One of the coolest perks from writing this website is that from time to time I am able to get my hands on what would be considered rare or tough to come by fiberglass fly rods. These range from prototypes, to limited edition series, to getting my grubs on some fly rods before others to demo and review here.
One of the fly rods that I was able to add to my own personal collection this year was a very special four piece 7'2" Scott Fibertouch three weight that was made specifically as a "Japan Special".
There are a dozen reasons why I really like this fly rod but wanted to find out from Jim Bartschi, president and rod designer at Scott Fly Rod Company, what his thoughts were on the design and background on the Japan Special which he was kind enough to send along a few notes on last week for this post.
I took this fly rod with me to Michigan this summer and enjoyed a day on River X. This fly rod was perfect for casting dry flies to willing brook trout.
The Japan Special will be tough to come by but I know of a couple that have found their way back stateside into the hands of the true F2 fiends. This one is worthy of searching out.
Check out the Scott Fly Rod Company website for more information the Fibertouch series.
Jim wrote... "The F2 723/4 Japan Special was designed for mountain stream fishing with dry flies for Japan's highly selective yamame.
Presentations are often made with short lengths of line out of the tip top, very long leaders that taper down to 8x or even 10X, and tiny dries. Wild yamame spook easily and a bad presentation can send them into cover for hours or even the rest of the day. First shots count when stalking these natives.
The Japan Special F2 is lighter and softer than the F2 703/3. The slower taper and deeper bending curve help to form short casts with long leaders and make subtle line adjustments to keep drag off the fly. The quick recovery (by glass standards) helps to generate the line speed needed for precise and accurate casts."
Presentations are often made with short lengths of line out of the tip top, very long leaders that taper down to 8x or even 10X, and tiny dries. Wild yamame spook easily and a bad presentation can send them into cover for hours or even the rest of the day. First shots count when stalking these natives.
The Japan Special F2 is lighter and softer than the F2 703/3. The slower taper and deeper bending curve help to form short casts with long leaders and make subtle line adjustments to keep drag off the fly. The quick recovery (by glass standards) helps to generate the line speed needed for precise and accurate casts."
I took this fly rod with me to Michigan this summer and enjoyed a day on River X. This fly rod was perfect for casting dry flies to willing brook trout.
The Japan Special will be tough to come by but I know of a couple that have found their way back stateside into the hands of the true F2 fiends. This one is worthy of searching out.
Check out the Scott Fly Rod Company website for more information the Fibertouch series.
6 comments:
Wow, Cameron, that's high praise. Another cool glass rod from Scott.
Sounds like just the thing for the small creeks near my new home in Tennessee!
How would you compair it to my Reuben Wood? So far that, in my opinion, is one of the best small, light rods that I've used of any type: fiberlass, graphite or bamboo.
JJP...I don't have any experience with the Reuben Wood so can't say. I will say that in little three weights I prefer full flexing action and slower tapers.
I don't have any experience with the Reuben Wood, but I read that JP Ross says it can handle up to a 5wt. line. By contrast, I don't think the Japan Special could even come close to handling a 5wt. line.
I've fished the R.W. with lines from a 2 wt. triangle taper to a 5 wt. Ambush ( luv those Wulff lines!) everywhere from puckerbrush to ponds. It's still a go to.
I want to see if Cameron will put this little monster on a Loner List and check it out. I'm guessing that as a custom, it will take some research and cash to just wing it.
Is the "Japan Special" different from the F2 723 4 piece I have seen available from some US based retailers? Did the JS come first and later a model for the US market was added, or does the JS indeed have a different taper, etc.?
Ronald...the "Japan Special" was not available in the U.S. for the first year or so it was made. It's now available and they are the same models.
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