If you have looked into Czech/Euro nymphing chances are you have heard of the Syndicate Pipeline Pro P2 series of rods specifically des...
If you have looked into Czech/Euro nymphing chances are you have heard of the Syndicate Pipeline Pro P2 series of rods specifically designed for Czech/Euro nymphing. These rods have received significant notary in recent years as one of, if not the best, nymphing rods on the market to date and are one of our top selling rods. That being said I would like to take some to time to give an honest and point blank review of their not so popular series Aquos.
In recent years I have personally been on the hunt to find a 9’6” to 10’ 7wt rod I actually enjoy fishing. In Oregon we mainly use this rod for nypmhing, and streamer fishing for steelhead, bigger lake trout and bull trout. In this hunt I have bought and sold three other rods that didn’t quite foot the bill for one reason or another. Common issues I found in longer 7wts was they were typically too stiff and lacked the tip sensitivity I prefer in a rod. In short most 7wts over 9 foot felt like a rod the manufacturer decided to tack extra length on to fill a hole in their line up rather than taking the time to design a rod that casted and fished well.
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| Nice lake trout caught while fishing streamers |
So at the start of this summer I sold yet another 10’ 7wt and decided it was time to find a 7wt I truly enjoyed fishing. My first option was of course a Beulah, I love their spey rods, find them to be a pleasure to cast, don’t break the bank, and they look great. Literally everything you can ask for in a rod, you tend to find it in a Beulah. That being said when I went to pull the trigger on one not only were we sold out in the shop, but Beulah was sold out with an eta that wouldn’t do for most of my summer fishing. So back to square one… With reservation I decided to pull the trigger on an Aquos figuring worst case scenario I throw it on ebay to try to find something after the season ended. The line I picked up for this rod was a Scientific Angler Anadro line. So after spooling up the rod I took it home to do some lawn casting and my initial reactions were quite impressive.
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| Casting Aquos on a Float trip |
With the Scientific Anglers Anadro line this rod loaded perfectly. Not only was I seeing the casting distance you hope to get in a longer rod, but it felt great in hand. No clunkiness that I had experienced in other rods, this rod truly felt like it was meant to be 10-foot long! The action was uniform, where other rods would have a feeling of a tip that wouldn’t keep up with the mid-section or vice versa. However, the true testament wouldn’t come until we hit the water. So away to the Klickitat we went.
I rigged up the rod with a few split shots, a heavy stone, a heavy mayfly, and a 1” thingamabobber. A fairly typically setup for summer steelhead fishing. While I didn’t hook into a steelhead that day I did get a few nice trout including on in the 20 inch range. The first thing I noticed was the rod’s ability to handle a heavy rig with authority. I could easily overhead or roll cast without issue, allowing me to place my nymphs exactly where I wanted on every cast. Then came the strikes. On other rods I found the tips to be too stiff and instead of setting the hook they would pull the fly out of the mouth of the fish. Resulting in a frustrated fisherman, beginning a spiral of self-questioning. This is not the case with the Aquos, its’ soft tip allows enough flex to set the hook perfectly time and time again. In fact, I hooked more steelhead this past year than I have the last two combined.
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| Deschutes River Steelhead just below Max Canyon |
Not only is the soft tip great for setting the hook, but it also allows the angler to feel the slightest of bites when high sticking with this rod which I did more and more as the summer went on. With many trout under my belt on this rod I was still itching for that first steelhead on it. I took a some time off at the beginning of September to make this happen. After a few days fishing the mouth of the Deschutes, and 6 or so steelhead hooked but not landed, lightning finally struck on an overnight trip from Buckhollow to the mouth. Nymphing a small section in front of camp on our first night I hooked into a nice summer steelhead. It was a wild fish in the 26 inch range, not the big B runs I had been hooking and losing the week leading up to this trip, but a fairly typically Deschutes River steelhead. The rod handled the fish well, not too stiff break the line off, but not soft enough that the fish could do whatever it wanted. The fight was over rather quickly and after a couple of quick pics the fish was released to carry on.
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| Nice B Run steelhead caught at the mouth of the Deschutes |
Overall I am extremely happy with this rod, I even left the original one at a boat ramp on the Klickitat, and repurchased the same rod. My one complaint is while the 7wt is great for smaller steelhead and big trout, it is not quite enough for bigger steelhead especially in fast water. I have lost more fish than I would have liked to this year, and I have a feeling that would not have been the case had I purchased the 8wt instead. If you are looking to throw heavy indicator rigs, or strip streamers, the Synidicate Aquos should at the very least be in the discussion and I highly recommend giving one a cast before pulling the trigger on another rod. I know I will be giving the 8wt some serious thought before heading out for winter steelhead.
