Dear Bill:
I just wanted to write and let you know how my Forecast 2pc. 10wt did on the Kenai river in Alaska. Its now a 4 piece rod not a 2 piece like it started out. I want to state up front this was abuse and NOT a request for replacement. Where we fish on the Kenai the current is swift so we are forced to use 40 or 50lb mono with the drag tightened all the way down. When you accidently snag a 12lb sockeye and he takes off down river they snap 25lb like its 2lb. You also cant really let them take much line or they will be 50yrds downstream in an instant. For 8 days I put the Forecast through @#$%&! On more than one occasion I just held on for dear life while a fish was tail hooked and heading downstream. A 12lb red in the current has more power than you can imagine, fresh from the ocean and ready to head 90 miles upstream through 6 miles of class IV rapids. All you can do is hang on for dear life. The rod went through pure @#$%&. It dragged and fought a ton fish back upstream so we could unhook it if it was snagged or try and land it. I cant imagine how you could punish a rod more. That rod took it and smiled. I also made one for my buddy who lives in AK and he put his rod through the same. After 8 days of fishing I was doing my usual flip. Flipping for Sockeye involves using 8-10 ft of line to a 1oz sinker attached to a 4ft leader and a fly. You simply flip it upstream and drift it down and repeat. Sockeye run right next to shore so not much line is out. I flipped my rig upstream like I had done a thousand times when all @#$%& broke loose. At the end of my drift I felt a fish so I set the hook. Instead of the usual fish on this one exploded. It pulled me off the rocks I was standing on. I took a tumble and was lucky I fell towards shore. As I was falling I could feel the fish almost pull my arm out of the socket. This all happened in a split second. As I landed half in the river and half on shore I felt the fish turn downstream. My rod was now underwater pointing upstream in my right hand, I am hanging on to some tree roots on shore with my left and all @#$%& is breaking loose. As I am trying to regain my senses a King salmon comes all the way out of the water shaking its head with my fly hanging in its mouth. My weight was on my right arm in the river, as I felt the rod snap the force of the fish pulled my arm out from under me and I landed face down in the river still hanging on to the tree roots for dear life. The fish came out of the water again. It was then it broke the hook. I only got a very quick glimpse of the fish as I was too busy trying not to drown. My buddies who are hardcore Alaskan fishermen put the fish at about 60lbs or so. All I can say is it was HUGE. I have caught a lot of big fish in my life but nothing compared to that, the power of the fish and the swift current felt like a hooked an F-150 going down the highway doing 75mph. Bill I just wanted to let you know I will be buying another Batson blank for Alaska next summer for myself. Several of my buddies want me to build rods for them as well. They will be the same Batson Forecast that served me so very well. Your Forecast blank performed better than I could have hoped for and its reasonably priced. Thanks for marketing such great blanks
Sincerely,
Kevin Gross

Kevin Gross
Many men will spend their whole life wondering if they made a difference. Marines dont have that problem - Ronald Regan

I wrote the above letter to Bill Batson. I am going to be building another Forcast this winter and maybe more. My buddies in AK loved it and now they want one. That rod went though heck and back before i hooked that King. What a great rod! I can see me using Batson blanks for a long long time! They make a great product and every time i emailed a question to them they were quick with a response. What a great company!

Kevin Gross
Many men will spend their whole life wondering if they made a difference. Marines dont have that problem - Ronald Regan

There is a 12 wt listed on there site ??? Sounds like you need that one

Good story I can just picture it all going on LOL

Bill - willierods.com

Glad you lived to tell the tale. That's a dangerous river with the fast current and the drop off just out from the bank. Where was your drag in all this and why didn't the king just take line?

That Kenai river Sockeye fishing is fun. I was not lucky (or maybe I was) enough to catch a King, but my friend next to me did. He is not an experienced fisherman, and his drag must have been set pretty light. In an instant, the fish took his entire flyline and most of his backing. When he finally tightened the drag, the line came apart where the backing joins the line. So in .5 seconds he lost a $75 flyline, his terminal tackle and the fish of a life time. After I stopped laughing at him, I did have a spare line to get him fishing again.

Pertinent content: I was fishing a Batson rod too-an 8wt Rx8.

Tight lines!

Drew

Awesome Story Kevin!! Glad you didn't get hurt. Batson/Forecast are unbelievable blanks and your story is a true testament to that. Thanks for sharing, now I'm amped for the rest of day.

Tight Lines and Bull's-eyes,

Get Bit Outdoors
407-542-7840
www.GetBitOutdoors.com
www.facebook.com/GetBitOutdoors

Thanks for sharing and not telling us it broke on the first cast...

Karry Batson
Batson Enterprises Inc.
Ph: (877) 875-2381
Fax: (360) 683-3579
karry@batsonenterprises.com
www.batsonenterprises.com

Drew Pollock Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Glad you lived to tell the tale. That's a
> dangerous river with the fast current and the drop
> off just out from the bank. > Tight lines!
>
> Drew


You got that right Drew.
Just last week my buddy and I had to save 5 L48'ers that went down the wrong braid in the Upper and ended up with their borrowed 16' catt upside down in a log jam and almost lost 2 of the crew when they were ejected from said raft. One a 70 year old man came very close to drowning when he was trapped under the raft!!!
My buddy and I managed to save most of their gear and rescue the raft the following day. Unfortunately one oar was lost and 4 of 5 rods ended up broken but the rest of their gear and reels were saved and they all lived to talk about it. They were extremely shaken and were unsure whether they would ever return but hopefully a little time is all they will need to put this behind them.
Luckily all aboard were wearing their life jackets or this surely would have ended differently.

Regards
Dave

Fishing is Life the rest is just Details