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The Red Chinese (Rods)
Post 09 Oct 2017, 19:18 • #1 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/06/15
Posts: 1249
Location: Central Oregon
A wise man once stated "cheap glass sure gets popular fast on this forum" I thought I'd review my favorite cheap glass, since I have the whole series and have used them a fair bit.

The rods are a brandless translucent red, often sold by Aventik on ebay or Amazon, or a NY dealer, easporting, also on ebay. They easy to Google up because they come in sort of weird lengths, 6'7" 3wt, 7'8" 4wt, and 8'1" 5wt. Price with shipping runs $70-$95.

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They are all four piece rods, and make good pack rods. I first bought one because I wanted a 4 wt pack rod and there is no Fenwick Voyageur in that weight.

The rods have nice finish, good cork with a protection ring, burl wood seats and a great action. The only drawback to me is the single foot guides, though they are proud of them, "Us Pac Bay titanium coated".
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The big surprise to me is how nicely they cast. They are often described as "medium fast", and I suppose they might be medium for a glass rod, but they are slow if you include graphite. They are definitely slower than my Orvis Superfine glass, but have more butt power than the CGR. I find them to be a rather Fenwick-like taper. The most amazing thing is that they are spot-on for weight. The three is a three, four is a four. Other cheap glass (and some not so cheap) is often one or two lines off. They have enough butt flex and weight to self load up close, something none of my graphite rods do, and some of my fast glass rod struggle with. They have enough butt power to re-direct a cast, something the CGR fails to do well. Sort of a Goldilocks just right flex.

If you look around, blanks are available from Aventik too

I think the best rod of the set is the 7'8" 4wt. I got it for a 4 wt pack rod, and found I used it more and more. I spent three weeks in Patagonia last winter, and wanted rods which worked well, but went in carry on and didn't cost a fortune if lost or stolen. I brought the 4wt red rod and my Fenwick FF 756-4. I split time according to stream, and never found the red rod inferior. It is best with light flies and drys but I used some hopper droppers, and hooked some bigger fish and it did fine.
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The three weight is a nice little light rod, but has just enough oomph to shoot line if you need, something my CGR 2wt isn't very good at. It is only 21" packed and cheap and tough enough to throw in a pack without a tube, so it goes along a lot.

The five weight seemed a bit clunky at first, but I used it the other day after spending several days with other 8 footers, and it was fine. It is an inch longer and a four piece, so it has some rod momentum, and you need to find the sweet flex. Once you do, it is a "less is more" cast, and will throw a line a mile with a light stroke. It will throw a tailing loop if you force it, but just for this review, I went out and tried it with a 406 DT 6wt line, and found with a patient, proper cast it was fine. Best with a 5 wt though, and you know, a genuine 5 wt 8 footer is tough to find under $90.

A few days ago I went to a river not knowing what to expect. I brought the 7'8" 4 wt with a compact 11'10" Tenkara rod in my day pack. The river was dead as can be, so I put the redrod in my pack and euro-nymphed with the Tenkara rod, dredging up three fish. Finally an afternoon hatch started so I pulled the red rod back out of the pack and put on a dry-emerger pair, and caught ten fish without ever wrapping the flies on a cast (I can be good tangling two flies with a slow rod). They first took the emerger, then the dry. I then took them off and went with a big dry, making long casts at the rises and sometimes getting them.

I often say, "the best rod is the one you have along". These rod are cheap enough to leave in the truck, compact enough to bring in a pack or as a spare in a pontoon boat, and have caught a ton of fish for me.

The tubes and socks are even marked, so I usually grab the right one!

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Post 10 Oct 2017, 10:47 • #2 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/12/16
Posts: 4093
Location: USA-CO
Good report, thanks! I have a 7'8" #4-4 that I built on the "Sunset Red" blank from Custom Fly Rod Crafters in Albuquerque. I think it's the same blank, given the odd color, length, and weight combination. My impression is the same as yours: good rod.


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Post 10 Oct 2017, 14:38 • #3 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/26/14
Posts: 3578
Location: US-MN
Through report, thanks!


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Post 10 Oct 2017, 15:36 • #4 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/27/16
Posts: 2327
Location: US-IL
i have the 3wt and it does cast well for me.good bluegill rod.what i use it for any way.have had the sections come apart while fighting a fish ,i just check them now and then.have caught quite a few fish on this rod.really light but not as delicate as it feels.suprisingly it hag the same casting distance as my tfo 3wt.i use the same reel and line on both.the line is a rio 3wt wff if that matters


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Post 10 Oct 2017, 17:41 • #5 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/02/13
Posts: 1173
Location: Milwaukee, WI
I've found those rods very compelling. Hard to beat the price for a built rod, but the single foot guides keeps me from considering it a proper build. Maybe I'll buy a blank to play with over the winter.


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Post 10 Oct 2017, 21:30 • #6 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 01/26/07
Posts: 1385
Location: Ada, Oklahoma
I had one of those in a 3 weight. I just used it a time or two; it just never rang my chimes. And, like Joe, I just didn't care for the single foot guides. I traded it to an old friend and he loves it.

Larry


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Post 10 Oct 2017, 22:14 • #7 
Guide
Joined: 03/16/17
Posts: 169
Location: US-TX
These are the same rods marketed as Ruby River by one retailer, and I believe they were reviewed favorably on TFM. I have the 3wt and prefer it with a standard WF4. Pretty decent little rod.


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Post 10 Oct 2017, 23:40 • #8 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/06/15
Posts: 1249
Location: Central Oregon
I had not seen that! Here is the review---thanks for the lead:

http://thefiberglassmanifesto.blogspot. ... -rods.html


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Post 11 Oct 2017, 14:14 • #9 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/02/13
Posts: 1173
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Yes, but when's the last time you read an unfavorable review on TFM? Usually when a rod doesn't quite make the cut, Cameron writes up a teaser review with 'more to come' and the follow-up article never makes the press.


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Post 11 Oct 2017, 15:52 • #10 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/06/15
Posts: 1249
Location: Central Oregon
That maybe true, Joe, but the review looks spot on to me. He points out that, like you and me, he doesn't like the guides, and offers the rod up as a demo. If you don't trust TFM, trust me, they are good workhorse rods that I use all the time. Get a blank, I think you'll get a much nicer rod than say, an Angler's Roost blank would build.


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Post 11 Oct 2017, 17:07 • #11 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 12/14/11
Posts: 1018
Location: Chicago Western Suburbs
I have the 6’7” 3 wt also. It’s a nice rod for the money and I’ve been using it sometimes on small streams and it worked well in South Carolina. I’ll need to fish it a few more times before I form an opinions on it.


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Post 11 Oct 2017, 18:12 • #12 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/02/13
Posts: 1173
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Actually, I didn't mean to call TFM's review into question. I read it and it did seem pretty upfront about the rod quality and characteristics. Perhaps even more so than other rod reports.

I'm seriously considering getting a blank for a winter project. Can anybody point out a good source (not for finished rods)?


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Post 11 Oct 2017, 19:25 • #13 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/06/15
Posts: 1249
Location: Central Oregon
I saw them on ebay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Special-Sale-Av ... rs99IVQR7A


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Post 11 Oct 2017, 20:27 • #14 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/12/16
Posts: 4093
Location: USA-CO
Custom Fly Rod Crafters: http://www.flyrodcrafters.com/sunset-re ... ly-blanks/


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Post 11 Oct 2017, 23:56 • #15 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/06/15
Posts: 1249
Location: Central Oregon
Hmmm... you can pay as low as $71 shipped, for a rod with sock and tube, or as much as $74.60 shipped for a blank. Of course, either option is cheaper than some deluxe nippers, so one should not expect logic in fly fishing.


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Post 12 Oct 2017, 10:02 • #16 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 07/11/14
Posts: 1784
Location: urban Colorado
thank you, I have been thinking about one of these for some time..
may get the blank and build with single-foot ceramic guides which are my preference on newer glass. The blanks on the auction site come with two tips, I guess the second one could come in handy for repairing other rods.. ha.


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Post 02 May 2018, 17:24 • #17 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 11/30/11
Posts: 1231
Location: Fresno, CA
The blanks make a good practice build rod.


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Post 04 Sep 2018, 17:12 • #18 
Guide
Joined: 12/14/16
Posts: 116
Location: Poland
I have this rod, but mine is blue translucent, and it's called Ego. Detail to detail it's the same as Aventik or Ruby River, looks like re-branded clones of the same thing.
Mine is 7'8" 4wt, I like to cast it , very smooth. Also, packaging size is small, which makes it decent travel rod.


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Post 04 Sep 2018, 18:46 • #19 
Guide
Joined: 09/22/14
Posts: 203
Location: Charlottesville-VA
Thank you! I have done a bunch of googling on these rods and couldn't find a real review. Sounds like these might be right up my alley.

I have a growing family of (hopefully enthusiastic) anglers. My older daughter caught her first trout on a kids push button ulgy stick with a cork and a fly on a leader. I already have her first fly rod (graphite, so it will deal better with kids that rush the cast :D ). But I would rather teach her and her sister to fish fiberglass eventually. My stepson went through the same program. Graphite, then fiberglass, and he now primarily fishes a FF rod from my Dad, pretty sure he caught his first native brookie on the same trip that his sister caught her first stockie.

So anyway, for me a limitless source of options is huge.

Personally I have a rule that I prefer not to fish a rod that is younger than I am, but vintage travel rods are harder to find, and I'm cheap, so this could be a godsend.

Thanks again!
Bob


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Post 04 Sep 2018, 20:04 • #20 
Master Guide
Joined: 07/12/17
Posts: 390
Location: SW B.C.
Can anybody tell me what the grip shape is on the Aventik rods, please? I am considering one of the four weights for a kick-around, leave it in the car rod. The pics on ebay show the "half wells" grip to be more of a cigar with an odd flare over the hood, which would be good, as I don't dance well with the usual half wells grips that have the swell too far forward. Thanks,
Kean


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Post 04 Sep 2018, 23:34 • #21 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/06/15
Posts: 1249
Location: Central Oregon
I had some nice photos in the original post which were wiped out by one of the services. I snipped this from Amazon---it is what my rods are like. Nice grip to me.

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edit: the 4 wt in Patagonia. The fish is not beached on rocks, the water is that clear.

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Post 06 Sep 2018, 06:54 • #22 
Sport
Joined: 02/19/15
Posts: 74
Location: US-IL
Thanks for the great review and shared opinions. I have two grandsons who need to be outfitted.
I see that Aventik is offering an "ultralight medium action fiberglass" rod in differing colors and at a cheaper price point than the original red rod (which was described as "medium fast"). Cork, seats, guides and lengths are the same, with weights as follows: 6‘7’‘ LW3, 4sec 2.82oz (80g) 7'8'' LW4, 4sec 3.52oz (100g) 8'1'' LW5, 4sec 3.88oz (110g). I can't find weights for the original red rod. Anybody know if they're the same blanks in new colors and with a new name, or do these have thinner walls?
Also, it seems prices are higher now than they were at the beginning of the year. Have tariffs affected prices yet? If not, I suppose they will if the actions threatened come to pass?


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Post 06 Sep 2018, 10:49 • #23 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 05/22/16
Posts: 1760
Location: SJC
I would imagine they are the same. Back in March I bought a 4wt in pale yellow on Amazon branded as "River Runs" which has nearly the same description and apparently the same hardware. I've been using it for trout fishing from my packraft, and it works well. Not quite the same as my 4wt Orvis Superfine Glass, but I don't worry about it ending up at the bottom of the lake quite as much...


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Post 06 Sep 2018, 11:03 • #24 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/06/15
Posts: 1249
Location: Central Oregon
I'll bet they are the same blanks, because they are the exact same weird lengths.

As fas as cheaper glass goes, I've used CGRs, Eagle Claws, Anglers Roost. These rods are my favorites. And just like Odonata, I use them where my Orvis rods are to valuable to abuse, and still enjoy catching fish with them.


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Post 07 Sep 2018, 08:16 • #25 
Guide
Joined: 12/14/16
Posts: 116
Location: Poland
grip is kind of mix between western type and cigar

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