Redington have always been on my fly fishing radar for a couple of reasons. Firstly I am a horrific hoarder of tackle, and secondly, I like to try things that are a little different from the usual main brands.
It feels to me like they have always been around just going about their business in the UK and from what I gather have built a loyal following from those who own their rods.
So when I opened the rod tube I was getting to grips with a brand of rods that I have always hankered after and had heard some great things about. I hoped the bar wasn’t already too high!
I went for an 8 1/2ft 4wt rod as it is the sort of model I have in my hands a lot of the time and I wanted to be able to compare it with other brands that I know well.
First thing I noticed was there were dots on the sections, making alignment nice and easy. Good start.
Weighing in at 2.6oz it sits well against its competitors in a similar price range. I know the quality of the cork on the handle is a big deal for a lot of us and this was pretty good. There was filler but it didn’t feel like the Braille boards I have felt on more expensive rods.
Now, I can do the review by casting it for 20 mins in a field but I think it is more important to go have a cast, try some different lines on it and then take it fishing. That way I can get a good feel of how the rod performs in a real life situation. I don’t really see any value in casting it with a bit of yarn and then saying it’s nice. I want to see how it throws 3mm of tungsten and over what ranges it works well.
I’ve got three 4wt lines I want to try on the rod. Firstly an Orvis Clearwater, A Barrio GT90 and a Rio LT, giving a nice little mix of lines.
I started with the Orvis. It felt a little too heavy and slowed the rod a bit too much for me but I really liked the Barrio and Rio on it. I managed some nice tight loops with both and no sign of any tip bounce in the line.
So down to fishing. We had some good weather and the grayling were rising. I had only packed the Rio line, working on the basis that I’d fish the rod with either a duo rig or a dry on its own. I popped my cherry with the rod on a rising grayling during a brief midge hatch. As things quietened I went back to duo fishing both with 2mm and 3mm bead head nymphs hung below the dry.
The rod coped extremely well and I fished for a few hours with my pal Richard. We ended up sharing the rod, taking it in turns to catch a few grayling. Richard felt the line was a little light when fishing with just 5/10 feet outside the tip and had to work a little harder to get it going, but that was it.
Would I recommend the rod? Yes, without hesitation.
The Redington Classic Trout is a perfect example of a mid-actioned, fast recovering river rod. The range runs from a 7 1/2ft 3wt up to a 9ft 6wt and cost from £129 to £169. In a crowded market I feel I have a rod that will do everything I want it to do in all of my fishing situations and feels like a keeper rather than one you update whenever a newer model hits the market. Perhaps these are the words of a reformed tackle hoarder!
More details from Redington HERE
Buy a Redington HERE