to set the hook.

I find this rod to offer the perfect blend of power and Mod-Fast action. Fighting a regular sized pike retains the feel and fun that a rod should provide you with.

Casting performance
Rated 1/2 – 5 oz., the rod easily casts down to 3/4 oz., but the bigger surprise comes at its upper end. As per Alex’s comments, this 8′ stick packs a punch and then some. If during the first day of fishing big baits up to 6.5 oz. I reluctantly cast them trying not to „overload” the rod, the next days of filming with Fishing & Hunting TV on New Egreta, I was slinging them out there at least 30 meters or so with full power. Color me very impressed with the rod’s casting performance. I have used it for anything in my tackle boxes ranging from 2 to 7 oz. and the rod just kept on going. Great distance and control with every lure I threw at it. This is when I thought of naming her The Heavy Beauty.

After 2 1/2 days of pike fishing, the foil under the Slideswimmer 250’s soft shell peeled off – a „flaw” with older foam models. Pike’s sharp teeth do a lot more damage than a bass large…mouth. You have to pay to play!

Casting weight sweet spot
This term refers to that specific weight that the rod seems to throw at its best, with efficiency. Its sweet spot seems around 4 to 5 oz., but overloading it felt just as good. I’m quite puzzled by that blank and I’m still wondering „What did they put in it?”.

Fishing abilities
Given its powerful but not overly stiff nature and Mod-Fact action, the SB807-1 IM fishes great with both soft and hard swimbaits. I enjoyed retrieving either a Megabass MagDraft 10″ or a Savage Gear 3D Line Thru Trout of 8″ or 10″ as well as the Nekosogi DSR that’s „only” 1.7 oz. (this particular bait features a big lip and is best presented with a Dead Slow Retrieve, hence its name).

The Heavy Beauty SB807-1 IM is the „wild card” in your sleeve whatever big baits between 1 to 5 (or more) oz. you might cast out there. To me it’s equally impressive with soft baits and with hard swimbaits.

Power
The power is there, with lots to spare: the SB807-1 IM stands behind its 1/2 – 5 oz. ratings and then some! Although casting baits around 6.5 oz. would void my warranty, I consciously did that because I was in need of a rod that could throw those baits during a trip in the Danube Delta. It can toss 6.5 oz baits all day long, even heavier around 7 oz., but under normal circumstances I would limit the weights to its official rating, for warranty purposes. Still, The Heavy Beauty is a lot of rod and Alex was right on the money to recommend this model instead of the SB808.

Casting a 1 1/4 oz. Javallon Hard then changing and tossing the biggest and meanest in your box such as a 6.5 oz. of an Slideswimmer 250 OG? Sure thing, The Heavy Beauty SB807-1 IM does it all and is the shot caller here.

Sensitivity
When fishing with really big baits, braided line is to be avoided because of its non-stretching, unforgiving nature. If the line digs in the spool and a backlash occurs during the cast, you can kiss your 3 to 11 oz. super expensive swimbait a very painful „goodbye” even with 60 or 80 lbs. braid. So, nylon, copolymer or fluorocarbon lines are widely used out there. I have only fished with Sunline Machinegun Cast low-stretch monofilament of 30 lbs. (0.43 mm) and thus far I could discern all the bites („shy” or discrete and violent ones) without any trouble through the line and rod, to my hand.

Some bites were more discrete, like a nibble or a fine touch, yet the rod didn’t have any trouble letting me know what was going on at the other end of the line.

Ergonomics
This is a beefy rod with some weight to it, but thanks to its long-lever rear grip, casting even the 6.5 oz. Deps Slideswimmer 250 was perfectly doable. After 3 consecutive days of casting those behemoths, I didn’t feel any pain in the forehand, shoulder or wrist. And the reel is pulling down to 10.6 oz (301 grams). The triggerless reel seat is very comfortable and I got used to it in no time.

The Heavy Beauty SB807-1 IM by Gary Loomis looks like the real deal… and it is. The blank performs exceptionally well with any bait in my tackle boxes. I hope the new BB809 will be just as good, but I have yet to build it – come this winter.

The EDGE in action video
Watch The Heavy Beauty EDGE SB807-1 IM while catching fish with the DEPS Slideswimmer 250 in Nude Black color OG (the old version made of foam, highly sought after because of its great swim pattern). I had to downsize the final video edit due to uploading limitations of the host since I won’t post this to YouTube, but stay tuned for more EDGE SB807-1 IM action in the incoming episode of Delta Force series.

Conclusion 
Everything about this rod is just the way I feel it should be, so to me it’s perfect. The ability to cast baits heavier than its maximum limit is a „nice to have” feature just in case and the rod sets the hooks like there’s no tomorrow. The power & action combination makes for a rod that doesn’t feel like a telephone pole, and that helps a lot with fishing abilities, for memorable experiences with each and every fishing trip.

Articolul The Heavy Beauty EDGE SB807-1 IM by Gary Loomis apare prima dată în andreizabet.ro.

Acum câteva luni căutam un blank capabil să arunce între 1 și 8 – 9 uncii, adică între 30 și 230 – 260 de grame, fiindcă voiam să pescuiesc la știuca noastră cu swimbaituri de 25 cm lungime și cu o greutate în jurul a 6.5 oz sau 185 de grame – celebrele DEPS Slideswimmer 250, printre altele. Pescuitul cu swimbaituri este tot mai practicat în lume fiindcă aduce capturi capitale și uriașe de bass, însă necesită rezistență și nervi de oțel. După ce m-am documentat serios pe temă, am aflat că atacurile exemplarelor-record de bass asupra big bait-urilor sunt destul de rare, deci rata capturilor este scăzută… iar în apele noastre, și mai sărace în știuci mari, cu atât mai greu este și va fi.

Swimbaiturile cu care am pescuit în trecut nu depășeau dimensiuni de 18 cm și greutăți de 85 de grame. Cum anul ăsta am decis să las prostiile deoparte și să trec la categoria supergrea, aveam nevoie de o lansetă capabilă să arunce năluci de 200-300 de grame măcar 30 de metri, ca să pot acoperi cât mai multă apă. Așa a început proiectul The Dark Side.

Imakatsu Javallon Hard sau Gan Craft S-Song 115 sunt swimbait-uri decente, care nu depășesc 40 și ceva de grame. Abia când vezi cum arată un DEPS Slideswimmer 250, îți dai seama că ai nevoie de o cu totul altă lansetă, una capabilă să catapulteze 200 de grame fără să se îndoaie ca un stick UltraLight. Vara asta, pe Lacul Varlaam, am speriat vreo două știuci din mal cu Slideswimmer-ul 250 Nu-i nimic, aștept momentul când swimbaiturile mele se vor întâlni cu niște exemplare supradimensionate, care consideră un ”baboi” de 25 cm și 200 de grame o pradă ușoară cât un mic dejun.

În teorie, cu cât mai mari swimbaiturile, cu atât mai bine, fiindcă ar trebui să prindă și pești pe măsură. În cazul bassului, am înțeles că DEPS Slideswimmer 250 ar deține recordul de bassi de peste 10 lbs. (4,5 kg) capturați la nivel mondial. Cum la noi bassul încă nu a scos nasul, am decis să încerc cu cele mai mari swimbaituri la știucă… atât în Deltă, cât și pe lacurile din apropierea Bucureștiului. O să vă ține la curent, doar pentru asta am creat o categorie complet separată pe site – Swimbait Freakz.

Sub imperiul filmelor cu vânătorii de trofee de pe YouTube (Butch Brown e unul), după căutări, discuții și oscilații între diverși producători, am găsit blank-ul dorit. E vorba de SWB808-1 IM produs de noua companie a lui Gary Loomis, North Fork Composites (prescurtat NFC). Specificații: lungime 8 picioare (2,43 m), greutate 118 grame, putere de aruncare 1/2 – 8 oz. (14 – 227 grame), fir recomandat 20 – 40 lbs., acţiune Moderat-Rapidă. Orice blank dintr-o bucată adus din SUA presupune, pe lângă transportul exorbitant, și taxe vamale mari.

Tot căutând pe net, am găsit un magazin cu componente de rod building în Franța, www.rodhouse.fr, care avea blank-ul în stoc. L-am comandat și 3 zile mai târziu, curierul de la FedEx îmi aducea la birou tubul cu blank-ul intact în interior. Ulterior, am aflat că băieții de la Rodhouse sunt și distribuitorii produselor NFC în Europa. Deși blank-ul venise cu un sticker greșit, cei de la Rodhouse au discutat cu NFC USA și 2 săptămâni mai târziu aveam sticker-ul corect acasă.

Iată o comparație între SWB808-1 IM de la NFC și REVSB710-H de la Rainshadow. Cum blank-urile sunt de puteri asemănătoare, și curbele de flexare sunt oarecum similare, dar cu mici diferențe. Blanks Comparator este un instrument util pentru a afla cum se va comporta lanseta cu o sarcină de 200 de grame, 400 sau 1,8 kilograme, de exemplu.

Foarte utilă este aplicația dezvoltată de Rodhouse, Blanks Comparator, în care poți compara 2 sau mai multe blank-uri din punct de vedere al acțiunii și al încărcării statice – ca să afli cât de puternic sau nu este un blank și cum flexează sub acțiunea anumitor gramaje. Acest lucru a fost posibil numai datorită unor teste îndelungate cu greutăți diferite și photo session-uri multiple ale fiecărui blank.

Băieții de la Rodhouse nu sunt doar niște comercianți puși să câștige bani, ci sunt pescari pasionați de sportul cu lanseta și de rod building, și au grijă de fiecare client care cumpără de la ei, printr-un customer service de excepție. Oamenii își onorează brandurile pe care le reprezintă și clienții. În opinia lor și a altora, blank-ul NFC poate duce ușor până la 11 oz. sau 330 de grame – am discutat cu alți utilizatori din Franța și mi-au confirmat că pescuiesc frecvent NFC SWB808-1 IM cu swimbaituri Savage Gear Line Thru 3D Trout 30 cm, care cântăresc 300 de grame.

Evident că pentru un asemenea blank de dimensiuni ”mamutice” aveam planuri la fel de grele, de la funcționalitate la aspect. Voiam să-i dau un nume, cum fac japonezii cu lansetele lor. Am căutat ceva timp și am găsit, într-un final, ”The Dark Side”, şi pentru că sunt fan Star Wars. Completarea a venit firesc, din moment ce lanseta urma să o construiască Împăratul Laurențiu Andronic: The Dark Side – built by The Emperor În definitiv, aveam un blank extrem de potent şi ce poate fi mai puternic decât Partea Întunecată a Forţei?

Încântat de cum se lega conceptul, mi-am creat singur logo-ul iar băieții de la Rodhouse mi l-au printat pe un sticker special și mi l-au trimis rapid în România.

După jdemii de încercări, am ajuns la o variantă finală mulțumitoare: am adăugat line-ul Built by The Emperor, spart în două, deasupra şi dedesubtul logo-ului. Soarele negru din mijloc reprezintă simbolul Sith, însă pentru a restrânge stickerul, am sucit puţin simbolul pe diagonală.

Am încercat mai multe designuri intermediare ale mânerului-spate sau rear grip… însă anumite rute au fost anulate de diferenţele prea mari de diametru între EVA şi tuburile din carbon, motiv pentru care am renunţat la a monta carbonul la mijlocul grip-urilor din spumă EVA şi am ajuns la soluţia din schiţa următoare.

Între desenele originale şi produsul finit au intervenit modificări: eu îmi imaginam cum să arate iar Laurenţiu îmi spunea ce se poate şi ce nu. Astfel că front grip-ul a devenit rear grip, cu o adâncitură şlefuită în spuma EVA, cum aveau vechile lansete Evergreen Temujin Crossfire şi The Amazon Flip.

Pentru mâner aveam tot felul de idei pe care le-am pus sub formă de schițe desenate pe caiet. Pentru că lanseta urma să se numească The Dark Side, mânerul nu putea să aibă un design banal, ci îl voiam cât mai High-Tech, să aibă ceva dintr-un lightsaber hilt. Așa că am decis să fac un mâner split, combinat între EVA de culoare neagră și tuburi din carbon împletit. Îi dusesem deja blank-ul lui Laurențiu, iar când l-am sunat să-i povestesc ideile mele despre mâner, mi-a spus că va fi greu să-l facem după cum vreau. Pe cotor, blank-ul avea un diamentru de peste 20 mm, însă lipsa winding check-urilor de asemenea dimensiuni era cea mai mică dintre probleme. Mandrinele obișnuite nu puteau fi adaptate fiindcă aveau un diametru interior mic. Deci, trebuia o mandrină cu interior de aproximativ 20 mm – uriașă chiar și după standardele lansetelor din categoria Heavy.

Laurențiu a făcut necesarul componentelor și, după ce m-am hotărât asupra inelelor (am ales Fuji K Titanium Torzite cu două picioare), a trimis comanda la japonezi. În privința winding check-urilor, urma să prelucreze niște inele din aluminiu pe care le găsise, și care se potriveau cât de cât cu tuburile din carbon, câte unul pentru fiecare din cele două grip-uri separate ale mânerului tip split (care lasă să se vadă blank-ul între cele două grip-uri).

Din cauza diametrului extrem al blank-ului, winding check-urile au fost o adevărată provocare, însă Împăratul le-a scos din nimic şi a făcut din ele accente unice în designul lansetei. Şi asta pentru că nu am vrut un simplu matisaj şi nişte epoxy ca elemente decorative.

Inelele Fuji K Titanium Torzite sunt cele mai uşoare din lume. Setul de 12 inele cântărea 3,4 grame înainte de prelucrare…

… şi „decât” 3,2 grame după polizarea tălpicilor.

În fiecare fază a procesului de creație dar și de construcție și asamblare propriu-zisă a lansetei custom, Laurențiu Andronic a fost mai mult decât profesionist, de la A la Z, în cele mai mici detalii. Și-a notat tot ce discutam și fiecare pas ori modificare stabilită împreună, de la lungimea mânerului, culoarea aţei de montaj, culoarea vopselei şi a flake-ului pentru mandrină (custom paint) şi până la alezarea picioarelor inelelor, dimensiunile mânerelor din EVA şi aşa mai departe. Mi-a trimis fotografii de calitate pe durata întregului proces, documentând vizual fiecare fază. Înainte de fiecare decizie majoră, m-a sunat și am întors problema pe toate părțile, pentru a fi siguri că alegem cea mai bună rezolvare tehnică. Mi-a cerut să-i duc inclusiv mulineta dedicată lansetei, o Daiwa Lexa 300HL, ca să verifice poziționarea inelelor și curgerea firului prin inele în testul de încărcare statică. Custom rod building at its best!

În combinaţie cu tuburile din carbon, grip-urile mânerului începeau să capete formă, şi încă una foarte reuşită.

În privința aranjamentului inelelor, am vrut o setare spiral wrap, cu inelele răsucite în spirală, care pornesc de deasupra lansetei și ajung dedesubt. În cazul lansetelor ultra-heavy, spiral wrap-ul prezintă o serie de avantaje pe care nu le mai amintesc aici (le găsiți în review-ul despre lanseta EDGE by Gary Loomis, din secțiunea Best By Test).

În concluzie, Laurențiu Andronic a fost mai profesionist decât mulți rod builderi americani la care îmi construiam lansetele custom în urmă cu 15 – 20 de ani. Întrebarea este: mi-aș mai face o altă lansetă la Împărat? Răspunsul este bineînțeles afirmativ, și am un blank NFC pe care abia aștept să-l duc la ”Împărăție”! De data asta, proiectul va fi mai simplu, fiind vorba de un prototip NFC BB809-1, cu putere de aruncare mai mare, dar cu un design mai puţin conic decât în cazul lansetei despre care vă povestesc.

Ce a ieşit, vă invit şi pe voi să admirați:

Am fost un client dificil, nu numai că i-am dus un blank ”mastodontic”, dar am vrut să-mi creeze și un design complicat și aproape imposibil de executat din cauza dimensiunilor extreme ale țevii din carbon. În final, trebuie să spun că mânerul a ieșit incredibil de bine, senzațional chiar și pentru non-fanii Star Wars, iar Împăratul a depășit orice obstacole și a venit cu soluțiile creative realizabile. Am fost impresionat de rezultatul final și încă sunt, fiindcă Laurențiu Andronic a lucrat impecabil și a construit o lansetă custom cu adevărat excepțională: The Dark Side, custom built by The Emperor. Din câte îmi amintesc, lanseta finită cântăreşte aproximativ 203 grame, ceea ce pentru un swimbait stick de 8′, care lansează între 30 – 200 de grame şi chiar mai mult, până la 330 de grame (conform recomandărilor Rodhouse), este „periculos de bine”.

Laurenţiu Andronic este recunoscut nu doar pentru capturile capitale şi concursurile câştigate, ci şi pentru lansetele custom pe care le construieşte.

Dincolo de CV-ul impresionant de pescar de competiție și de titlul de Campion Național al Ligii Române de Spinning, Laurențiu Andronic este un ”constructor de lansete pe comandă” pasionat și extrem de meticulos. Puteți vedea unele dintre creațiile sale pe site-ul personal www.laurentiuandronic.ro. Indiferent de proiectul custom pe care-l aveţi în minte, puteţi fi siguri că Laurenţiu va face tot posibilul ca rezultatul final să fie cât mai aproape de ceea ce vă doriți.

În curând o să dau noul prototip de blank BB809-1 de la NFC în lucru la Împărat, deci saga The Dark Side of Fishing continuă cu un proiect şi mai „întunecat”. Forţa lansetelor de swimbait fie cu voi şi… pace în galaxia nălucilor XXL din cutie!

Articolul The Dark Side: custom built by The Emperor apare prima dată în andreizabet.ro.