It is not often that I will stand up and give praise to any particular fly fishing or fly tying product that I have come across. Sure, I have many times said “this is the sweetest rod I have ever casted,” or “the drag on this reel is sick” but it rarely comes full circle to where I think the same while fishing it. This is not true about the Beulah Platinum 10’4″ 6wt, which is undoubtedly the best rod I have ever used for winter steelhead fishing. Getting this out of the way early, I am not talking about swinging a Prom Dress with a 600 grain skagit head and 15 feet of T17, I am talking about indicator fishing. Big creeks, little creeks, big rivers, little rivers, on foot, or out of a boat, this rod will get your glow bug (or glow bug substitute) to where you need it.
When I first saw this rod, it seemed a little on the short side for a switch rod, as 11 feet has become kind of a standard for switch rod lengths. I had been using a switch rod for swinging summer steelhead flies for a couple of years now and been loving it, as a full spey rod has never felt good in my hands. But, I have resisted using them for indicator fishing because I felt they were too big and I would lose the delicate touch that is necessary for most nymphing. Sure, I could “huck” it out there and hope for the best, but that is not how I nymph. The other part that was a struggle with switch rods was hook setting. When indicator fishing you want often need a quick, clean, solid hook set. The other switch rods that I was using would be a little spongy, and fish would not be hooked if they did the right thing. With the Beulah, I get precise yet powerful casts, with positive hook sets that I know have stuck solidly in the lip.
I would have to say that I use this rod about 80% as a “single hander” and and 20% as a “two hander”. Most of the time I don’t even think about the fact that it is a switch rod, it just seems that I am throwing awesome casts with my 10′ 8wt. Oh, did I mention that it is suuuper light, casts bullet overhead loops, and stack mends like a champ. Match this rod up with a Rio 5/6 Switch line and you will catch fish in places you have only dreamed.
Stay tuned for a summer Scandi test.–JC
That is one fancypants nimfin’ pole, JC. Platinum on platinum!!
nice review would love to hear about the 7wt as well .
Beulah Switch rods rock. Just recently got a 10’6 8wt and love it. Unreal casting and amazing fun!
Great looking setup. What are you using for a reel here?
Well, since you mentioned that you used that 6wt to do 80% of overhead casting.
How does it cast for 20-40ft cast?