New Rods

Soon to be published - a review of the Lamiglas Appalachian series. I was sent a 7'6" 3pc 4wt to build and test - and I must say it is simply terrific. It is absolutely light as a feather and as crisp as any rod I've ever cast. It handles my WF4 line perfectly in small stream situations, with almost automatic loop control (wide - narrow - whatever you want). You can "flick it" to generate line speed and ultra tight loops, or sort of "smooth it" to open things up and paint the fly on the water. A wonderful rod. Review to be online in the next couple weeks.

The other is an Allstar Austin blank I just got. The buzz is that these are powerful and responsive, as good as any high-end blank on the market. We'll see. I'm looking forward to building and test fishing this one, for sure.

There are so many good blanks to choose from these days. The quality and performance bar has been raised so high that most of the true junk is long gone from the market. The differentiators now seem to be swing-weight and action, with rods that feel smooth yet can generate high line speeds getting most of the attention.