Dec Hogan Echo 4 Wt & A Book Recomendation

[alhuger]

 

I have been fighting the urge to pick up the new Dec Hogan Echo 4 weight spey. Has anyone here had a chance to fish it? Does it compare well to the rest of the Dec Echo line? Also, for those of you looking for some good winter reading I would suggest picking up Dec Hogan's Passion for Steelhead. I just started reading it and I am really enjoying it. I usually find books like this to be horribly written but this certainly seems like an exception. It's not Haig-Brown but it's a pretty good read.

 

al

[headscan]

If the forecast for Saturday holds I'll know how it fishes then...

[dino]

What grain compact skagits are guys using with the 4? How about the 5?

 

Regards

Dean

[headscan]

I'm using a 420 grain compact skagit on the 5 weight but just an Airflo 40+ 7 wt line on the 4. There are a couple new grain weights coming out but I haven't seen them on the shelves yet. The new 360 grain should work well on the 4 weight and the 390 might work better on the 5 weight than the 420. Really looking forward to the new Airflo Compact Scandi lines for these rods as well. They're supposed to start at 270 grains and go up to 540 in 30 grain increments. Since Tim Rajeff had a hand in designing both the Decho rods and the Airflo lines they should match up well together.

[headscan]

Played with the Decho 4 for a few hours today so I thought I'd post a mini review. The rod is a lightweight cannon. It feels like it has a little more flex than the Decho 5 but definitely stiffer than my old Beulah 11'6" 5/6. Casting three flies and an indy didn't require much effort and even a smaller rainbow managed to bend the rod over. If anyone is looking for a trout spey rod (not an 8 wt spey rod meant for anadromous fish like steelhead and salmon) this is definitely worth a look. I think Fish Tales even has a couple of Decho demo rods including the 4 and 5.

 

[alhuger]

Played with the Decho 4 for a few hours today so I thought I'd post a mini review. The rod is a lightweight cannon. It feels like it has a little more flex than the Decho 5 but definitely stiffer than my old Beulah 11'6" 5/6. Casting three flies and an indy didn't require much effort and even a smaller rainbow managed to bend the rod over. If anyone is looking for a trout spey rod (not an 8 wt spey rod meant for anadromous fish like steelhead and salmon) this is definitely worth a look. I think Fish Tales even has a couple of Decho demo rods including the 4 and 5.

 

I would tend to agree, it's a nice casting rod. After fishing today with my 5/6 I really felt like it was overkill. Winter fish (on the bow) just seem to have so little fight in them that fishing a 5/6 felt nearly as stupid as fishing an 8. I suspect I will drop down to the 4.

 

 

[toolman]

I tried the 6wt. Decho a couple of times and found them a bit slower than the Deer Creeks. As for 8wt's on the Bow, I fish a 400grain line on my Loop 8116 Blue when I do use it, which is a lighter line than the 420 grain compact mentioned on the 5 wt Decho, so it's all relative. I use a 340 grain line on my Loop 6120 and a 440-450 grain line with my Opti 8124 when fishing long tips and larger/heavier flys to reach way out there +100', where 5 and 6 wt. Decho's can't get too.

That said, enjoy your new toys guys.

[alhuger]

I tried the 6wt. Decho a couple of times and found them a bit slower than the Deer Creeks. As for 8wt's on the Bow, I fish a 400grain line on my Loop 8116 Blue when I do use it, which is a lighter line than the 420 grain compact mentioned on the 5 wt Decho, so it's all relative. I use a 340 grain line on my Loop 6120 and a 440-450 grain line with my Opti 8124 when fishing long tips and larger/heavier flys to reach way out there +100', where 5 and 6 wt. Decho's can't get too.

That said, enjoy your new toys guys.

 

Tool,

 

I would agree, the Decho seemed softer to me and not as fast as the DC series. Marc had his lined with the 7wt AF 40+ which seems to work well for it. It was nice to cast one without having to buy it first :> As for the 8, I can see using it for heavy tips but for me I prefer lighter rods for the bow, I also cannot cast +100' feet regardless of rod type in any event. My fishing is limited to anything I can reach within 75 feet more or less (reliably) and at that I usually find I am hooking up closer in. I find it's harder for me to set a trout at distance under an indie with my setup. My hookup rate is (for obvious reasons) much better on the swing.

 

al