Those of you that follow this blog know that I don't do alot of gear reviews here. No real reason why not, I just haven't had alot of requests from people to write about stuff like that. However, I just bought a new rod that really impressed me to the point of sharing my views with others.
I have been needing a new fly rod for striper fishing on the Hi for awhile now. In my usual fashion I kept procrastinating until I finally decided to pull the trigger and order one. And I will have to say that my procrastination finally paid off. The rod that I ordered hasn't been on the market long, so I am definitely glad that I waited. The "chosen" rod is the Temple Fork Outfitters BVK in the 9' 8 wt. model.
Those of you that know me know that I am a big fan of Winston rods. For trout fishing anyway. But I think that they are a little weak when it comes to throwing big, wind resistant flies on 300 grain sink tip lines. And this is obviously how we fish for big, river run stripers. So, I decided to give the new BVK a try after doing some research on it. I can sum it up in one word...Damn!
I had the rod shipped to the shop. When it came in I couldn't wait to give it a test ride. I slapped on my new Galvan reel with a 300 grain sink tip line on it and went out to play in the yard. To say the least, I was impressed!
The rod was stiff, which I like and expect in an 8 wt., and you could really feel the power in your hand. It layed out the line with very little effort as opposed to other rods in its class. It carried the line well in the air and shot it with ease. I looked at the reel, kind of a glance really, and noticed that I had very little of the 100' of line left on the reel. That really surprised me because I had just been playing around with it. Kind of "kicking the tires". I remember thinking that I could not believe that this rod only cost 250 bucks! Incredible! It was very accurate at all distances and was a real treat to cast. Lefty Kreh put in alot of time developing this rod and it shows. Great casters design great rods. It is just that simple. You know he thought it was special when he named it BVK. Those are his initials by the way.
I didn't mean to make this such a long post. It kind of got away from me. To sum it up I will say that you are "crazy" if you don't give this rod a try. Especially if you need an 8 wt. ( I haven't tried any other BVK rod ). I am sure that the other BVK's are great as well. In fact, I am going to order a new 10 wt. soon for some musky fishing this fall. For that price I know I can't go wrong. Not with this stick!
