Post by philpot on Feb 11, 2013 13:42:24 GMT
I received a Redington Voyant 10# fly rod to try out which was very kindly loaned to me by Pike Shack. I also bought the new Rio 10# floating/sink tip line to give a fair test to the rod.
The first thing I noticed was the stiffness of the rod, a fast tip action just how I like them. The rod has had some hammer as a demo rod so I knew it was not going to be as new but that said, held all the power needed
The biggest surprise was the dia of the Rio line. I have a 9# so did not expect such huge difference in the weight of the line.
The first test was to strap on my 9# line which is a few years old and to cast this over my low garden wall into the field as the horses were in another field. Result, not very good, distance was not what I expected but in fairness, Simon from Pike Shack did say that this rod would need a 10# line. I just thought it would be fine.
Now as I had just paid £55 for the new line, I was not about to cast it over grass. On Sunday morning despite wind and rain, I went to Ashby Ville Lake to put both the outfit and myself to the test. Bloody wind was causing a serious issue and really reduced where I could cast avoiding trees. I found a spot in between some trees which was a little hairy at times but I managed.
The Voyant rod is quite a powerful tool lifting this 10# line with no real effort. I must say that I have never cast a rod & line combo of this weight so it took a little doing to get the feel and boy-o-boy does this feel good. I could not cast too far because of the trees behind me and am really looking forward to getting this rod working at full potential.
From the short session that I managed to get in on Sunday, I feel quite sure this is going to be a great outfit for me both on the bank and on the kayak. I will also say that if you are thinking of moving into pike fly fishing or want to update your gear, I can recommend getting in touch with Simon at Pike Shack, he is friendly, knowledgeable and very helpful and when you consider that I have only spoken over the phone once, to lend me a rod to try out is what I call quality service and guess who I am buying all my gear from--------Pike Shack.
pikeshack.co.uk/shop/index.php/
Phil
The first thing I noticed was the stiffness of the rod, a fast tip action just how I like them. The rod has had some hammer as a demo rod so I knew it was not going to be as new but that said, held all the power needed
The biggest surprise was the dia of the Rio line. I have a 9# so did not expect such huge difference in the weight of the line.
The first test was to strap on my 9# line which is a few years old and to cast this over my low garden wall into the field as the horses were in another field. Result, not very good, distance was not what I expected but in fairness, Simon from Pike Shack did say that this rod would need a 10# line. I just thought it would be fine.
Now as I had just paid £55 for the new line, I was not about to cast it over grass. On Sunday morning despite wind and rain, I went to Ashby Ville Lake to put both the outfit and myself to the test. Bloody wind was causing a serious issue and really reduced where I could cast avoiding trees. I found a spot in between some trees which was a little hairy at times but I managed.
The Voyant rod is quite a powerful tool lifting this 10# line with no real effort. I must say that I have never cast a rod & line combo of this weight so it took a little doing to get the feel and boy-o-boy does this feel good. I could not cast too far because of the trees behind me and am really looking forward to getting this rod working at full potential.
From the short session that I managed to get in on Sunday, I feel quite sure this is going to be a great outfit for me both on the bank and on the kayak. I will also say that if you are thinking of moving into pike fly fishing or want to update your gear, I can recommend getting in touch with Simon at Pike Shack, he is friendly, knowledgeable and very helpful and when you consider that I have only spoken over the phone once, to lend me a rod to try out is what I call quality service and guess who I am buying all my gear from--------Pike Shack.
pikeshack.co.uk/shop/index.php/
Phil