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Re: Maxcatch
Post 15 May 2017, 17:02 • #26 
Guide
Joined: 04/04/13
Posts: 197
Location: Central Maryland
ISO1600 wrote:
Maybe the tip is a lot softer than I realize, and I need to try strip-setting?


Have you been fishing a longer rod recently? I find it hard to set the hook when I go to a shorter rod after fishing a longer one.


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Re: Maxcatch
Post 15 May 2017, 17:03 • #27 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/12/16
Posts: 4094
Location: USA-CO
ISO1600 wrote:
Got out on my usual little lunchtime sunfish spot, a nice shady "creek" (residential runoff ditch with loads of broken concrete for fish to hide under) and did some casting.

Rod feels nice, definitely faster glass than the CGR's I've used and my other current glass, a Daiwa 1345. Still, it loads ok with a SA mastery trout DT3F, and had real nice presentation for a #12 dry. However, I'm not sure if it's the rod, or what, but I was having a harder time with hook-sets, on these dumb little panfish, than I think I've had in a long time. Maybe the tip is a lot softer than I realize, and I need to try strip-setting?


Wild guess -- Aldridge Creek?


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Re: Maxcatch
Post 15 May 2017, 18:22 • #28 
Sport
Joined: 08/20/16
Posts: 85
Location: US-AL
haha no, not aldridge creek, I don't know where that is, and I'm in Alabama.

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I caught a few more this afternoon, different creek/ditch. I was more aggressive with the hookset this time, and it helped.
To say I've been fishing longer rods lately is an understatement :)
My weapon of choice on most of my recent outings has been a 15' really soft tenkara rod.


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Re: Maxcatch
Post 15 May 2017, 18:35 • #29 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/12/16
Posts: 4094
Location: USA-CO
It's in Huntsville. The creek fits your description, so I figured to hazard a guess.


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Re: Maxcatch
Post 15 May 2017, 18:54 • #30 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/20/07
Posts: 8920
Location: US-ME
I know those popping bugs are "small" but that is still a lot of bulk and a relatively large hook to cast and then set with a three weight, which is really at its best with tiny flies (with much more quickly penetrating hooks) size 16 and up that take less force to set. That alone may be part of the difficulty. I suppose you could test that by using different three weights and comparing, but I think you will find their hook setting ability is at its best with much smaller flies. With flies sized to match the optimum size for the line weight, just lifting up to tighten up is usually sufficient. If you are fishing popping bugs by jiggling, popping and letting them sit, and if the fish are hitting as the ripples dissipate, then a soft rod--and a three weight is soft, even if it is "stiff" or "fast" for a three weight--will be very slow in reacting to tighten the line when there is slack to be lifted first.


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Re: Maxcatch
Post 15 May 2017, 19:47 • #31 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 05/22/16
Posts: 1760
Location: SJC
Cannot see the pictures .. probably a permissions problem with your google album.

I caught a few sunfish on the rod too -- worked pretty well, though these were super-aggressive little guys. I let some line out with a foam beetle-like thing in preparation to make a cast and one had already smacked the fly !


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Re: Maxcatch
Post 15 May 2017, 20:28 • #32 
Sport
Joined: 08/20/16
Posts: 85
Location: US-AL
The poppers were not easy to cast. At lunchtime I threw a #12 dry and it worked a lot better. I have used these poppers and similarly sized large dries on soft tenkara rods with lots of success, but I guess the extra line on the water doesn't help.


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Re: Maxcatch
Post 13 Jun 2017, 19:33 • #33 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 09/03/07
Posts: 2055
Location: Marble Falls, Texas
I couldn't pass up on the 7 ft 3 weight. Finally got it out on the water this morning and, you know, it is worth a good bit more than the price I paid ($55). I was fishing a creek and it did very well with a variety of 3 weight lines SA GPX 3.5s and true 3 weight lines. I also fished a Teeney BS-100 with it and it handled well. With honest 3 weights its fairly fast but easily fishable. It will generate a very tight loop.

Overall, the quality of the blank and spigots is quite good, better finished and assembled than most of the Asian sourced blanks I've built on. No spigot issues, no gobs of epoxy holding the spigots in the rod. Cork is so-so, but what isn't. The two strippers look wierd, but they work. Everything lines up the way it should, the reel seat is quite good, albeit an uplocker. A bit too much epoxy on some of the wraps. Decent tube and sock.

A very capable creek rod that isn't picky about lines. I used everything from a #10 Cat's Whisker to a #12 popper as well as the usual 12 and 14 dries and streamers. Hook setting was an issue, so the tip may be a little soft. Did I say it was BLUE?


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Re: Maxcatch
Post 09 Jul 2017, 21:35 • #34 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 01/26/07
Posts: 1385
Location: Ada, Oklahoma
I got the orange 7' 3 weight, arrived four days ago, taking about a week from China. Very impressed with the build. The wraps were very smooth without the usual epoxy buildup you get with most inexpensive (and some expensive) rods. Spigot fit was probably as good as my Steffen or my Winston. When I first cast it with a Barrio WF3, I thought it a little underlined. It felt a little better with a SA GPX DT3. Felt it load a little better with a Hook & Hackle DT4. Tried it out again today with my friend Charlie. He was very impressed with the rod and said he needed a white one, probably in 5 weight, as he wants to use it for carp. I reminded him they also have a new rod out, an 8'6" 6 weight, four piece. Today was the second time I cast this rod, and I felt it actually handled 3 weight lines very smoothly, particularly if you are casting dry flies. While watching Charlie cast the lines with the various lines, up to and including a Cortland Peach WF5, I observed the flex of the rod. In the lighter weights, all the action appeared to be in the first 2-3 feet of the rod. It is definitely on the fast side for glass, but it is smooth. Even with a 5 weight line, it flexed down to about half way. As Orvis would describe it, this is a tip flex rod. All of our local creeks are high, fast, and very muddy at this time, but as soon as they clear up, I want to fish this rod.

Larry


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Re: Maxcatch
Post 09 Jul 2017, 23:47 • #35 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 05/22/16
Posts: 1760
Location: SJC
Speaking of their 6wt, I couldn't resist :) Bought a white one last month and have been testing it out at the casting ponds. First off, it is quite heavy. The specs listed are accurate in that regard. Hardware is pretty much the same as the 3wt (nice). So far I am liking it with GPX-weighted 6wt lines, and an airflo WF6F "bass" line (probably a half to a full weight heavier). I haven't put it to the test on any fish as yet.


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Re: Maxcatch
Post 10 Jul 2017, 12:02 • #36 
Master Guide
Joined: 09/13/07
Posts: 630
Location: GB
Inexpensive glass sure gets popular here fast. I guess I better buy one and join in.


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Re: Maxcatch
Post 11 Jul 2017, 09:18 • #37 
Sport
Joined: 08/20/16
Posts: 85
Location: US-AL
mdwwhw wrote:
A very capable creek rod that isn't picky about lines. I used everything from a #10 Cat's Whisker to a #12 popper as well as the usual 12 and 14 dries and streamers. Hook setting was an issue, so the tip may be a little soft. Did I say it was BLUE?


Your thoughts are pretty much the same as mine. Glad to see I wasn't the only one with hook set issues haha.
I think it is a BEUATY, but would have preferred the white, and maybe not so much tip-flex bias.


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Re: Maxcatch
Post 13 Jul 2017, 05:25 • #38 
New Member
Joined: 07/10/17
Posts: 3
Location: US-DC
So I take it these rods are worth the money? I was given lots of negative opinions on these from folks who say "you get what you pay for" or "buy or orvis/sage rod xxx." I'm looking for an inexpensive 3 or 4 weight to hit my local trout streams and maybe go for some bluegills and smallies with.


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Re: Maxcatch
Post 13 Jul 2017, 09:11 • #39 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 05/22/16
Posts: 1760
Location: SJC
I have an Orvis superfine glass 4wt which I absolutely love. But I am not going to put it on my mountain bike to go catch bluegills or thrash around in the brush in coastal headwaters; I prefer to save my Orvis for high country trout. The maxcatch 3wt is nice for certain kinds of adventures.


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Re: Maxcatch
Post 13 Jul 2017, 09:24 • #40 
New Member
Joined: 07/10/17
Posts: 3
Location: US-DC
Cool. I'm looking for more of a "behind the truck seat" kind of a rod. Also seems like a good price for an exploration into the world of glass. I'll keep this on the list.


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Re: Maxcatch
Post 14 Jul 2017, 19:36 • #41 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 01/26/07
Posts: 1385
Location: Ada, Oklahoma
I tend not to pay much attention to negative comments about things that people have never personally tried.

Larry


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Re: Maxcatch
Post 15 Jul 2017, 02:27 • #42 
Sport
Joined: 04/09/17
Posts: 61
Location: Spain, Andalusia
I bought a 7 ft 3 wt, white colour for my son. Not bad for the price I paid ... I was surprised with the tube bag fly rod in green calor. But it's a 4 wt. The cork grip is good too.


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Re: Maxcatch
Post 15 Jul 2017, 21:21 • #43 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 01/26/07
Posts: 1385
Location: Ada, Oklahoma
Despite an early rain this morning, I got a chance to try out my 7' 3weight. I really liked it with new Approach Genesis reel attached (thanks Matt for the really quick shipping). It worked quite well with a Cabela's Prestige DT3 line. I tried a mop fly that a good friend tied for me and the sunfish really loved it. I ran into the same problem some others described, not hooking up. I've been fishing short 2 and 3 weights for quite a while, and even with my Axisco Airrite Stream which is a pretty soft rod, I had never had that much trouble hooking a fish. At first I thought the fish were just grabbing the end of the fly body, but after numerous misses, I finally started getting my timing down and rarely missed hooking up after that. The lower half of the rod is quite stiff, but the tip is fairly soft. The first fish I caught was hooked while standing on a foot bridge across the creek, so that I had to lift the fish about 7-8 feet to release it. Even with a relative small fish, the first 18" of the tip bent pretty sharply. I think I'm going to enjoy this rod. It was mentioned in an earlier post, and I also remember reading it in some of the ads for this rod, that it was built on a Blue Halo blank. I have a 7' 3 weight Blue Halo and the Maxcatch rod is nothing like it.

Larry


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Re: Maxcatch
Post 17 Jul 2017, 09:53 • #44 
New Member
Joined: 07/17/17
Posts: 12
Location: US-GA
I'm considering picking one of these up and wanted to check in and see how everybody was feeling about these rods? Still two thumbs up? Any issues with them?

Also, given the price point ($70/80 now), are there any other options in that range? Angler's Roost comes to mind; any others?


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Re: Maxcatch
Post 17 Jul 2017, 10:38 • #45 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 05/22/16
Posts: 1760
Location: SJC
I also have an angler's roost rod (4wt / 7'6"). I've read the AR blanks are OK, but from my experience the build quality of finished rods was terrible, and the rod rating was way off. Rather disappointed with my Angler's Roost experience.

The maxcatch rod is in my opinion a true 3wt and has nice components. Despite buying it mainly for warmwater fish I have been catching lots of trout with it.

12-13"er from a high country lake yesterday
Image

I haven't had any issues with hook sets, but then I usually just let the fish hook itself :)


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Re: Maxcatch
Post 31 Jul 2017, 12:41 • #46 
New Member
Joined: 07/17/17
Posts: 12
Location: US-GA
Well, I just took a 7' 3wt out for a spin this weekend and I'll agree with what everyone else on here has said; this a great way to get introduced to glass fishing. Well worth the $60, and some day I'll probably build one of my own. I'll fish it for another month or so and do a full write-up on my blog, but here's a post from this weekend with some first impressions: https://www.thefightingbutt.com/2017/07/31/weekend-fishing-fliers-on-the-storm/.

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Re: Maxcatch
Post 27 Aug 2017, 14:56 • #47 
Sport
Joined: 05/25/17
Posts: 36
Location: US-HI
After reading about everyone's feedback on the Maxcatch fiberglass rods I felt the need to try them out. I got the 3 piece 5 wt fiberglass and ended up cutting off the bottom of the rod and added a fighting butt so I could use it like a micro skagit. It has become one of my favorite rods. Here's a 7 to 8 lb Hawaiian bonefish that was caught using that rod. Awesome rod awesome price.
Dean

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Re: Maxcatch
Post 28 Aug 2017, 06:47 • #48 
New Member
Joined: 07/17/17
Posts: 12
Location: US-GA
Nice! Maxcatch was my introduction to glass; now that I know, my next rod is probably going to be a 5wt I put together myself. What line were you using on it? Did you overline? Our flats can get a bit windy, and have had trouble casting with conventional 5wts.


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Re: Maxcatch
Post 28 Aug 2017, 23:36 • #49 
Sport
Joined: 05/25/17
Posts: 36
Location: US-HI
The flats here on Oahu are pretty windy with our normal trade winds. I have been using my rod like a small light switch rod with the18ft 5 wt ambush 215 grain line on the rod. I bet the newer ambush short lines would probably load the rod faster and can make more compact casts. I think the short heads of the ambush lines help with dealing with the wind. I was surprised at how powerful the rod was being that it was rated for 5 wt. hope that helps. Dean


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Re: Maxcatch
Post 29 Aug 2017, 06:57 • #50 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/26/14
Posts: 3578
Location: US-MN
Dean, nice bone!!! Off topic, but do any of the other Hawaiian islands have bones?


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