glacierjohn
Well-known member
I've actually owned this beautiful rod for a couple years, but it's so nice I was afraid to fish it out of my drift boat. That plus I'm pretty happy with my various other rods, the Mantra just didn't come out until yesterday.
I'll admit that I ordered the rod from Sweetwater mostly based on nostalgia and looks, I own an older custom bamboo 7.5' five weight that is very soft, tip heavy buggy whip. I knew the Mantra would be more refined, but I still expected it to lean toward that old fiberglass-bamboo feel, boy was I wrong. This rod is very quick compared to my older Scott G series.
I caught about four trout and missed 4-6 others during a quick one hour outing. I had bought a 5wt DT Cortland peach specifically for this rod, but hadn't spooled it yet, so I grabbed an old Hemmingway reel with a 20 year old, hardly used Wolf TT 4/5. First that Triangle Taper is hardly used because it just didn't work for me on any of my other rods, boy was I surprised when the line came alive with this bamboo rod!
The Scott G series is famous for its roll casting ability, but this little bamboo roll cast effortlessly. You'd think a short 7-9 rod wouldn't mend and roll cast that well, but it's the best I've ever had. Second, I was casting dries into a pretty strong wind, I had to concentrate, but when I did, it would punch into the wind and turn over a leader perfectly.
This rod surprised me in every way, including having less "feel" than my Scotts. It just feels different, not good, not bad, just unique. I look forward to fishing it a lot more, comparing the 444 double taper to the excellent triangle taper.
I'll admit that I ordered the rod from Sweetwater mostly based on nostalgia and looks, I own an older custom bamboo 7.5' five weight that is very soft, tip heavy buggy whip. I knew the Mantra would be more refined, but I still expected it to lean toward that old fiberglass-bamboo feel, boy was I wrong. This rod is very quick compared to my older Scott G series.
I caught about four trout and missed 4-6 others during a quick one hour outing. I had bought a 5wt DT Cortland peach specifically for this rod, but hadn't spooled it yet, so I grabbed an old Hemmingway reel with a 20 year old, hardly used Wolf TT 4/5. First that Triangle Taper is hardly used because it just didn't work for me on any of my other rods, boy was I surprised when the line came alive with this bamboo rod!
The Scott G series is famous for its roll casting ability, but this little bamboo roll cast effortlessly. You'd think a short 7-9 rod wouldn't mend and roll cast that well, but it's the best I've ever had. Second, I was casting dries into a pretty strong wind, I had to concentrate, but when I did, it would punch into the wind and turn over a leader perfectly.
This rod surprised me in every way, including having less "feel" than my Scotts. It just feels different, not good, not bad, just unique. I look forward to fishing it a lot more, comparing the 444 double taper to the excellent triangle taper.
