Re: Xcalibur 9' 10wt. 4 piece Fly rod (X9010-4)
"Loads well at short range, yet has the backbone to cast longer distances too....an excellent choice for the
inshore saltwater fly fisher." (Feedback from FFF Master Fly Caster, Dusty Sprague)
Re: Xcalibur 9’ 5wt. 4 piece Fly Rod (X905-4)
"I did not test the rod with a super-distance line on it (like an XXD), rather I tested it with ‘average’
lines that many anglers would end up using. Here is what I found for a 5wt WF taper (fairly standard
taper, no tricks):
When casting in a relaxed style with no hauling, I liked the rod best at the 33-35 foot range (mostly tip
casting with a moderate tempo). When adding hauling and upping the casting tempo, I preferred to be out at
40-43. I found that the rod would easily carry 57-60 with great control of loops while hauling, and would
hold 63-65 at what I would call maximum controlled hold. The rod will obviously hold more with a
different line taper, but when shooting from a 65 foot hold, I could consistently hit 95-101.
Since the line was only 90ft and then knotted to gel-spun, I kept the casting at a max range of 99-101
(always accurately measured), and even then the good shoots would jerk the reel slightly. So, no issue with
good line speed development when necessary.
The rod that I had fit together beautifully--one of the nicest fits in recent memory. Nice work on getting
smooth ferrule junctures--the rod inspired confidence in the fit.
Thanks for the opportunity to cast the rod, John. I do appreciate knowing who is making what, especially
when smaller graphite makers are involved. There are some intriguing rods out there (including yours),
and it helps when I can point casters toward "alternative" rods if those rods would be a
better/more interesting choice given the angling/casting situation."
(Feedback from a Master Fly Caster)
Re: Xcalibur 10' 6wt. 4 piece Fly rod (X1006-4)
"I spent this past Saturday with a guide on the Rogue. We had a great day on the water, and I got a lot of
casting & fishing practice, bur the fish didn't cooperate! We hooked a salmon smolt and a small trout, that
was it! The guide had a good day on Friday with two clients, hooking four steelhead, and bringing two to
the net.
We had an excellent chance to put your 10' 6 wt. through it's paces. We were both impressed! I found the
rod to recover faster than my 10' 6 wt. Sage, and it had more reserve power. As is usual for me, I get so
little chance to fish heavy weighted bugs and big indicators that it takes me all day to get "in the groove".
Finally, by about 3:30 PM, I started to feel like "I was one with the rod".
Again, everything stayed in place and tight, and the rod felt nicely balanced with a Waterworks ULA 3.5 and
a Rio 8 wt. floating weight forward Salmon/Steelhead taper. It was not tip heavy, and it tracked very well!"
Re: Xcalibur 8' 3wt. 5 piece Fly rod (S8035)
"Yesterday I had the best day of dry fly trout fishing that I have ever
had! I fished on the Sacramento in Redding.
I met my guide at 8:00 am. We had a good day weather-wise, with nothing
more than a few very brief showers until 1:30 pm. From 1:30 until 4:00, we
had steady light to moderate rain. Finally at 4:00 pm, all hell broke
loose, and we rowed the last 2 or 3 miles in gusty 20 to 30 mph south winds
and heavy rain.
The fish were spottily rising to a slow caddis hatch, with a light
smattering of adult bugs on the surface when we started.. We tried
dries from 8:30 until 9:00, with no luck. We switched to indicator nymph
fishing for about an hour, again with no luck. The hatch got a bit heavier,
and the fish slowly became more aggressive. At 10:00 we switched back to
dries. We had a wide open bite from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm, with only a few
very brief lulls in the action. We never even ate lunch until we finally
swallowed a couple of sandwiches at 2:30.
I fished your 3 wt. without a stop from 10:00 am until we took the
boat out at 5:30 pm. I lost count of the fish. My guide said that I brought at
least two dozen fish to net, with three or four that missed the fly, and
another three or four that pulled the size 14 hook.
I have had a couple of occasions over the years when the action was
just as fast, but not in a sustained 5 hour dry fly bite to BIG FISH!! I told
my guide that it was a good thing that I liked my wife as much as I do, or I
would still be there in the middle of the river throwing bugs, and she would
be at the attorney's office filing on me!
The smallest fish was 14". The largest was 20". At least two of the
fish that pulled the hook may have been a tad larger! The rod that you sent
me was a wonder! It fished beautifully! When I was packing for the trip I realized
that I didn't have a decent reel that was light enough to balance with that rod. I did
have an old Scientific Anglers System 2 plastic reel with some old floating
line on it that I had from a long time ago. I stopped by The Fly Shop early in
the morning, but they were closed for Easter, so I was stuck with the old
line. I didn't weigh it yet, but both my guide & I estimated the line to be a
WF4 wt. Even though the rod was possibly a little over lined, I didn't lose
control on long casts. I was easily able to control it to 60 ft., and I had
pin point accuracy to 40 or 50 ft. The recovery is perfect for that type
of fishing. The rod turned those big shouldered fat rainbows and allowed
me to bring them to the boat quickly, even in fairly fast current. We only
had to chase one fish that I allowed to go over the tail out and into very
fast water.
We wanted to try the 1 wt., but the line was heavy enough and the fish
were big enough, that we didn't want to risk damaging the rod. I will
hopefully get that opportunity on my pond when I get back from Houston late next
week.
My guide, who I believe participates in Loomis' guide program, was very
impressed with the rod!
We took several pictures of the first few fish, and then things just
got too crazy to mess with the camera anymore!
Everything stayed rock solid on the rod, even though it was pulling
hard on fish that most people would have fished with a four to six weight in
that fast water. The ferrules stayed well mated, and the grip never moved.
I can't say the same for my 6 wt. Sage XP, as the grip moved on my first
steelhead taken with the rod."
Re: Xcalibur 9’ 4wt. 4 piece Fly Rod (X904-4)
"I used the 9' 4pc 4wt fly rod yesterday. I will write a more comprehensive
review, but in general it was very powerful.
It took me a little while to get used to the stiffness and overall fast action. I used my 5 wt
reel, and 5 wt shooting taper floating line. It casted very tight and smooth loops effortlessly. I think this 4 wt
rod could easily handle 6 wt line. I must admit that I was very comfortable to my 5 wt Orvis HLS
Bighorn. Although my rod has a fairly fast action it has nowhere near the same stiffness in the butt section
and overall speed. I was used to feeling my rods load energy more. All of the action in your rod must be
in the last 3 ft.
The 9ft length was a little long for the streams I usually fish but the reach did come in handy for a couple of
nymph drifts I needed to negotiate. Once I hit some open water, I was able to truly appreciate the rod
length and fast action. It felt like I could cast a tight smooth loop as far as I needed, or would ever want to.
There was always enough power left in the line for a complete rollover through the leader and tippet. Again
after a little time, I became very consistent and accurate with the rod. One thing for sure, this is a
very aggressive and fast blank. The guides were by far the smoothest I've used. I could not notice any line
drag from the guides. In fact, there were several times while working on the fly, or the tippet, that I
lifted the rod tip up too high and the fly line ran back down the rod at me. Now, this normally happens from
time-to-time but I've never had it happen this much. It was like the line was gliding on ice. I'm sure
this is a testament to the ideal guide placement as well as the guides themselves.
I showed it to my dad this weekend. He has not built many fly rods in his career, as most of his work was in
heavier salt water rods. But, he was impressed with the components ie, guides and reel seat, that you
used. He was also very interested in the blank, especially how you made the furrels work out so well for a 4
pc. He also liked the dots to line up the furrels."
Re: Xcalibur 9’ 9wt. 4 piece Fly Rod (X909-4)
The 9wt hooked and landed a large tarpon today (80lbs). It performed admirably well with the fish. We had
a spectacularly warm, slick, sunny day (before a front) that pushed a bunch of big poons into the shallows
(for the day).
(Feedback from a Florida Keys Guide)
Re: Xcalibur 8’ 3wt. 6 piece Fly Rod (XL803-6)
"I took the rod to the San Juan on Sunday. Third cast hooked a nice rainbow in what they call the Texas
Hole. Fought him for quite a while with 6x tippet and a size 22 red annelid. The rod performed very well
with a large fish; protected the tippet well, and I felt like I really had some leverage on that fish even
though I was fighting him in very heavy water. Well I landed the sucker. He taped at 24 inches solid and he
was definitely over 4 pounds. What a nice fish! Went on to hook and land a dozen or more fish, all in the 16-
21 inch range.
I'm amazed at how willing this rod is to shoot line. I've never casted so well in my life! Can't wait to throw
some dries with it."
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