Sunday, August 28, 2016

Silver Creek and Unstructured Fiberglass

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I just got back from fishing the Silver Creek for a few days. Low water have pushed larger fish into deeper sections of the creek, and the hatches were spotty. However, if you were willing to move around to avoid the gusty wind (which blew almost non-stop), you could enjoy fishing for selective trout over fairly reliable morning Trico appearance, followed by terrestrial activity in the afternoon. I mostly used my 8'3" #4/5 glass for this fishing, but also fished my Retrograph graphite models (here and here.) I posted more pictures from the trip in my other blog.

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Thursday, August 18, 2016

Sunday, June 19, 2016

After the Fishing Trip: Milenkovic Paradox 734 Fly Rod

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I am back from very intense rod testing fishing trip. My favorite Driftless creeks were high and muddy due to lots of rainfall in the short period of time. That means fishing big flies under, so that fish could see them. I used mostly big, weighted leech patterns in sizes 4-8 and the little rod handled them without problem. For very short casts most would prefer it with the 5wt line. However, my favorite line for this rod is Airflo Delta Taper in 4wt.

You can now order Paradox 734 from me. I decided to offer new builds as two-tip rods for $1149 and will also offer them as single tip rods for $799. Insured priority shipping is included in the price (US addresses only). Please contact me for more info.
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Monday, June 13, 2016

Thursday, June 2, 2016

Milenkovic Paradox-R 604 Fly Rod

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The "R" is for "Reverse"- fly rod with split cane butt, fiberglass tip and mid-sections, and fiberglass ferrules. It is inspired by short rods which were popularized by Lee Wulff. This experimental rod has a pretty quick action due to softer tip/middle and firmer butt section. The fiberglass portion of the rod is "borrowed" from my Unstructured Glass 8' 4wt taper.

The rod casts best with WF5 line at short to medium distances, even though 4wt lines work too. With a heavier line it is very smooth and still has power to reach far out if needed.
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Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Paradox 734 Fly Rod - Casting Characteristics

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I know that bottom pictures can't tell you much, but here are some opinions on how this rod behaves. I tested the rod with various 4 and 5wt lines and it can be described as a strong 4 or a 4/5wt rod. The tip specs are progressive and dampen quickly. While the rod casts a long line, it will throw lovely loops at short/medium distances with various 4wt lines-perfect for your standard dry fly presentations.

If you like little more feedback in your cast, slightly heavy 4wt lines (various Airflo, Rio Gold or SA GPX) work great. This would be a nice all-around choice when you need to swap a dry fly with a weighted nymph or a bugger. When you want to go for more distance, the glass butt section goes into play and with more line out, the rod starts to feel semi-parabolic, with that extra kick coming from the fiberglass butt.

Using 5wt lines on the rod will get the butt section engaged sooner, with less line out, but without the tip collapsing. Anglers who like deeper loading and more feedback from the rod might actually prefer it with a 5wt line.

The rod will be tested on a fishing trip to Driftless Area in a few weeks, so more details will follow on how it behaves in real fishing situations..
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Monday, May 23, 2016