Hardy Marksman

[Rkey530]

Has anyone out there cast some of the House of Hardy rods lately. I'm thinking about purchasing one of their 7' 3wt rods, maybee the Marksman or the new Classic Lightweight. I was wondering how they cast / fish. Looking for a rod for a 10-25' wide pocket water stream with lots of overhanging trees that i fish often. #18 cdc caddis is the fly 90% of the time. So the rod has to be very accurate, load quickly, be great with roll casting, as well as puddle, pile, steeple and all other matter of creative casting techniques as well as not make the typical 9" brown trout feel insignificant all while protecting 7x or 8x tippets.
Each of the above mentioned Hardy rods have some things that kind of bug me. The Marksman rod reel seat is really shiny, as is the marksman reel and i'm a little leary of this for its potential to glint in the sunlight and spook fish. (no i'm not that crazy guy who sands down glossy rod blanks to a matte finish though still wears a bright pink fishing shirt, though i do wear reasonably coloured shirts and have been known to remove shiny watches) The Classic Lightweight series of rod has little to glint, though its a downlocking / sliding band over all cork reel seat. Every time I see a downlocking reel seat after a few years use the recieving end cap is bent down a bit, and i know that eventyally the sliding band chews up the cork and i'm looking to get a really nice fishing heirloom piece here, not something thats gonna look like hell in a few short years.

 

[GreenWeenie]

I once test cast the Marksman and it really didn't do anything for me.

If you're going to drop $500 on a rod, check out the Winston BiiT (Boron rod) or WT (Winston Traditional graphite rod). They cost more than the Hardy rod (Winston's are now around $650) but they are great, great well made and looking rods that are a joy to fish.

The BiiT is a 4-piece rod and in 3 weight the shortest is 7.5 feet. The BiiT is extremelly sensitive and responsive yet has surprising power for a 3-weight. Action is medium.

The 3-weight WT comes in 6.5, 7, 7.5, and 8 foot models (3-piece). The action is also medium and very similar to the BiiT yet different not in a better or worse way just different. I have the 8 foot model and absolutely love it.

Both models will make small stream fishing fun and will allow you to really feel small fish. Both rods also have enough power to handle and control a big one too (20"+ fish) while protecting a fine tippet should you happen to hook into one. Both are also more than capable of throwing tight loops 30-40 feet. The only thing about Winston rods is the handle is a little bit smaller in diameter than most rods and it takes a little getting used.

The 8 foot, 3-weight WT rod is the rod I use for probably 90% of the time from May through October.

 

[scotto]

I have the Winston WT in 7' 3 wt and it is a great rod. Casts great and is awesome at tippet protection. I also think it is made in America, by an American company.

 

[GreenWeenie]

Yes, Winston rods are 100% made in Twin Bridges, Montana.

Furthermore, Winston rods blanks are actually made by Winston, not like many other big name rod companies that actually sub out blank manufacture to others and then simply assemble the rod at their plant.

 

[GreenWeenie]

I stand corrected, only the Winston "green stick" rods (i.e., BiiX, BiiMX, BiiT, WT, and LT series) are made in the states (bamboo as well). The Ascent and Vapor series rods are actually made in Asia by others for Winston.

 

[Rkey530]

Hi guys. Thanks for the suggestion of the winston WT 7' 3weight. I haven't cast a 3weight winston WT rod yet, i have had some expereince with some of the longer 4 and 5 weights in the series and they didn't strike me as that impressive. Could be that the lighter lineweight and shorter WT's are better and I'll make a point to test cas them. Buying american is nice, i own 13 american made rods from the likes of Scott, Orvis (yep the uplevel stuff made entirely in new england, not the lower end where the blanks are from china though they are assembled here) Thomas & Thomas, Montague, St. Croix and own a reel from Bauer. The balance of my reels are Orvis made in england with the exception of a 50's vintage medalist. This time around though the rod is to be a gift from my father and he has a love for British things so he would like to get me a Hardy and i've been very curious about owning one for years so those are the reasons why i'm investigating their products. If the Hardy falls short of my T&T LPS or the WT I'll get something else, for now though i'm very interested in getting my hands on a Hardy product to see how they perform.