Finished this Steffen beauty this week. Granger-green preserved silk wraps, bright nickel hardware, maple burl wood and amber-orange agate. While Mark rates this overly famous blank a 3/4wt. I consider it a very solid 4wt. Along with the handcrafted leather rod case this rod would be one of my top glass builds (heirloom grade) along with some others. This rod headed up to the Sierras to chase golden trouts. Hope it will bend well on them. Thanks for looking!
Robert sent me this email after receiving the rod:
"George, The rod absolutely exceeds my expectations! Unbelievable craftsmanship that could only come from something done by hand. The quality of your work and attention to detail is impeccable. It was worth the wait! Thanks again George. Robert. "
Robert sent me this email after receiving the rod:
"George, The rod absolutely exceeds my expectations! Unbelievable craftsmanship that could only come from something done by hand. The quality of your work and attention to detail is impeccable. It was worth the wait! Thanks again George. Robert. "
Congrats George on another wonderful rod.
ReplyDeleteHow is the Steffen action compared to the Epic 480?
Thanks Jay! Definitely not the same juice and flex but a solid medium action that has some good backbone. Upper tip bend on the Epic 480 is softer so a little bit more dry fly oriented for those finesse presentations I would say, while the Steffen is more on the classic side of action with more tip strenght that works great with different types of flies. I'd lean towards the Steffen rod if I was to use a variety of flies from a small dries to size #10-8 Hornbergs and the Epic 480 for a dry fly rod. Hope that helps.
ReplyDeleteJeez it frustrates me that I don't have access to these different glass (and bamboo) rods!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to cast them to feel them myself.
Jay, I don't have enough time to play with them as much as I would want. Many times they come and go as soon as they are built. To really get to "know" a rod to its full potential it's usually a long process.
ReplyDeleteWell, just able to cast for 15-20 minutes would be nice to feel how the rod casts & behaves.
ReplyDeleteObviously fishing it would give the whole picture but that's rarely possible, even with rods that are readily available.