Testing the SC 20
When Nancy and I travelled to visit Jason and Kelley and celebrate Brooke’s first birthday, I received a most extraordinary gift–a rod from Jason. Let me back up just a bit. Jason is an exceptional rod designer. Not in the sense that I have helped design rods. I would tell the manufacturer to stiffen the rod just a bit here, make this section just a trifle softer, use larger snake guides, etc. No, Jason builds them from the mandrel up. Specifying the mandrel dimensions, cloth types, the cut pattern, and on and on, right down to the last detail of finishing. Jason’s rods really are completely designed by him. And they are clearly exceptional.
Having said that, Jason built and released a series of 20 rods called the SC20; that is, the Shadow Caster rod. It is 9 feet long for a 5-weight line. The 20 numbered rods were built to honor the 20th anniversary of the movie, A River Runs Through It. I was deeply honored to receive rod 1 of 20.
I told Jason that I would not christen it with a small fish, but find a particularly good fish for the rod to cut its teeth on. And I did. It was a 14 pound 11 ounce hen brown in a Lake Michigan tributary. Then I took a 13 pound male coho with the rod. Feeling a bit like Jack the Giant Slayer, I took the rod after some huge kings. I hooked 11 kings up to 40 pounds but didn’t land a single one. It’s a great rod, but the kings were too heavy, and I couldn’t keep enough pressure on them as they shook and wallowed. Eventually every one was able to throw the barbless fly.
Still, the rod performed flawlessly, even casting a huge size 2 Icicle with a 3/0 shot ahead of it. The rod is butter smooth throughout the stroke. It throws beautiful tight loops without any extraneous effort. It responded immediately on the hook set, and I had no trouble with the big brown or the coho. It’s finished exquisitely. You can read about the rod in detail here.
This big hen brown (14 lb 11 oz) took a size 6 hair Leg Woolly Worm on the second good drift. Noice the delicate look of the SC20 . Delicate looking or not, it is an exceptional rod.
This 33 inch male coho (about 13 pounds) took a size 2 Icicle solidly on the third presentation. It fought like a demon, but the SC20 held its own and brought the fish in front of the camera.