Thoughts on Helios 904

[Grumpy]

I broke the rod in right Sunday, laid it on the tailgate & the butt section rolled off & dinged the butt cap
Lined with a Wulff TT, heavy beadhead nymph & a big ol Grumpicator, i procedeed to fish falling water in the wind, 40' is about it all the rod wanted, i have to get used to the mid-flex, i've fished tip-flex rods so long, gotta slow down some.
Despite the wind & operator error, the rod feels good, switched to a midge once the water fell, the rod was a little more responsive, switched to a soft hackle once it dropped even more & the rod really came to life, it is real sensitive, i set the hook everytime the line straightened on the swing haven't felt that on my tip flex rods.
Bottom line, nymphs/weight, the rod will be good up to 40', midges dries, soft hackles, i was casting up to 60' at one point with ease & it feels good with a fish on, even all those 4" rainbows the hatchery managed to dump at the dam.
I think we'll get along just fine if i can get the casting arm to work with me a little bit, seems to have a mind of it's own

Grumpy

[Paula Begley]

OH NO!

Your butt has a ding? Eeep!

Thanks for the report.

Paula

[Gerry Romer]

I'm actually more frightened of the fact that he wears a cap on his butt!

Gerry

[Byron Begley]

You would wear a cap on yours too if it was sectional like Grumpy's is.

Byron

[mtnman2888]

Haha this thread has definitely taken an interesting turn. I'm glad that you are impressed with the rod grumpy, i can't wait to take mine out for a spin.

Craig

[Grumpy]

WELL, i put a lot of thought into that post woohohohohhoooo(crying) & here comes this bunch worrying bout my butt(dripping tears)
I'm not even gonna tell about the BIIXMX or the new Axiom(boohoo,still crying)

Grumpy

[Paula Begley]

Aww...Grumpy. I was seriously sorry you got a ding on your butt section.



Thanks for your in depth and thoughtful post about your rod.

Paula

[Byron Begley]

Grumpy,

I'm sorry. I forgot how sensitive you are. You gave an excellent report on your new rod. You are the BEST! Please tell us about the new Winston and the Axiom. I did get to cast the new Winstons. Pretty sweet. But I don't know what an Axiom is. Please fill us in. Did you check out the Korkers? I was impressed.

Sincerely your good friend forever,

Byron

[Grumpy]

Thanks Byron, those other folks hurt my onliest feeling that i had at the time
The Axiom is the newest offering from TFO, 5 through 10 weights & they are cannons, deep blue with gold stripping guides, deep blue graphite reelseat on the 5 weight with those rubberized cork rings on each end.
The 6 through 10 have metal reelseats with fighting butts, the 5 weight is $249, 6 weight $279 & the rest are $299, i thought they would come with a tube, keeping with tradition, TFO still sells them separately.
The MX's are Winstons fast(for Winston) action rods, there are faster rods out there, per norm, the green sticks have feeling though, the 5 i played with has the metal reelseat, they are 5-10 weights as you know & the 9 weight was a pure cannon, they don't weigh much either.
I think the Winnie folks will like these, i'm trying to figure a way to sneak that 9 weight home

Grumpy

[txbrown]

Grumpy and Mtman2888,

After casting the 5 wt Helios last weekend I am now considering a yard sell of several rods and reels to finance the Helios. Any insight that either of you would offer regarding the rod and choosing a 4 vs 5 wgt would be greatly appreciated.

I recently found the tip of my 8 wt broken and Orvis replaced it with an upgrade rod, as they no longer make the PM-10 version. This has lessened my fear of breakage. Thanks.

Ed