There’s a new breed of fly rod out there
by Louis Cahill/ November, 2015 / Gink+Gasoline
[dropcap]I[/dropcap] am a total fly rod geek. I make no apologies for it. Nothing gets me as excited as casting an awesome new fly rod. Especially when that rod represents a change in thinking. Rods like that don’t come along every day, or even every year, and when they do the game changes.
Jim Bartschi, president and rod designer for Scott Fly Rods, has been hinting for years now that something special was coming. Not long after the S4s won the best rod prize at IFTD 2011, there were rumors that Jim had something cooking and when the Radian hit the market, it was clear that Scott rods were evolving in a significant way. About a year ago, I asked Jim outright if there would be a saltwater Radian.
“Well, there’s something in the works,” he told me, “and it won’t be long.”
That something was the Meridian. Not a saltwater Radian, but another evolutionary step forward
For as long as I can remember, the answer to making a saltwater fly rod better has been to make it faster. That way of thinking changed the way we fish saltwater but the inevitable end of that evolutionary road is a rod that’s too fast to cast. After all, a rod does have to bend. Recently a couple of rod designers have come to realize it was time for a change.
How do you make a fly rod that has the power of an ultra-fast action saltwater casting machine and the soul of a trout rod? I wish I knew, but clearly Jim does. We saw it in the Radian and now we see it perfected in the Meridian. Speed with feel. Power, line speed, tight loops, line pickup and wind-defying performance, minus the stinging muscles and sore joints.
Some of the magic is in the weight. The Meridian is remarkably light. This, in conjunction with some proprietary materials and tapers, gives the rod a very fast recovery rate. This makes the rod faster, without making it stiffer and more powerful, without adding weight.
The Scott Meridian offers saltwater fly anglers cold fusion
NOTE: Featured Image is of Jim Bartschi, President of Scott Rods who is all smiles after wining both – Best salt water rod & Best of Show (ICAST 2015) categories with the new Scott Meridian. Image courtesy of fishingsoc.com.
