I'd always been a fast action rod guy, with the belief that I could do anything I want with a fast action rod with a soft tip. Well that was until 2006 when I fished Silver Creek in Idaho along with a bunch of locals, I had with me a trusty high speed weapon whilst my friend weilded one of the new Scott G2 4 weights. To be honest I didn't really like the original G series, I'd learnt how to fly fish at least ten years after these things were created.  Anyway when it came to playing with the G2 for the first time, my thoughts were totally different ..... Hang on I'm off topic already. Back to Silver Creek you can probably guess what i'm getting at here, I got taught a lesson. My friend had far better line control, presentation and casting accuracy fishing his G2 than I could ever have fishing my brute stick.

As a result of that lesson a few months later I bought myself my first G2. Unlike any other presentation rods on the market the tip section of the G2 is ultra soft. Now you probably know that all of the good rod builders around the world make presentation rods, Sage make ZXL, (which have replaced SLT and SP), Winston make well pretty much all Winston rods and Loomis make a bunch of presentation rods under their GLX banner. The major difference in a G2 and all of these other rods is these puppies all have a stiff tip that runs into a softer mid and butt section. The result is the whole rod is soft or slow action. The G2's on the other hand, have soft tips, stiffer mid sections and really grunty butt sections. The result is you get a soft fast action rod. A totally different concept to anything else on the market.

What this all means when it comes to fishing is you get these ultra soft tip sections which are great for casting short and protect light tippets. Then this flows down to a powevrful butt section which ensure you can cast tight loops under branches and most importantly land big fish.

I'm been fishing the G2, 8'8" #4 and #5 consistently this summer and have had fish up to 8lb all of which the rods have handled with ease. Anyway check out the pics below and you can see why i've fallen for the G2's.

The Scott G2's starting with the hand scripted logo's are a rod builders piece of art. You couldn't get further from being a mass produced rod. Every guide and join is hand bound, logo's and measuring markers and hand scripted and the internal ferrules are perfectly hand ground to give a perfect flex on every rod.

The G2's feature only the best components from custom engraved REC reel seats, to the finest Flor grade cork with a classic Scott epoxy as a simple reminder that the guys that built your rod have taken their time to get everything just right.

Now these internal ferrules are critical to the G2's perfect actions. To explan this as simply as I can, by creating the internal ferrules Scott are able to reduce tip diameters over a standard fit over ferrule design. As you can imagine with a fit over ferrule design the mid section needs to be thinner than the tip in order for it to fit into the tip. The problem then is the tip is stiffer than the mid section. On the G2's the tip is softer than the mid section and so on and as a result the actions are perfect from tip to butt.

The last thing you will notice is that the blanks on the G2's are unground, the benefit of this is it increases strength by over 25% enabling the rod designers to reduce weight. As a result the G2's weigh in around 25% less than comparable rods on the market whilst still maintaining the power and strength to land New Zealands trophy trout.

Zane Mirfin with an 8lb back country brown trout taken on the Scott G2 8'8" #5

Christmas holidays will see more people hitting the rivers as always. There's nothing wrong with that, except if you're into finding a secluded spot then in that case you may need to work a little harder.

I just took yesterday off with friend of mine Mike Davis from Rotorua Hunting and Fishing. We managed to pick up a few nice fish which you'll see in the pics below. But what I spent the whole day thinking about is how do you really get the most of this sport when you only get a few chances a year to fish.

I guess the key things from my point of veiw to think about are.

1. Make sure you get some good advice about where to go. Local tackle stores are a good start, if you're in rotorua I'd recommend popping in to see Mike in Hunting and Fishing. The fact is different fisheries fish best at differnt times during the year. So getting the right advice on where to go is key.

2. Get good advice on your tackle. Fishign tackle is expensive, so again find a store who you trust and who know what they are talking about. Ask them, do you fish there? When was the last time you were there? If they are out there and doing it like Mike then you know you're getting the right advice.

3. Take your time to think about what you are doing. Fly fishing is a skillful sport, so if you haven't fished in a while take some time to think about what you are doing, remember to slow your casting down and work on your timing and keeping your wrist firm.

4. Try and go the extra mile. Don't just settle for fishing spots that you can simply drive to or that you've been to before. Find ones taht take that extra bit of effort and you'll not only avoid the crowds but you'll no doubt find a bunch of fish that haven't been pestered.

Merry Christmas from all of us at Manic and enjoy your fishing.

C&F Marco Polo Fly Tying Kit Review

by Alan Bulmer

Editor Note: Alan Bulmer is a keen Auckland based fly fisherman who spends some time chasing trout like the rest of us but specialises in chasing in-shore saltwater species on fly and spin tackle around New Zealand's estuaries. Alan purchased one of the C&F Marco polo fly tying kits earlier in the year through Rod and reel in New Market and was good enough to write a review for us.

The C&F Design Marco Polo CFT 1000 fly tying system is housed in a waterproof case about the size of an average fly box. It is designed to be a portable kit fly fishermen can pack in hand luggage for use when travelling away from home waters. I always take fly tying equipment away on freshwater fishing holidays and this unit seemed to be just what I was after, albeit an expensive solution.

When this case is first opened it is a revelation. 10 tools and a fly tying vice are all neatly laid out neatly in grey high density foam. Picking up each tool in turn I was struck first by the exemplary build quality and lightness. There were some nice touches namely stainless steel and brushed aluminium tool shafts that were knurled in critical areas and magnetic jaws in the vice to hold small hooks. This truly is a “heirloom” piece of kit that is obviously built with longevity in mind. 

The ceramic bobbin holder was fitted with a foam insert. The thread had to be drawn through a micro slit in this insert and it served to maintain tension and prevent the thread from sliding out during a tying session. The bobbin arms are Teflon coated and they accommodated a standard bobbin of Kevlar thread comfortably. I did not encounter any problems with the bobbin holder in the entire session and it was a joy to use. 

The fly tying vice was assembled next and my first impression was that it was not as stable as the set up that I normally use to tie flies at home. However, by the time that I tied the first fly I realised that the unit was very stable and that my early misgivings were completely unfounded. The most amazing feature of the vice is the two screw locking jaw. This jaw assembly holds hooks very firmly and I did not experience any slippage during tying despite applying heavy pressure on many occasions. It handled the Size 4 streamer and Size 10 nymph hooks used in my tying session without issue. 

The Swiss Rubis scissors included in the kit are of an unconventional design however they were comfortable to use and very sharp.  

The next item to be trialled was the hackle pliers. The jaws met well and are held together positively with a strong spring of strip design. I’ve always used conventional pliers with a small piece of rubber tubing added to one jaw to help improve grip on the feather so it was with some trepidation that I attached the “naked” C&F hackle plier to the end of the feather and started winding. The C&F plier gripped this first feather well, too well in fact, and cut the web cleanly on the second wind. This was not a good start. I re-attached the plier and managed to complete the winding with care. This fault never occurred in any of the subsequent flies tied so I suspect that it was a weakness in the feather rather than the fault of the tool. The plier fits the finger well and is easier to spin than the models that I have used previously. 

The whip finish tool was next in line and it’s design is somewhat different to anything I’ve encountered. Two perpendicular polished stainless steel hooked wires catch the thread and are used to rotate it around the head. The tool worked but it was ungainly to use. I am sure that this is a practice issue rather than a design flaw. My major criticism of this tool is that the ends of the wires are filed to a point and these points could easily cut fine thread when the wires are removed at the end of the whip finishing process.   

I used the half hitch tool on a couple of flies rather than the whip finishing tool and it worked well. Again the conveniently placed knurling prevented tool slippage in the hand. 

The last tool to be evaluated was the 3-in-1 dubbing brush and it quickly turned into a favourite. The angled sharp needle almost seemed spring loaded and it picked out tightly packed fibres with ease. The stainless steel dubbing brush in the middle of the tool was also brilliant for teasing out the Quick Descent wire dubbing used on the bodies of the tungsten beaded Caddis nymphs.  

Overall I was impressed with the compactness of the unit, the exemplary build quality and functionality of the tools. Aside from the whip finish tool, everything else worked well and was a pleasure to use. I set out to tie a couple of flies to test the system and ended up tying 19. This speaks volumes for the ease of use of the Marco Polo Fly tying system.

I would rate the unit 9/10 and would have no hesitation in recommending it to any other fly tying fisherman. It is so good that it should not just be considered as a travelling kit but a system suitable for general use.