Zach Matthews
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Hey guys –
Word from Andrew is he did make it to the summit. He texted everyone from base camp and was supposed to text from the top, but his cell died. I was actually getting worried and got in touch with Brooke, his wife, and she confirmed he had called out from a payphone back at the bottom when all was said and done. Poor Brooke was apparently freaking out.
No more info yet but I made him promise to get pics and post back here so hopefully we’ll get a full accounting.
Zach
I agree with a lot of Bruce’s points in principle, but he isn’t actually raising any new questions or pointing to any answers, which I know everyone would like to have.
Matt –
The misprinted hats are supposed to go back to Simms. I don’t really want a wonky logo in circulation. Some kids in Thailand will enjoy them eventually I’m sure.
Zach
PS –
This is probably a Photoshop job, so take it with a huge grain of salt, but if it happened to be real, there is a screw visible.
Doug –
I think most of the rumors are the D600 will keep the focus screw, though of course that remains to be seen.
All the major companies have new rods coming but I wouldn’t get overly excited about a jump in tech. The truth is, improvements in resins and tweaks in tapers are about the only tools rod designers have to play with right now. Carbon fiber isn’t changing much; the resins that hold the fibers together improve modestly over time, getting lighter and stronger as new chemical mixes come on the market or old expensive ones become more affordable.
Despite a lot of the marketing hoo-ha you see, probably 90% of the difference from one premium rod line to the next is due to taper changes. It’s actually somewhat arguable whether these are “improvements” versus mere “changes” to meet shifting angler tastes.
Objectively, you need to go back about 6-8 years with premium rods to start seeing measurable differences, and those differences are usually in weight, which has an effect on the rod’s responsiveness. So for example taking Sage, if you compare a 9′ 5 weight XP blank to a current ONE blank, you might see a couple tenths of an ounce in weight difference, which is statistically significant. Comparing a ONE to a Z-Axis is going to be even more marginal than that.
Next big tech jump is likely to be carbon nanotubes because they potentially could allow a rod to survive deflection without the need for as much (or even any) reinforcing scrim, which creates hoop strength (so the blank walls don’t shatter as they ovalize when they’re bent). Currently, carbon nanotubes do not come in lengths great enough to be feasible for use in rods, but science marches on and they potentially will be able to grow them that long down the line. If those get released to the fly rod market we’d see some real Ferraris – super light, very fast action rods which bend deeply into the blank and which would generate very high line speeds while still protecting tippet and being sensitive. That is the holy grail of fly rod design for some applications; a lightning-fast buggy whip, but right now no rod with those properties could survive being cast because the material strength isn’t there yet.
Zach
Hahaha, I had ironically been talking to one of my friends the other day about getting one of these.
My dad has one, supposedly there is an issue with one of the focal points (I think on the left side) not working properly.
Hey Mike –
Re: the shad thing; I believe they have completely outlawed bait fishing from Morgan Falls to 41 now, if I’m not mistaken.
Gary –
The main allure of the Hooch is (a) proximity, since I can leave my office at 4:45 and be on the water by 5:30, and (b) the epic bikini hatch.
There are days when I don’t mind those other people…
Zach
Andrew –
Personally I like the ten weight because of the size and makeup of the flies I am throwing, and because I think it gives you the best chance to whip the fish quickly, which eliminates the shearing issue I mentioned above and also gets them back in the water fast.