John

Thanks for posting your comments. I find them very interesting. As you know, I used to work for one of the largest Winston dealers in the country while I was in college. The preIM6 903 with a 4 on it was a shop favorite. We all thought it cast best with a 4. IMHO, it still performs best with a 4.

Your comments about the Scott are intriguing. A few years ago, I was fishing with one of my friends from West Yellowstone (also a fan of soft rods). He was using a Scott G 904 as his boat rod with a 6 weight. It was the first time I had seen an older Scott in some time. But, I did think the rod was much stiffer than everyone reported it to be. I think some of that is that many fisherman are used to fast rods, so when they pick up the Scott it is softer than their other rods. As I remembered his rod it was much, much stiffer than the Winston 903. It was a decent 6 though.

Thus, I am wondering if the vintage of your rod was softer than my friends. I emailed him to ask about his rod. I would love to cast your Scott one day. Maybe I should look for one in the future.

But when it comes down to it, I am probably not going to find anything as soft or even bending as some of my old Fenwick World Class rods. But, I still can appreciate other nice rods.

Thanks again for your input

John, That sounds like a sweet rod. I would love to cast it someday.

For me, it's a Winston DL4 8 1/2' 5 wt. It was a total, "Wow" from the first cast

Myfly,

I like the Scott G's that I've cast in the 8 to 8' 6" range. I haven't had the chance to cast the shorter rods, but I am less tempted to say that the G's that I've cast have a Glass Soul. They are fantastic and progressive, but lighter and have a lot of the benefits that graphite provides. Fantastic rods and Glasslike, but they have their own character.

I'm still on the lookout for a G to own. I have a G2, but it isn't quite as sweet as some of the G's that I've cast.

I think you should get that G704/3 and give us a review. BTW, that's a strange number for a 6'10" rod. Did the tip get clipped, or did Scott just number it as a 7' rod?

I always just assumed it was a convenient numbering thing. And it was awhile back, but that rod, and the 8'8" 5 wt. I used one day definitely had soul; hard to compare now, but I'd say they're good targets for the quest.

My orvis superfine full flex 7' 4wt

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Thanks rsagebrush for letting me know that. I should like the G704/3 just fine.

[quote="rsagebrush"]I had the 703/3 'Mountain Trout' Scott and it was a nice 3 but a better 4 for me. That taper is rather fast like the original f series rods. My Scott 845/5 4wt is great with a 4 or 5wt line.

I am surprised to see that Murrays Fly Shop in Va. is still making these little rods in the 3wt only. Funny we do not see them around. I did not want to comment about these the other day because one popped up on eBay but it finally ended. And it had the funky green script. Anyone here on the forum get it?

Carlz I agree with you on the Scott G2 885 very nice but my G 905 4 piece is Alittle softer still. Add that went to Coburn yesterday for Open House and Douglas Rods were represented with Jim Murphy. I only casted one rod as horrid raining and windy the 8'3" 4 wght and despite wind whistling thru the side casting range next toThe Hook it is superb glass like . Jonas will have full inventory of Douglas products for the April 10th gathering. Jim said the real gem in Upstream is the 8'8" 4 wght and the initial batch of 350 sold out . The 8'3" possibly was softer than any glass rod in my inventory Kenney 8'3". 4/5, and Paddock Butterscotch 8'3" but both are five weights and blanks of the Upstreams are very thin and similar to Sage Circa type dimensions. Will add the esthetics of the Upstream's are beautiful plus price is mid $300.

I have a Sage Graphite I that I purchased in 1984 or 85. Very sweet casting medium action rod that my son loves until this day. He has never had the inclination to use anything else.

The Hardy Sovereign line from 7'6" 3/4 to 9' 6/7 (8'4/5 and 8'6" 5/6 being the best) is very nice. A little heavy compared to US made rods of their generation, a tad slower than the LPS, closer to the LL than to the RPL. More vintage graphite than glass. The Hardy Deluxe graphite have even slower tapers and there are some really nice ones - this is one line of rods where you may want to underline. Generally I prefer the finer tips on the Sovereigns.

I guess I can't take it any more. This thread bugs me. Graphite is graphite. Glass is glass. Cane is cane. Graphite rods have examples of fast and slow tapers. Glass rods have examples of fast and slow tapers. And cane rods have examples of fast and slow tapers. They all feel different and have their own unique characteristics but you can always tell the difference between fast, slow, and parabolic. It's in the taper. Glass is not inherently slow and graphite is not inherently fast. It's in the taper. What's being confused here is that a lot of vintage glass is slower than current graphite. But graphite manufacturers,in recent decades, have made a contest of who can make the fastest taper to the point they call 7 wt rods 5 wt rods. Now it's to the point that people are looking for graphite with glass souls. Geez. Just maybe what you're looking for is actually a graphite rod with a medium or slow taper or whatever. Let's settle down and recognize glass, graphite, and cane for what they are and acknowledge that different tapers can make each feel different. As the rod market progresses, I suspect you will see rods being designed using optimum materials for particular fishing needs. Who knows, but until that happens, our needs can be reasonably met from a combination of vintage rods and rods from current manufacturers using different materials. The overall result is that we have more choices for differing needs and desires than ever before. Now that makes me feel good. I'm still not sure how my soul feels about all this.