The light weight and delicate feel of this rod is in stark contrast to the swift power this rod generates to buck the sometimes windy conditions that surround big water trout fishing. The rod I have is a mid flex 8'6" 5 weight that feels like something less in my hand, yet casts like something more. Fighting and playing fish with this rod is incredible. I've used this rod's sensitive tip to protect delicate 7X tippets against twenty inch class brown and rainbow trout while the rods backbone easily handled bringing big fish in fast water to the net.

Recently, I also had the opportunity to fish a Helios 10 weight in the salt for stripers, bluefish and false albacore. The rod performed beautifully. It's light weight, lighter than many five weights, made casting all day long a very non-tiring pursuit. Casting can best be described as distance made easy. The windy conditions typically found on the ocean were less of a concern than usual as this rod generated tight loops and line speed to slice through the up to twenty knot winds we encountered. I have to admit that initially I had some reservations about the fish fighting ability of such a light rod. That concern was put to rest after the first fish was hooked; this rod is no light weight. It just doesn't weigh much. With the drag cranked down the rods backbone and muscle were put to the test on big North Carolina false albacore and New Jersey's chopper blues and striped bass.