Big Y Fly Co 7wt Spey Rod Showdown

In between packing orders and answering emails, we occasionally get a chance to go out and do some fishing.  Hood River is one of the few ...

In between packing orders and answering emails, we occasionally get a chance to go out and do some fishing.  Hood River is one of the few areas anywhere that we can target steelhead year-round.  The Columbia River provides more than ample opportunity to chase these beasts nearly any day of the year within a reasonable drive.  Our winter steelhead start arriving in late November and run through April, while summer steelhead start arriving in April and can be found through January (or March if you are looking really hard).

Kiteboarding ramps make great places to stash gear

So with the abundance of water and opportunity, we really fish hard for steelhead first and foremost.  Most of that fishing is done with two-handed rods, and most of that is done with 7wt spey rods.  So in order to figure out what we like and what we don't, we spent a day on the water casting all of the 7wt rods that we could get our hands on.

Between Rob, Nikolai, Colby, Ben, Cameron and me, we all got to cast all of these rods and here are our thoughts.

*On a curious side note:  We are casting right at the mouth of the Hood River.  The town of Hood River is famous for wind sports... So the kiteboarders stash all of their ramps and rails and whatnot at the sandbar where we go to cast rods.  They make convenient places to put your gear and line up rods!

Beulah always have an excellent finish

1.)  Beulah Onyx - We cast the 12'9" 7wt (they also make a 13'7").  This was not a unanimous #1, but it was in everyone's top 3, and it had the most #1 votes.  What we like:  Beautiful design, good cork, comfortable, and it casts very well.  Powerful, it feels like the tip is a little soft, but it doesn't perform like it.  We were all very impressed.  Phrases I heard included "What a spey rod should feel like", "love at first cast" and "effortless casting".  What we don't like as much:  The bottom hand grip is somewhat awkward.  Nothing serious, but it isn't the most comfortable bottom hand section around.  One other thing is that Beulah Spey rods are somewhat notorious for breaking.  (See Beulah Platinum).

2.)  Loop Cross S1 -  Loop's top end rod is very nice.  One quote was "It really gives that Onyx a run for the money".  The 12'0" S1 is super light, probably the lightest of the bunch and could easily slide into that number 1 spot.  It has more flex than the Onyx and it is not quite as powerful, but that is likely due to it being 7" shorter.  What we like:  It is very lightweight in hand and has a crisp action that responds very well with minimal effort.  It looks good and has good components.  What we don't like as much:  The 12'0" length is the biggest drawback for us.  It would be totally great in almost all scenarios, but you really notice the shorter rod when you are casting a bunch of them all at once.  If this rod was a foot longer, I think it would be in the number one spot, and it was the favorite of a few of the guys here. 

The BVK is a contender

3.)  Temple Fork BVK - Yeah, the BVK fits right in there with the big dogs.  If you haven't read our review of the BVK Spey series, you can do that here.  Otherwise....  What we like:  It looks great, has a very comfortable grip and a nice easy casting taper.  The 13'0" length is ideal for learning, as well as a great length for a rod that does it all.  The bonus is that it is half the price as some of the other rods on this list.  What we don't like as much:  The butt and mid sections are a little stiffer than what the flex in the tip wants.  So it doesn't load quite as deep as I would like.  This affects the angler's timing a little bit.  We all thought it was great, but I would either soften up the mid/but a little or stiffen the tip.  Either way, it is a heck of a rod, especially at that price.

4.)  Loop Evotec CAST - Now this rod is a sneaker!  It is not their top end rod, but it performs like one.  These rods come in three actions; medium, med/fast, and fast action.  We cast the medium action version and thought it had a wonderful, full flex action that it is extremely powerful.  What we like:  Great taper that unloads well and is very easy to cast.  There are not a lot of full-flexing spey rods on the market, especially ones that perform as well as we want them too.  This is an exception to that rule.  It also has a simple finish, good cork, nice reel seat.  What we don't like as much:  The 12'2" length is shorter than we like, especially for throwing dry lines in the summer.  The slower action combined with the shorter length is also not as conducive to casting longer, more traditional lines.  It does take some practice to get the hang of it because it is slower and shorter, but once the timing is down, the lines start flying.  We did not get to cast the Evotec CAST Medium/Fast action rod, and think that it could be a real contender given that the action is more likely to fit most anglers' style better.  

  

Colby and Andrew getting after it

5.)  Redington Chromer - So this rod...  is a Toyota Camry.  There is nothing wrong with a Toyota Camry.  It is reliable, looks fine, handles well, but it doesn't stand out in a crowd.  The Chromer is the same way.  Beyond the rubber on the cork, it doesn't stand out either, but that is not bad.  What we like:  It is probably the easiest rod to learn on that we have.  It is very forgiving and recovers well when you mess up mid cast.  Colby is just learning to work on his spey cast and decided that the Chromer was the one he liked the most, because it is easy to learn on.  What we don't like as much:  The rubber on the cork is highly contentious, some love it, some hate it.  My opinion is that if it was better than cork, all the rods would have it.  Likely the best rod in the bunch for a beginner (like a Toyota Camry is great for a teenager)

6.)  Beulah Platinum - This little brother to the Onyx is a great rod in it's own right.  It has a stiffer tip but flexes down to the cork, and it has all the power that you need.  What we like:  All Beulah rods have great aesthetics, and this is no exception.  The cork, finish, and overall look is that of a top-end $1000 rod, but this comes in at $595. It is a rod that is easy to cast and will not wear you out.  What we don't like as much:  Well, it broke before most of us got a chance to cast it.  We have had a few issues with their spey rods breaking above the first ferrule.  Make sure that you get that first connection tight! 

You can't deny the Dually is a good rod at a great price

7.)  Redington Dually - It is really hard to point beginners to a different rod when they ask about beginner setups.  It is our best selling two handed rod and for good reason.  For $250, you get a rod that is really decent.  The 13' 7wt is really easy to cast and has a nice moderate action that helps beginners master their cast.  What we like:  The price tag, easy casting and Redington's warranty all make this rod hard to beat for the $$.  What we don't like as much:  The simple reel seat looks, well, it looks cheap.  The action is okay, but the tip seems too fast for the rest of the rod.  This can cause some timing issues, especially for beginners that hav already learned on a different rod.  If you really want something that is a high-performance tool, this is not it.  It gets the job done, and it does it easily.  It has no problems casting Scandi, Traditional and Skagit heads at distances that people would be normally be fishing.

Rob may not be outspoken, but no one can cast like he can

8.)  Mystic M-Series - Not that this was our least favorite, but it wasn't at the top of anyone's list.  We all here have cast some atrociously bad spey rods in our lives, and this isn't one of them.  It is light in hand and has a nice med/fast action (more on the faster side).  What we like:  It is lightweight, has a clean look and what we really like is the down-locking reel seat.  That is nice for beginners because it forces the angler to keep his/her bottom hand where it should be.  It casts Scandi style heads really well.  What we don't like as much:  It feels really light in the tip and has a harder time with the heavy Skagit style lines we use here.

Andrew Perrault
-Fishing, usually not catching