This past fall I had a chance to test the new Thomas & Thomas Avantt II before it was released. It is their high end fast action rod; which is a functional showcase of their beautiful craftsmanship. The rod is fast without sacrificing “feel” while casting, which allows you to still have some feedback while you cast it.
I paired the Avantt II with a Sage Trout 4/5/6 reel which balanced the rod well. I fished a Scientific Anglers Amplitude Infinity Textured WF5F line on it. The slightly more aggressive taper of this line really brought out the power of this rod. I did not use a longer taper such as the Scientific Anglers Trout Taper or the RIO Technical Trout. My assumption with these longer taper lines is the rod would do very well with 30+ feet out of the tip. The Avantt II has enough power to pick up an “extended” taper line for sure.
Some of the rod’s strong suits include its: fast action, beautiful craftsmanship, accuracy, ability to load with little effort, and it being a great all around rod. The rod really excels in many of the places a rod should in this price point. Most importantly that it is a well rounded rod that can be your “do it all” rod.
I only really ran into two shortcomings of the rod. Both of these shortcomings are likely fixed by different fly line tapers, but for this review I am speaking to the Scientific Anglers Amplitude Infinity I used. One, being its action is so fast that it wont lay a size 22 BWO dry like a feather as delicately as a “dry fly rod”. The fast action does not deliver as delicate of a presentation of small flies that a slower dry fly rod is capable of. This would not be my first choice of rods if I were fishing a trico hatch on a crystal clear spring creek exclusively casting dries to wily browns. Fortunately, T&T has a solution to this being their more delicate dry fly rod called the Paradigm. Second, due to its fast action, it also does not roll cast as well as a deeper loading rod. This could be greatly improved if the rod was fished with a longer headed nymphing line such as the Scientific Anglers Anadro Indicator.
I covered the board in terms of techniques extensively when testing this rod. I fished small dries, large dries, light and heavy nymph rigs, fished streamers, and swung wet flies. Across the board, this rod preformed extremely well. My most notable takeaway was the feel and power that is built into the taper of this rod. If you are looking for a beautiful, “do it all” fast action trout rod this may be the one for you. We have some in the shop, so if you want to see it, give it a wiggle, or cast it out back swing by and we’re happy to help. If you’re out of state, or looking online, feel free to give us a call we’ll answer any questions you have.
-Simon
