A few weeks ago, I received a smallish tube from Australia.
Inside was my new fly rod from Nick Taransky.
The rod is a 7"3' 3/2 for a 5 or 6 weight. As you might be able to tell from the pictures, it's a
beautiful rod. It's made with alternating strips of blonde and flamed cane,
with amber wraps and some pretty nice engraving. It has scrollwork on the ferrules, a mayfly lifecycle on the reel seat
band, and an osprey on the reel-seat butt. It came packaged in a cool kangaroo leather case that feels and looks very
classy.
The osprey is there because this rod was designed to be my travel
rod. Unlike all of my other bamboo rods, which were purchased with a specific piece of water in mind, this rod was
conceived as a travel rod. It's relatively short and breaks down into 3 pieces so it packs down into a rod tube
that is only 32 inches long. It's a 5/6 weight, which is about the perfect all around rod to handle everything from
small trout to big bass.
I call it the Osprey because an osprey is a flying fisher, and I figured that
this nice compact rod would be good for those trips where I am flying somewhere to go fishing. (Or when I'm flying
somewhere on business, and bring a fly rod along just in case.)
I lawn cast the rod as soon as I received it. I found that my favorite
line to use with it is a 5 weight Orvis superfine.
Today, I got to take it out and fish with it.
I was not disappointed. It is a very versatile rod. It works well for
fishing up close, but has plenty of punch for longer casts when needed, casting fast, tight loops. It's a
surprisingly powerful rod, particularly given its relatively short length. After spending the day with it, I really
liked the way it casts. The only downside I found is that it tended to overpower small fish when I would set the hook,
yanking them out of the water if I wasn't careful. This liability will be an asset, however if I hook into a big
trophy fish, as the rod has plenty of backbone for fighting big fish if necessary.
I'm very pleased with the rod. Some of my other, more specialized rods might be better for specific types of fishing, but this rod is very capable across the spectrum, which is what I wanted in a travel rod.
Best of all, as much as I hate air travel, I'm now looking forward to my
next trip. You can bet I'll have this rod with me.
http://www.taranskybamboo.com.au/
