Sunday, January 29, 2012

GLX...the next day

I slept in this morning.   Saturday was a big day and its successes had left me more than content. I sat down with my morning coffee and reread my glx review. There was still some uncertainty in the assessment and the more I relived the previous days successes the more I longed to hit the water for round two. I mulled over  some of my options and decided on a clean and quick session with no more than an 1-1.5 hours on the water. 
I was after one more chromer and another shot at testing the limits of this blank.  With the self imposed time constraints I knew where my best chances of pulling this off would be so I packed up the gear and headed to the river. It was now early into the afternoon and river traffic was minimal. Once again my preferred water was unoccupied so I dropped into the river and the hunt was on.  
There was no easy participants but I stuck to my guns and methodically picked away.  I was now at my limits on the bar and well into the middle of the river  when I made a long throw deep into a slack water section. I mended my line and trotted back lightly on the float keeping my line taunt and my offering up off the bottom. The strike was violent and was not only visually confirmed but was accompanied by a firm tug felt through the entire blank. 
The glx loaded up and the water exploded.  My opportunity was before me.   On the way to the river I had decided I was going to stand my ground and test the limits of this blank. I felt I knew enough about the rod to gamble a fish on it. So with some degree of confidence I went hard at this fish. Like all of the fish as of late this fish was hot and made some long deep runs. Each time I managed to stop and turn the fish.


The rod was  in a full  parabolic bend but never once bent into the handle as I had read on some of the previous forum reviews.   It seemed to flatten out about 10" from the top of the handle.  After a fair fight the fish made the bank and my day.  It was one of those river bullet fall spawners.  I have encountered a few of these fish this past season...They are long, lean with huge rudders.  These fish really slam your offering and go ballistic once hooked. 
The rod performed under this test and was actually quite enjoyable.  I didn't feel underpowered on this fish but then again it was not a 8lb + class specimin. I still have mixed feelings on this blank but today was a move in the positive direction.  The remainder of this outing failed to produce an additional steelhead bite but I did managed to root up a couple of handsome browns.  It was a whirlwind session but quite enjoyable. 
 I learned a little more about the GLX and put a few more fish on the bank.  The field trials will have to continue and I suspect the only true answer to my query will come with the spring runs in late Feb/early March.  .


Stay tuned for further updates as this story unfolds

10 comments:

Trotsky said...

Nice fish.
I am way more excited about that new hammock by your woodpile then that space age overpriced POS fishing rod you've been fishing.
How many Rainshadows could we tie up for that price?
The guides are kind of interesting as an idea...but they look like shit.
Supposed to jump up to 7 degrees tomorrow.
If all this snow ends up in my basement I am moving to Tahiti to paint pictures in the jungle ala Gaugain.

lambton said...

I think we could probably put three IST's together to be exact. LOL!
I don't mind the recoil guides...they seem to work fine and by the look of them should be cheap as hell but I suspect they are stupid/crazy $$$ for a set if you can even find them. I haven't looked yet. No desire. Too busy fishing and on the road driving. Testing this gear is fun and more importantly free. The possibility of your basement getting flash flooded again is horrible but for some reason makes me smile. Time to get the shovels out and fix that bitch!
I can picture you now hunkered down in the jungle just like Brando in Apocolypse now...all fat and sweaty rambling about your wet carpet whilst smackin mosquitos. "I've seen horrors … horrors that you've seen."

Trotsky said...

Ah Colonel Kurtz..in the heart Of Darkness..Poet Warrior...Genius
"The Horror" indeed..
Now you've done.. I will be digging up my Joseph Conrad Classics
"Have you ever considered freedoms?"
lol
I have..
;o)

Steeliemax said...

Looks like another good weekend I missed out on. Another great blog keep up the good work. I may have to rent my head cam to you and at lest get some use out of it.

Gil said...

Nice second test. Good on you for standing your ground. Are there that many brown trout residents there? Summer dry fly fishing would be incredible!!

lambton said...

Gil,
There are a lot of browns in that river. The water's below Hodenpyle and Tippy are the "holy waters" for the Browns...the big boys live there. At times of the year this section can be virtually free of fishermen. From my experience the lower river has a very healthy population as well. For the most part they seem to reside in numbers in the first couple of miles below Tippy where the gravel is. They are outstanding fish!!

Greg said...

Love that rod, it's so light and fast. Just got mine back last week and for $40.00 they replaced the entire top section. But I should of had them replace the sliding rings because the top one is starting to crack and whenever it's cold I've noticed the reel will slide especially when I'm setting the hook.

Gil said...

Brian, time to get a 5wt for the summer! If the fish are on the average as the ones you have captured in the pics, that would far surpass the so called "Blue Ribbon" fishery of the upper Grand here.

lambton said...

I would say these guys are about average. The thing is that above Tippy and below Hodenpyle is where the big boys can be found. The 20"+ fella's. Early spring when everyone is below Tippy chasing Chromers the purists float that section rippin streamers and pound the giants. From the reports I read they seldom see another soul. It's like friggin Apocolypse now below Tippy and serene utopia above. LOL! I gotta take that up. I have a nice Scott 10' 7wt with an Orvis Battenkill mid-arbor that I was hoping I could use for both the browns and the steelies. I need to commit and put some time on her. So many options and so little time...
As Homer would say..."Stupid work!"

Eugene said...

Enjoy reading your account with the GLX. I had the misfortune of not using electrical tape around the rings when I first got it and when I was fighting a fish my Imperial dropped on some rocks. Not a pretty or happy sight to say the least. Just a heads up.

Looking forward for more of your thoughts on the GLX. I definitely do enjoy mine.