This rod is marketed as a Bob Clouser Signature rod. Can anyone tell me if this blank is different from the ordinary 9 foot LU 8wt and how is it different ?

How would you describe this rods action and power ?

And last:
What makes a rod more suitable for casting clousers than others ?

Thanks
Peter

I don't know fly rods like a lot of the guys here. And I haven't thrown a Clouser rod. But I do have a buddy that is a fly guy and he says that Clouser rod, or at least the old one, was the bomb for Smallmouth fishing. St. Croix took a lot of input from Bob and designed one heck of a Smallmouth rod. It's not just a Clouser rod, it's good for many Smallmouth applications.




Better to have and not need than to need and not have.

I have cast the Clouser rod in it's original 2pc. pre-IPC version, and matter of fact it was while being guided by the man himself near Harrisburg on the Susquehanna. That is a big river and they use a lot of sink tips and full sinking techniques, in addition to floating line in low-water late summer and fall conditions. They also throw a lot of their Clouser floating minnow which is a foam popper. Great rod for big water and big flies. For most of the bass fishing I do, it's more rod than I need but if I fished big water a lot, river or lake, I would not hesitate to pick one of those up and build it.

On a side note, the day I fished with Clouser was a real eye-opener. First of all, the guy is an excellent teacher and caster and extremely friendly. I brought my own 1985 Fenwick Eagle graphite 8'6" 7wt. to fish with a Cortland 333 WF-7-F/S sink tip (this rod CCs at 4.9/56). At the time I was not a very good caster and was frustrated by my inability to get much line out in the windy conditions. Most of my experience had been casting 30' with a floating line on small water. I said, "hey maybe I'll buy one of your St. Croix's off you". He said, "son, you don't need that", picked up my Fenwick, peeled all the line off the reel onto the bow of his boat and proceeded to put the whole thing out there (105') with 2 false casts. It was impressive. He encouraged me to buy Lefty's book on distance casting and just practice. Darn good advice and it came from a guy who could have just taken my $300 and said nothing.

Awesome story Steve!

Jason, it's by far my best fishing story, partly because it's 100% true (unlike many of my other fishing stories) but mostly because of how memorable that day was. I learned so much about flyfishing and lots of other interesting things too. I think the man truly cared that I not only enjoy myself and catch fish, but learn things that I could use the rest of my life on the water. His casting demonstration was definitely not just "showing off" - he was making a very good and very important point and it really stuck. My Fenwick and his St. Croix were like night and day but, in the right hands, they both can be great rods.

I have gotten two different answers from St. Croix. The first told me it was the same blank as the standard model they offer to rod builders. Another told me it was specially designed as a blank and was not available to the rod building public. Who knows? Maybe somebody could CCS the rod model and then we could try and match it to the blank and see if they are the same or if there is any noticeable difference?

Peter,

I've cast them side by side (the Pre IPC models). The 8'9" is a little faster in action and has a little more power. However, they both load well with the same line at the same distances. The 8'9" is what you'd call 'authoratative'. Also, the 3" shorter does make a little difference in pleasure of casting all day.

Awesome blank/rod.

Thanks
Rick

That thing is a powerhouse...probably CC's at closer to a 10.5 than an 8.5, from my unscientific casting tests. Pretty fast action with a nice, soft tip.

Actually, if you've fished a Dan Craft 907-4 FT, the two are quite similar.

Thanks to all of you - good answers as usual. And a great story with a good point Steve - more casting and fewer rods would be the better way to go.

Peter