John Boon spends time with the Redington VICE, here's what he thought
Occasionally a fly rod is brought to the market, that for its price point massively exceeds expectation. The Redington VICE, not only exceeded my expectation, but quite frankly blew me out of the water. I’m a big fan of Redington products in general that’s no secret, but this is a real gem, which is made all the more special when you find out it retails at £199.
The way a rod looks can play a large role in determining how much people enjoy using it, which perhaps sounds ridiculous, but it certainly plays a factor. In my opinion Redington have got the looks of this rod spot on. It has an emerald green blank, (perhaps to give it the luck of the Irish?) along with black anodized stripping and snake guides. All neatly finished off with black whippings and a gold trim to match the logo. The reel seat is jet black to match the whippings with a laser engraving set within. The whole design is sleek and sharp, everything matches, the trim, the logos, the reel seat, all the way to the emerald cloth that covers the cordura rod tube. In the lighter weights it is adorned with a half wells cork handle, and in the heavier weights it changes to a full wells handle and fighting butt. The cork is of a high quality, with some filler which is what you would expect from a rod at this price. The top and bottom of the handle are reinforced with a composite cork material, which not only protects the more vulnerable areas from wear and tear, but adds an extra element to its overall look.
Aesthetics are important but what really sells a rod is its performance. The rod I have been using over the last few months has been the 4904, though it comes in a multitude of lengths and sizes to suit pretty much any situation out there.
Redington describe the VICE as a tip actioned rod with a fast recovery. This description can put many people off, as the term ‘poker’ often springs to mind, though I can categorically say that this is not the case for this rod. It bends smoothly through the top third on shorter casts and utilises the power in the middle for longer casts. The recovery is remarkable due to the multi-modulus carbon used in the blanks' construction, which also helps eliminate lateral movements helping with accuracy. I have been using this rod matched with a Redington ZERO reel and a RIO InTouch single handed Spey line. I have to say with this line, it becomes a truly versatile outfit, I have fished the VICE with super-light tippets and tiny dry flies, heavy nymphs under indicators, and even with large streamers and poly leaders. Pretty amazing for a 4 weight! Not once have I felt during any of the above scenarios that I was using the wrong outfit for the job.
Don’t think you need to be an expert caster either. I have been using this rod for teaching complete beginners and many have gone on to buy it, which says a lot for the amount of feel it offers.
I am struggling to find a negative with this rod, and that is my honest opinion. It does everything I hoped it would and more. And top it all off, it comes with a lifetime warranty, what more can I say, than go to your local Redington dealer and give it a go.
The Redington VICE comes in rod lengths from 9 to 10 ft and in line weights from 4wt to 8wt covering a large range of fishing applications.
Contact your local Redington dealer for more details or visit Guide FlyFishing in the UK website or the Redington website to see the range of Redington products
