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Post by phil on Mar 31, 2015 15:27:32 GMT
Great review Louis and what a fab video George with some lovely trout. The new ESO rod looks ideal for small streams. Good job Cust'. I work in Leeds. If you fancy getting involved in Riverfly Monitoring as a way to look after your local waters then get in touch. The Salmon and Trout Association West Yorkshire Branch plan on holding another Riverfly Monitoring Workshop in April in association with Leeds City Council. As part of a strategy to monitor the the River Aire across the catchment, the urban tributaries of the Aire will form an important part of looking after the Aire. Take a look of our most recent workshop for the middle to upper reaches of the River Aire held earlier this March at East Riddlesden Hall here. Happy tenkara Phil
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Post by hiyabarney on Apr 1, 2015 21:00:25 GMT
1 more vote for the Esoteric zoom rod, fantastic piece of kit. Went urban/jungle fishing with monkey on his local water tonight fantastic time had, fished with my Esoteric zoom rod, 8ft 3.5# level line, 5x tippet 4ft long and San Juan worm, it handled everything with ease even the tree trout and sub surface snags. Caught fish then after 2 hrs fishing found out the rod was set on the short setting , that's why monkey managed to catch more fish than me, my excuse anyway. Overall great day, great company and fantastic small Tenkara rod. good work Cust! martin.....
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Post by dbl on Apr 2, 2015 19:15:38 GMT
After Louis' review I felt I had to get one of these rods as the some of my local streams have many places where this short setup is ideal. I tested it out today on the (natural) pond in our garden. Sweet!
It really is a bargain at the moment. Rod, bag, tube, and spare tip sections in a slim plastic tube of their own for about £60 is a no-brainer even for a broomstick, but with action as sweet as this, it is mindblowing. Weld done, our very esoteric Custheyder!
Meanwhile, I am left with environmental concerns over the trout growth hormones contaminating Yorkshire becks (or puddles in common parlance)! The rod was already ordered by the time I saw Monkey's video review, but the proof of the pudding was in the fishing...
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Post by custheyder on Apr 4, 2015 11:05:05 GMT
Thank you everyone for your support. The tube is carbon fibre, not plastic. The rod was designed with some of the Isle of Man's small Glens in mind which are stuffed with fish but very tight casting. Glad to hear everyone else is enjoying the rod as well.
There is more new stuff on the way, as soon as the factory finishes and gets them shipped to me!
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Post by flatsghost on Apr 4, 2015 18:32:51 GMT
I have also taken possession of this rod today and, like an excited child, had to get down to a local brook to try it out straight away! The brook being the Leigh brook near Worcester. A nice crisp action and I used a 3.5 fluorocarbon line and 4' tippet. Light as a feather as one would expect. The handle feels really comfortable, smooth and warm I managed to deceive 6 WBT, one Grayling and a salmon parr so pleased to have christened it. Really pleased with the rod all in all. I dropped it down to the shorter length in some tight spots and it performed just as easily. It will be a really useful tool in some of our tight tree lined border streams. Had to pack in early as the wife had locked herself out of the house! Tight lines and good job Cust Glyn
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Post by custheyder on Apr 6, 2015 12:38:18 GMT
Thank you Glyn. That's a great looking fish.
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Post by mspaddler on May 4, 2015 21:52:57 GMT
First opportunity to try out Daniels new rod. A lot of fun. I was on a narrow section of one of my club's rivers, a beat new to me. I took along the ESO 245/275 zoom rod and my recently repaired Sato. What I had forgotten was the line on the Sato was a 4m tapered line and even at the shortest length it soon became apparent that I needed to either change the line or take the ESO rod out of my jacket and give it a go. I set up the ESO with a 2.5m furled line Phil S had made for me a year or so ago and 1m of Stroft 0.12 tippet. The rod behaved beautifully, although even with a short rod and line I still managed to catch a few tree I also brought 14 lovely wild brown trout to hand. All fish were caught on a dry fly, the first 10 on a sedge pattern and the last 4 on a Griffiths Gnat. Although I only saw maybe 2 or 3 rises to naturals it was clear from the start it would be a single dry fly day. I have a Daiwa Soyokaze rod which I haven't used for some time but I don't remember it being as much fun as the ESO. When I get out again this week I will try a unscientific 3 way test ESO/Soyokaze/Rhodo and report back. Attachment Deleted
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Post by phil on May 5, 2015 17:58:43 GMT
I set up the ESO with a 2.5m furled line Phil S had made for me a year or so ago and 1m of Stroft 0.12 tippet. The rod behaved beautifully, although even with a short rod and line I still managed to catch a few tree I also brought 14 lovely wild brown trout to hand. All fish were caught on a dry fly, the first 10 on a sedge pattern and the last 4 on a Griffiths Gnat. Although I only saw maybe 2 or 3 rises to naturals it was clear from the start it would be a single dry fly day. I have a Daiwa Soyokaze rod which I haven't used for some time but I don't remember it being as much fun as the ESO. When I get out again this week I will try a unscientific 3 way test ESO/Soyokaze/Rhodo and report back. Wow Brian, I forgot all about that line I made you. Glad to hear it did the business for you. Look forward to your three way shoot out, three very competive rods. Happy fishing. Phil
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Post by mspaddler on May 8, 2015 20:45:30 GMT
I was out fishing today before the heavens opened here in Yorkshire. I took the ESO/Soyokaze/Rhodo rods along to see how they compared actually fishing. I have to say they all performed well! I will try to be more objective next week trying the rods off the river and see how the compare casting without the pressure of the hunt. Suffice to say from today that the most obvious differences between the rods are the handles. Soyokaze is just an extension of the sections with no padding, the ESO has an EVA handle and the Rhodo a good quality cork handle. Perhaps surprisingly I liked the EVA handle best of the 3 but maybe this is unfair because I fished the Rhodo after the Soyokaze and that made Rhodo handle feel bulky.
I fished a single dry and klink and dink and caught fish on all 3, and all three cast well within the confines of the water I was fishing today. Totally subjective, and given that I was moving up the river so I didn't get to cast each rod in each place, so some areas were more difficult and that would have affected the cast but the ESO seemed to require the least effort and the Soyokaze the most. Again I'll try a more objective casting session next week.
I suppose the main off water consideration is price and service. The Soyokaze is no longer available and the other two rods don't offer the same zoom lengths so its tricky but what is not tricky is the price the ESO rod which seems to be a bargain at less than 70 pounds with a spare tip. TUSA service is second to none and although I haven't had cause to break any of Daniel's ESO rods I'm sure he is very service oriented.
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Post by daves on May 10, 2015 6:46:29 GMT
I can vouch for Daniel's service being great. I've only broken one of his rods, the ESO 410 6:4 which got a jammed tip when I hooked into a trout of just short of 4lb on 5x tippet & I couldn't unjam the tip.
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Post by custheyder on May 11, 2015 8:45:07 GMT
I know the EVA handles are a bit of a stretch for some people to wrap their heads around but I do think I've got the firmness just right. They are certainly warm in the hand. I was in Gerry's of Morecambe yesterday looking over the various rods they have on sale. I'm seeing a lot more EVA creeping into the course and sea rods than in the past.
There are spare tips available for all my rods. Just drop me a message and I can arrange to get you back on the water fishing as quickly as possible.
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Post by lanhal on May 23, 2015 18:57:07 GMT
Hello all. Just had an afternoon on Thornton Beck, North Yorkshire to give the Eso zoom a work out. The Beck has been opened up in part over the winter by a dedicated team from Pickering Fisheries Association and is now easier to fish in these places, but it still has a protective tree canopy for the most part.
The Eso rod was an excellent tool - long enough when extended to take advantage of space to cast where it was available, but short enough to get into really tight spots. I fished dry fly, using a 9' tapered furled leader and about 3' of 2.5lb Chameleon as point; I had no problem in casting a full length line and by keeping very low and kneeling in the water as I moved upstream I didn't disturb too many fish. ( I can't have, as I caught well into double figures and missed about the same again). Best fish was about 12" or so, which put a nice bend into the rod but there was no loss of control as it did so. What a super little rod - and I really like the camo foam handle. Thanks Eso.
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Post by custheyder on May 26, 2015 9:07:33 GMT
Excellent stuff! I had a brilliant hour in Groudle Glen with the little fella. Certainly did the job controlling the small fish I winkled out from the path alongside the water. I'll put a report up later.
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Post by chriscreeler on May 26, 2015 9:32:00 GMT
Cork growers have already lost much of their wine bottle stopper trade, and if fishing tackle makers largely go over to plastic foam for rod handles, it is likely to be another nail in their coffin.
They help to maintain delightful areas of semi-natural wood pasture land which are well worth preserving; just as are our trout streams.
Chris.
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Post by custheyder on May 27, 2015 16:14:45 GMT
The main issue, for me, is the quality of cork available. It's just not there any more. When the market for fishing rods is becoming more demanding on excellence, controlling the weight and distribution of the weight becomes even more important. That is not something I can do with cork and the amount of "filler" seemed to keep increasing.
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