Day 4 and still going strong!
I was up at 5am this morning for some last minute study and then it was the beginning of the end… my first exam of my finals. It went well (I think!) but that’s enough of that, afterwards I went fishing!
I met up with Craig at 12.30 and things were looking good – sunshine, a few clouds, oh yeah, and a howling cold wind… You just can’t have it all, if the conditions were perfect, catching the trout would be too easy!! Today was the maiden voyage for my new 7′ #4 and what a maiden voyage it had. Its first cast brought a rise, as did the second, too bad I didn’t manage to hook up. I think I’m still in big fish striking mode but I’d definitely rather miss the small trout and maintain hookup rates on the bigger fish. The order of the day was emergers, DHEs, Dirty Pollies and Olive Klinks, all size 16s but the odd 14 came into play too.
I ended up with a few trout to hand quite quickly, expertly put onto them by my guide who did a grand job of sitting on his arse and pointing out the good spots – cheers Craig! I lost a bigger fish later on, would love to know how big it was but it’s one of those mysteries that keeps you going back.
The fish were fun and I had a blast catching them but the real star of the show was that little Shakespeare Odyssey 7′ #4. The fact is costs £17 is not the most impressive feature (although it truly is exceptional value for money) but rather how it responds and feels. I’ve never picked up a rod that has given quite the wow factor when fishing as this one and I’ve used a serious amount of rods. I was truly gobsmacked. It handled the wind perfectly, long leaders were not a problem, the tip control is right up there with the best rods and it is a joy to play fish with. This rod really is sitting right up there at the top of my rod list right now, stunning piece of kit. If you’re looking for a short rod, in fact any trout rod, you won’t go far wrong here. This is one of the best blanks I have used for a while, I had a smile on my face all day, Craig rated it right up there too. I’ll shoot a casting video and maybe a fishing video with it later in the month, just to prove how much I like it!!
What a great day out, I got to put off studying for rising trout and I got to enjoy a new rod that is set to become a stalwart of my armoury, it may be short but it doesn’t lack anything – it’s sweeeet.
6 Comments
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
- But Who’s Counting? « How Small A Trout - [...] network who picked up the Every Day in May signal, including Texas Fly Fishing Adventures and The Fly Commission, …
I was considering one of these oddysseys for mullet fishing this summer, is that the xt model scott?
It’s one of the original Odyssey models Col. I have no idea what the xt model is like but I’d be willing to guess that they will be great. I’ve had a play with a few models in the original range and they are all brilliant. If the marketing is to believed, the xt model says it has kept the same action and feel but had some upgrades… Look forward to hearing how you get on with Mullet, going to try for them myself too.
thanks scott think i’ll hav a look for the old model first. where did you get yours from sounds like you got a good deal!
Nice trout!
It was just a buy-it-now ebay deal, I got the last one of that particular sale but there were quite a few on there when I was looking. Hope you manage to get what you are after. We should meet up for a fish sometime in the summer, Brian too – would be great to finally meet both of you!
Great post, Scott — looks like tons of fun.
Cheers Chadd, think you would love it!