alansb1982
Active member
Pictures and better formatting here.
I’m a shore-bound, South Florida urban angler, which means you take what you can get. I could head to one spot, hoping to hook into a snook, barracuda, ladyfish, jack crevalle, or bonefish; only to strike out and switch to the mangrove snapper darting around the jetty. Or I could head out to another, hoping to hook into a big largemouth or peacock bass; only to find schools of smaller, feisty cichlids. Whether it’s double-hauling on the Miami beaches, flats, and seawalls; or roll-casting into the Everglades canals, a six-weight rod is right at home. I’ve fished this rod for the past two months, and I’d say the Fenwick Aetos is like your favorite canvas jacket; it does the job while looking the part.
Appearance
The first thing you notice with the Aetos is the color. It has a really nice, deep, dark blue blank. The snake guides, instead of the typical chrome, have a slick, black finish. The reel seat is a no-frills grey synthetic, and the up-locking rings are a matte aluminum. The markings, including alignment dots, are a bright white, making assembly in low-light very easy. The cork, to be honest, is the only thing left to be desired, feeling cheap and not smoothly finished. It’s not a deal-breaker, and I’ve fished full days with this rod and never experienced any blisters or callouses.
Performance
I paired the Aetos with a Lamson Liquid 2 reel. I’ve fished this setup with a 6wt Rio Summer Redfish line, and a factory-seconds 6wt weight-forward floating line, as well as a sink tip line. I’ve fished this in all of the aforementioned environments.
The rod feels light in hand, and doesn’t seem to have a particularly heavy swing weight. However, this is definitely a feel rod. It loads well, but does not exhibit the stiffer character of line-launching rods. In today’s market of ever-faster fly rods, that may seem like a good thing. And for more seasoned anglers, it may be. But if you haven’t been fishing for years on end, you should give this rod a look.
A stiff fly rod that generates a ton of line speed will not give an angler much room for error when timing a double-haul. This could lead to a lot of frustration for a person who hasn’t been fishing very long. On the other hand, if you’ve learned the double-haul, but you can’t exactly do it in your sleep, the medium-fast action and additional flex of the Aetos will give you that extra fraction of a second for your hauls. Additionally, its light weight and swing weight makes it easier to put in the hours to improve your form. It’s a very confidence-inspiring rod.
The Aetos really shines from close quarters out to about 50 feet. After switching to this rod, my double-haul and roll cast really cleared up over my bargain-bin starter rod. I found my form improving, and I was really able to take advantage of that additional margin of error. The rod is also remarkably accurate within this range. As a result, my effective range improved because I was not spooking fish with bad casts. I also wasn’t avoiding risky casts near overhanging structure or in areas without back clearance. I wouldn’t say the Aetos enabled me to do these things, no more than Reebok Pumps helped kids in the 90s jump higher. Rather, the additional feel and feedback I got from the Aetos was helpful in diagnosing and improving my casting technique.
Beyond 50 feet, the Aetos doesn’t quite have the line speed to get out there with the same kind of accuracy. I’m sure experienced casters could squeeze more performance out of the rod, but this was around the accuracy threshold for me. I could cast about 65 feet of line, but at that distance, I’m not landing a fly on a fish’s nose. Rather, I’m casting in the fish’s path and twitching as the fish approaches.
Conclusion
All in all, the Fenwick Aetos 6wt is a great rod for (1) a beginning angler that has some extra pocket change to spend on a first outfit, or (2) an angler that has learned the basics and wants to step up from a bargain-basement combo rod. I’ve enjoyed the Aetos so much, I snatched up another one in an 8wt a month ago.
I’m a shore-bound, South Florida urban angler, which means you take what you can get. I could head to one spot, hoping to hook into a snook, barracuda, ladyfish, jack crevalle, or bonefish; only to strike out and switch to the mangrove snapper darting around the jetty. Or I could head out to another, hoping to hook into a big largemouth or peacock bass; only to find schools of smaller, feisty cichlids. Whether it’s double-hauling on the Miami beaches, flats, and seawalls; or roll-casting into the Everglades canals, a six-weight rod is right at home. I’ve fished this rod for the past two months, and I’d say the Fenwick Aetos is like your favorite canvas jacket; it does the job while looking the part.
Appearance
The first thing you notice with the Aetos is the color. It has a really nice, deep, dark blue blank. The snake guides, instead of the typical chrome, have a slick, black finish. The reel seat is a no-frills grey synthetic, and the up-locking rings are a matte aluminum. The markings, including alignment dots, are a bright white, making assembly in low-light very easy. The cork, to be honest, is the only thing left to be desired, feeling cheap and not smoothly finished. It’s not a deal-breaker, and I’ve fished full days with this rod and never experienced any blisters or callouses.
Performance
I paired the Aetos with a Lamson Liquid 2 reel. I’ve fished this setup with a 6wt Rio Summer Redfish line, and a factory-seconds 6wt weight-forward floating line, as well as a sink tip line. I’ve fished this in all of the aforementioned environments.
The rod feels light in hand, and doesn’t seem to have a particularly heavy swing weight. However, this is definitely a feel rod. It loads well, but does not exhibit the stiffer character of line-launching rods. In today’s market of ever-faster fly rods, that may seem like a good thing. And for more seasoned anglers, it may be. But if you haven’t been fishing for years on end, you should give this rod a look.
A stiff fly rod that generates a ton of line speed will not give an angler much room for error when timing a double-haul. This could lead to a lot of frustration for a person who hasn’t been fishing very long. On the other hand, if you’ve learned the double-haul, but you can’t exactly do it in your sleep, the medium-fast action and additional flex of the Aetos will give you that extra fraction of a second for your hauls. Additionally, its light weight and swing weight makes it easier to put in the hours to improve your form. It’s a very confidence-inspiring rod.
The Aetos really shines from close quarters out to about 50 feet. After switching to this rod, my double-haul and roll cast really cleared up over my bargain-bin starter rod. I found my form improving, and I was really able to take advantage of that additional margin of error. The rod is also remarkably accurate within this range. As a result, my effective range improved because I was not spooking fish with bad casts. I also wasn’t avoiding risky casts near overhanging structure or in areas without back clearance. I wouldn’t say the Aetos enabled me to do these things, no more than Reebok Pumps helped kids in the 90s jump higher. Rather, the additional feel and feedback I got from the Aetos was helpful in diagnosing and improving my casting technique.
Beyond 50 feet, the Aetos doesn’t quite have the line speed to get out there with the same kind of accuracy. I’m sure experienced casters could squeeze more performance out of the rod, but this was around the accuracy threshold for me. I could cast about 65 feet of line, but at that distance, I’m not landing a fly on a fish’s nose. Rather, I’m casting in the fish’s path and twitching as the fish approaches.
Conclusion
All in all, the Fenwick Aetos 6wt is a great rod for (1) a beginning angler that has some extra pocket change to spend on a first outfit, or (2) an angler that has learned the basics and wants to step up from a bargain-basement combo rod. I’ve enjoyed the Aetos so much, I snatched up another one in an 8wt a month ago.
