Product Review: Rise Fishing Co. Level Series Fly Rod

I recently received a 7 weight Level Series Saltwater Fly Rod from Rise Fishing Co. to put through the paces of roughfisher branded abuse.  Here are the specs from Rise:

Model     Length     Line     Action     Sections     Price
90-7wt     9'0"           7          Fast         4                  $249.99

9’ 7wt – The 7wt rod will perform short casts with tight loops yet has enough backbone to punch flies in to the wind with accuracy. The rod also excels in throwing poppers to largemouth bass, presenting small shrimp flies to dock light snook and even nymphs to steelhead.

First Impressions:
From the moment I opened the shipping carton I was impressed. The rod was encased in a sturdy cordura covered rod tube, complete with carry strap, embroidered logo, and a nice feature: a laminated pouch to put a business or identification card. The rod was stored within a 5 piece rod sleeve, with a screen printed graphic logo, including model and line designation. The next bonus you'll notice when removing the rod sections is the included spare rod tip. It's always great to have a handy insurance policy along. The fit and finish of the rod is superb. From the hand finished cork grip and fighting butt, to the laser engraved reel seat, to the ferrule alignment marks, no detail is left out on these models. The best part is, the alignment dots on the rod sections actually lined up! I've been irked by other premium rods that I've owned where the dots weren't lined up properly, even ones that were wrapped and marked by hand! I especially like the spartan appearance of the rod: a straight up midnight blue with gloss finish and black wrapped titanium carbide guides. The blank is as dark blue as the abyss! The simplicity of this rod is the true beauty, often times, rod makers will throw all this extra junk on a blank to try to woo the eye of the angler. In my honest opinion, this makes rods looks gaudy and cheap, though their price tag may be far from it. I don't want to pay extra for stuff I don't need.



Inauguration:
Let's face it, there's not a whole lot that can be determined of a rod from the wiggle test, yet we all do it when we pick up a rod. When I picked up the Level Series rod for the first time, I figured on the rod being fast. After all it didn't "wiggle" much and the brochure said it was fast. Well after stringing up a reel and line, I can confirm that the action is indeed fast. Having predominantly cast medium-fast progressive rods for the majority of my angling career, I must admit that it took me a few casts before I got the rod to load in its sweet spot. To be fair though, I was casting a long bellied steelhead taper, whereas I should have casted a line with a more traditional shorter length head with this type of rod. Once I let a little bit more of the belly section out of the rod tip, this rod picked the line up off the water with ease. Within two false casts I already had 60 to 70 feet of line out of the guides with a single haul. That's damn good, considering that a hack like me typically relies on my roll cast and single-handed spey casts to get my fly downstream. If this rod can make me cast like a champion, then imagine what it could do for you. While I didn't put this rod through it's entire test yet, it did handle the basic overhead and rollcasts quite well. Loading the rod typically wasn't an issue, and aside from a few sloppy dump casts, the accuracy of my casts were placed right where I wanted them. Even in the wind. I like how this rod casts and feels, as it will find perfect duty out on the carp flats. However, for my primary needs as as nympher, this probably wouldn't be my first choice as I prefer a longer rod (9'6" or 10') and one with a softer tip and progressive action. But that is comparing apples to oranges; this rod is made for running and gunning. It's hard to believe that a rod of this quality is retailing at only $250.


Thinking points:
This rod did everything I asked it to. It definitely met my expectations, and for $250 retail, picking up a rod is a no brainer, whether it be a primary or back up rod. And while this rod may not make it as my daily driver, anyone looking for a fast action carp rod need look no further. This rod will hang with the big boys out on the flats, and then some.

Caveat Emptor: The Level Series rod was provided courtesy of Rise Fishing Co., in exchange for review and extensive field testing.

two handed casting with single handed rods, Part II

You may ask yourselves, why should I care about two handed casting when all that I fish for are puny, runt-sized trout? Or, that roughfisher is a damned crazy fool, those streams in Minnesota are nothing like the Pacific NW or Scandinavia. While I won't argue with the crazy fool bit, I will make a case that two handed casts can be utilized in more cases than you would think.

The first and likely most obvious reason to utilize a two handed cast would be in an environment with limited to no room to allow for back cast. On streams with high banks or those dreaded trees and bushes that singlebarbed likes to get snagged in, utilizing a cast without having to perform a back cast is good news to your fly box. While a simple roll cast would serve the purpose here, sometimes you are presented with a situation that does not allow for a traditional roll cast to be carried out. If you've ever tried to make a roll cast alongside a bank with vegetation adjacent to your casting hand, you know how frustrating it gets when your fly line tangles in some grass, weeds, or branches. It downright sucks. This is a case where a backhanded roll cast would work great, or a single spey on your off hand.

Another obvious benefit of two handed casting is distance. Utilizing spey/skagit casting techniques can easily boost casting distances, enabling you to fish waters unreachable to other anglers fishing traditionally fishing their single handed rods. Unless they are Tim Rajeff, you should be able to easily outcast them. The one caveat to distance casting is that you may find yourself overlooking the near water, in attempts to reach the far bank. Coupled with having to mend line over multiple, dynamic currents, this can pose a dilemma to the two handed caster. A longer rod may enable you to high stick nymph runs longer, and may reduce the need mend, but there is a note of caution that fighting fish with a lot of line out may disconnect you from the fish. Especially when the fish is also fighting the resistance of your fly line against the current. I'd like to add that one underutilized application of the long cast, in my opinion, is lake or reservoir fishing. You should be able to cover a lot of water on the lake using two handed casts.

One benefit of the two handed cast is that it is easier on you shoulders and upper body than traditional single handed casting. This may be appreciated by you old farts boomers out there (you know how you are, so don't pretend like you don't know). Utilizing casts that derive their energy from the rod, water, and your lower hand put less stress on your rotator cuff, and when spending an entire day on the river; you can cover a lot of water with minimal abuse to your upper body, casting all day long. The same cannot be said for other methods of casting. Imagine double-hauling a streamer all day long. Your arm would be ready to fall off by the noon hour. It makes my shoulder hurt just thinking of it. I'm still a young buck, but even I can appreciate that. Pass the Tiger Balm.

An oft overlooked advantage of the spey/skagit cast is it's resistance to wind. Compared to other style of casts, two handed casts seem to cast better for me under control in windy conditions. Not having to aerialize a forward and back cast minimizes the effect wind can play out on the prairie here in Northwestern Minnesota. Wind is always an issue here. If I had to cancel an outing just because of the wind, I'd never get a chance to fish out here. It's just part of the environment. Utilizing skagit style casts in these situations have really benefited me. I am able to place casts mid-stream that would have otherwise blown back in my face, using a snap-T or a double spey cast. The line speeds of a two handed cast are incredible and play a big part against fighting the wind, much like a double haul, but without out all the effort.


So, I've pointed out several advantages of using two handed casting techniques, and a couple of switch rods to utilize those casts with, now what? How do we perform those casts? I'm no spey/skagit expert, nor will I pretend to be. If you want a source of two handed casting instruction, check out Sexy Loops or Spey Pages. They have loads of good stuff to fill your brain with. I will, however, explain the main differences between the spey and skagit styles of casting and why you may want to utilize one over the other. Until then, cheers!


More to Come: The fundamental differences between spey and skagit style casting and their applications.

two handed casting with single handed rods, Part I

There has been an influx of new hybrid rods entering the market over the past few seasons. Most major manufacturers have added at least one switch rod model to their lineups. These rods are capable of handling the torque and rigors of two handed casting, as well as perform single handed casts, meanwhile are small enough to be manageable and used on smaller streams, and in more situations. Having an extended lower butt section makes it easier to perform two handed "spey" and "skagit" style casts. The main reason these rods are not classified as a spey/skagit rod is because of their shorter lengths. Yes, fly line selection helps play a big part in delivering two handed casts, but the truth of the matter is, you can perform two handed casts using any kind of rod, using any type of line.

I have been using Scientific Anglers Mastery Steelhead Taper fly line on both my 9'6" 6 wt and 10' 8wt this season. The SA Steelhead taper has a longer belly than traditional Weight Forward lines, enabling longer mends and advertised roll casts to 70'. I initially started casting the rods chiefly with roll casts and realized that I was missing out an a whole array of techniques that could enable me to cast further and with less effort, meanwhile keeping my fly in the water longer. I also realized the limitations that a roll cast presents when wanting to change the direction of a cast. I started utilizing two handed casting techniques and opened up a whole new section of water previously unreachable, revolutionizing the way I fish. I unknowingly adopted the skagit style of casting. Now I'm known down at the river as the guy who "roll casts" to carp.

On my 9 wt, I typically fish my Rio Clouser line with it. It has an oversize front taper on it, great for delivering heavy, bulky flies. I am able to utilize two handed casts with it just fine. The extra weight (grains) of the 9 wt line allows me to cast further than my 8 or 6 weight rods. The key to roll casting and skagit-style casting is to keep in mind that the line on the water's surface serves as an anchor point, which is utilized to load your rod. It is the interaction between the surface tension of the line on the water's surface which will affect your ability to perform the cast. In essence, most two handed spey/skagit casts, and their derivative forms, are based off of the roll cast. Master the roll cast, and you are ready to move on to learning two handed casting techniques.

One thing to keep in mind is that many of the newer blanks that high performance switch and spey/skagit rods are wrapped with are often reinforced, to handle the multi-directional torque of loading the rod that two handed casts produce. Using a heavy grained line to perform two handed casts on a single handed rod may add stress to the blank that it was not designed for. Cast at your own risk. Another thing is to make sure your ferrules are TIGHT. This could have been one reason my Scott broke on me this summer. I believe the ferrules may have come slightly loose from performing two handed casts. When I hooked up with that carp, if the ferrules were loose, that would have likely resulted in a broken rod. From what I have heard from other anglers, loose ferrules is quite common when performing two handed casts. Use of ferrule wax may be a cheap investment to keep your rod sections from separating and the potential catastrophic loss of a rod.


Coming up: The applications, fundamentals and differences between the spey and skagit styles of two handed casting.