Plan B - West coast exploration

We'd planned to fish our way up from our home base in Melbourne, hitting the north east of the state and then catching up with a crew from the FlyLife forum in Tumut. A good, 8 day trip - casting our range of rods, talking shop with the guys, and plenty of fishing, fishing, fishing.
But record breaking floods in that region meant roads had been cut and streams in full, raging flood. The caravan park where we were to stay had been evacuated and emergency services advised against travel in those areas. Great disappointment...


Time for plan B.


We decided to head west and explore areas that we'd heard and read about as well as drop into some known spots.
Day one saw us pull out of Melbourne's city limits and with the Woo-Hoo Mobile pointed west, our journey began.
In a matter of hours, we started fishing our first stream. A known stream, running pristine & clear - but low. Too low. The fish proved spooky and although we managed to get some looking and slashing at the dries, no good fish came to hand.


Great way to spend the day!


Day Two was full of surprises. We strung up our 6wts, the orginal two rods that we made as prototypes a few years ago before we launched HCE. Man, have they done some serious work and wow, they are still going strong - the cork looks tired but water, sun, salt and a million casts will eventually take its toll.


We found an interesting meadow stream, flowing well but tannin dark and brackish. Dark woolly buggers tied, we started to explore that deep dark stream.
Tony was first to get a fish on the board with a nice, gloriously marked brown.

Then we started to hook bream and even some small Australian Salmon!
This turning out to be a great day! We walked and cast, get smashed a few times ans just marveling at how we were getting browns and bream from the same water!


Some light rain showers fell, the sun came out to dry us off and we felt good that decided to do this exploration. Bloody cool fishing! A nice meal in the local at the end of the day, washed down with a couple of good beers. And yes, we still love those original old HCE Spec 6wts!

Solid blue-nose!

Day three saw us up early-ish, a light hearty breakfast and then we set off to explore a new stream. It pretty hardcore going, steep terrain, bashing through thick undergrowth and navigating with the handheld GPX. We were searching for access to a stream that we knew would hardly get any one on it and we soon realised why... some serious work to just get in...                                                                                                                                   


                                                                 


But when we finally won our passage, 
that first glimpse of water was both very pleasing and gratifying. 
Perfect, pristine twig water... 

Choosing the next dry...

As perfect as it was, as beautiful a stream as we've ever been to anywhere, as an amazing setting that you could possibly imagine, for some unknown reason it proved to be devoid of fish. The river bed was alive with nymphs, stone fly nymphs, caddis casings... the water cool and clear... But alas, we have concluded the trout had been abducted by aliens.

Really?

After our trek out of the barron waters, we headed to some headwaters. In keeping with todays he man theme and hit snake gully...


Great looking stream, a few fish about too. Low water again meant spooky fish but the scenery again made everything worthwhile.


Tony was driving the Retro Spec 3wt & was roll casting 30' with unerring accuracy and again it's delicate casting and gentle, refined action made it a joy to use. This is, simply, and I know I've said this before, the best light stream rod ever. Full stop. Regardless, I was loving the Evo Spec 3wt - a great point & shoot twig that excels when conditions get too tough.

Twiggy pocket water

Snake? Nope, eel!

Day Four we hit the Aire below the highway bridge and got into a few nice bream before we moved off to catch up with good friend and customer, JJ.

We hiked into a secret, ultra twiggy spot that was populated with very wary, small mountain browns - they wore dainty spots that could have been air brushed on with a template.


No room to cast, bow and arrow with the occasional roll cast was the order of the afternoon. 

Tight country: bow and arrow casts only!

It was very hard going and we really worked ourselves over getting and out... but the breathtaking scenery & lil tout made for a very enjoyable experience none of of us will forget in a hurry!

teasing the trout

Day Five we were up early... and checked out a river, the Aire, which has just dropped due to the mouth being artificially opened. We should get some great Bream fishing tomorrow and the day after once it gets a few salty flushes with the tides.
We looked at another little meadow stream which had a few trout which interested us but another called...        
                                                                    

So we headed back to camp, cooked up a nice mid arvo lunch and headed off.. It was another day of firsts for TJ, getting his first Grayling on fly as well a mullet!




















Day Six. Sleep in to rest our wearied bodies. We'd done some hard yards over the last 5 days. Today we planned to fish the mouth of the Aire, and that we did. Mullet, a lone salmon and quite a few bream were caught on our flies... Flies included Gotchas and fuzzled numbers and a few other bait fish & shrimp patterns.


As the tide turned to flow out in the late afternoon, the tannin stained river water slid out the mouth. We fished over the weed beds near a drop off and had a great afternoon session off the sand.


Some shots from today...

SWoFF Spec - For big, fast fish!

SWOFF SPEC

Our big, fast fish spec.

From estuary thugs that love to bury your flies in secret snags to blue water speedsters that are determined to empty your spool with blistering speed: SWoFF Spec is designed for saltwater. 

Built with corrosion resistant components from REC and Fuji on blanks with fast tapers & actions to ensure you have the power down low to turn stubborn fish and deliver big flies into the zone.

The SWOFF SPEC build is available on the CTS Affinity X in 6,7,8,9,10,11 & 12wt, Sage One in 7,8,9 &10wt and the full range of Sage Xi3 blanks. 

This image gallery features the CTS Affinity X, Ticks all the boxes for serious swoff action: extra fast taper, fast action, plenty of reserve power below, damn nice to cast big flies with and good pick up and cover prowess.

Our CTS SWoFF spec rods are cobalt blue, with matching binds. Business like yet tasteful decor wraps up the titanium guides. Add flor grade cork, a strong REC reel seat and some fine HCE tuning and you have a rod we are proud to put into your hands...

Let's face it, if you fish the salt, then you know that there is no margin for error. Big fast fish test you and your gear - and we design our gear to out last every thing else out there.

Sage One 10wt Feedback...

Hi guys, Bill M has posted some feedback on his 10wt One build we did for him. 
With his permission, here it is:

"Well I gave the 1090 ONE a run the other day with a Wulff TT Lost Tip. I didn't get a chance to bend it seriously with only a few GTs to the boat. 


It seemed to like the chunky Bermuda Triangle Taper, which has a 30 foot head. This rod casts very nicely, going short or long. It feels a lot lighter than most 10 weights and more like your average #8 or #9. It isn't that much lighter than the Xi3 or TCX but the difference is noticeable. When you waggle it you realise it isn't a noodle and is quite removed from its closest predecessor the Z-Axis 1090 - also a great heavy flats rod. 

I will run a RIO Redfish on it next time, which was the line that TJ and Tony suggested sung best on that rod. I was surprised to hear this given the #10 Redfish is 400 grains making it quite a heavy line, even if that is spread over 35.5 feet. Somehow though I'm not surprised because that Redfish line has a taper that loads progressively but throws big flies. It isn't a blunt instrument and still allows some presentation compared with other heavyweights like Tropical Outbounds etc. 


The rod easily handles very heavy flies including a 2/0 Avalon style Voltzy Golden Crab. This fly has big dumbells and 4 beads so weighs a tonne. It still cast well....well, well-ish


At this stage I think it is among the best flats rods I have owned. It has the finesse of the ONE but with some grunt down low. More suited to floaters than the Xi3 and TCX. You can easily fish this rod line on, but it would handle being uplined if you liked that kind of thing. Anywhere from 325 to 400 grains would be fine. I doubt it is overly line sensitive. Some of the new rods around are very line sensitive, they either feel overloaded or alternatively underloaded. Both are bad when you need feel and touch through a range of 40-80 feet.


Don't be fooled. It is a very different rod to the ONE 990. If you are thinking of buying a ONE for flats fishing, cast the 990 and the 1090 side by side. Both are very good rods but for throwing crabs the 1090 has the edge.


I measure all flats rods against the Xi3 990 and this one seems as good, perhaps better. The only drawback is once you enter #10 territory, line choice means many of the bonefish style lines are not available. I think some of the general saltwater tapers would suit this rod nicely as will some of the striper/tarpon lines.


Hopefully it will pin a good golden in the next few weeks and we will know how it pulls against a stronger fish.


Happy Camper."


Bill, we are really looking forward to seeing some pics of your rod with a Golden Trevally soon! - Tony & TJ

Why we like CTS blanks...

CTS prides itself on being at the leading edge of rod design. focussing on intensive product development and continuous improvement in their design and manufacturing processes.

The following information represents why we at HCE have chosen CTS as our major blank supplier...

Carbon Helix Core

§ Superior hoop strength

§ Improved response                       

A single carbon spiral is at the core of the blank. This type of structure is commonly regarded as the most effective way of maintaining cross section stability during bending.

Our carbon helix core will minimize cross sectional deformation during loading, improving power and response.     

In a flexing situation, the blank is undergoing pressures that can cause it to change from a round shape to a slightly oval shape.

Even a small 2% reduction in section height caused by these pressures will reduce the stiffness of the rod by around 10%.

A non woven fiber can achieve 100% of its tensile and compressive loading, unlike woven based scrims which exhibit large amounts of fiber crimping resulting in greatly reduced fiber loading potential.

The higher the loading, the softer the blank will become, reducing its ability to fight fish. All CTS carbon helix core blanks boast 100% non woven fiber.

All CTS carbon helix core blanks boast 100% non woven fiber.

A non woven fiber can achieve 100% of its tensile and compressive loading, unlike woven based scrims which exhibit large amounts of fiber crimping resulting in greatly reduced fiber loading potential.

100% Carbon Construction

§ Super light weight construction

§ Superior strength

Through the use of the CTS carbon helix core, blanks are able to boast a true 100% carbon construction. This ensures response and agility are optimized through utilizing the lightweight and high strength characteristics that only carbon can give.

Modulus Replacement Technology (MRT)

This new type of construction enables us to place totally different modulus materials at each part of the blank. Unlike traditional multi modulus systems which lay up materials of differing modulus materials together, our new Modulus Replacement Technology is all together different, taking blank manufacture to a new level.

Variable fit length

§  Reduced section-to-section flat spots

§  Reduced swing weight

§  Smooth load transfer           

The join lengths between each section within our multi piece blanks are varied according to the load that they are designed to carry. This ensures flat spots and swing weights are minimized.

Computer Aided Engineering CAE

Computer Aided Engineering has enabled CTS to design precise blank ranges with perfectly progressive actions through the entire range. 

Multi carbon construction

CTS works closely with its boutique carbon suppliers to obtain the optimum fiber types and resin systems to ensure all CTS blanks are at the leading edge in terms of material development.

Up to five different types of carbon are used in each blank. Each type is placed at various parts of the blank to optimize strength and weight.

Internal High Strength ferrule

A high strength ferrule is placed at each join, to provide superior crush and split resistance. 

Target Zero Fibre Alignment

Fiber alignment along the length of any blank is critical. Even the smallest deviation in fiber alignment from the axis of load will greatly reduce the strength of the blank.   
All CTS blanks are designed and produced to ensure all fiber is aligned as near perfect as can be with the load.

Wow! Another 'One'! This time a 5wt...

Our client Dave was not keen on the original 6.5" Sage factory grip and wanted some thing a bit different for New Zealand and some freshwater Tarpon, Saratoga & juvenile Barramundi. 

Dave wanted a small fishing butt and our Evo Spec reel seat. He also liked the HCE Spec REC guide set up. So he got it in a great looking (and performing) combo! And he got his 7" full wells grip. That's the beauty of custom!






The REC recoil stripper comes first, then a snake to provide two firm anchors for pulling against the backbone & it is a larger diameter for better line flow then finally finishing of with a series of lighter single foots to reduce swing weight and aid faster tip end recovery for great casting accuracy. This set up is used in our HCE Specs and Dave wanted the same for this One. Coupled with our unique tuning process, it really helps a rod sing!

And here is Dave's first fish on his new rod! A very respectable New Zealand brown.

"The all important first fish on the new rod! Beautiful rod, can't believe how it improved my trout style fishing."